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Overcast Rodriguez leads Cyclones on mat
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South Side junior James Rodriguez won three matches to take the 135-pound title at last Friday's Nassau qualifying
tournament at Plainedge.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
Junior James Rodriguez led South Side’s wrestlers at last Friday’s qualifying tournament at Plainedge by capturing the 135-pound title.
Rodriguez took a 7-5 decision over Chris Altamura of Island Trees in the final and advanced to this weekend’s Nassau Division I championships at Hofstra’s Mack Sports Complex.
“He’s peaking at the right time,” Cyclones coach Jason Washington said of Rodriguez, who won three matches in the qualifier to up his record on the season to 22-3. “Based on last year’s experience and this year’s success, he’ll be in the hunt for All-County. Most of his wins are by pin, but he’s probably going to need to pull off more decisions to finish in the top six.”
Rodriguez, who also beat opponents from Syosset and Plainedge in the qualifier, will be joined by several teammates on the county’s biggest stage. Senior Ryan Nelson, juniors Steve Meoli and Christian Lethbridge, and freshman Mike Petrone all placed no worse than fourth in their respective weight classes to advance.
“I’m happy with our performance,” Washington said. “We brought 12 kids and five got through. You always hope for a little more, but it’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen.”
Nelson (130 pounds) had 13 regular-season wins and turned the table on Great Neck North’s Josh Rismany to punch his ticket to the county tournament. His pin gave him a fourth-place finish and avenged a 7-5 defeat to Rismany in a Conference 3B dual meet on Jan. 13. “I was ecstatic to see Ryan qualify,” Washington said. “He’s been focused and really came through in the last match.”
Meoli found himself in a tough draw in the 215-pound class and managed to split four matches to finish fourth. Each of his wins came by pin. “Steve has had a heck of a season,” Washington said. “He stepped up in a big way. I was expecting him to qualify even though he was in a bracket with two of the county’s top contenders.”
Lethbridge, who missed a chunk of the regular season with injuries, split four matches at 171 and finished fourth. “Chris starting shooting a lot more and I think his aggressive approach made a difference,” Washington said. “He has been through a lot and it’s nice to see him advance.”
Petrone, one of many talented ninth-graders on the roster, won three of four matches at 103 and placed third. “He’s a grinder and worked through an injury to get the job done,” Washington said. “He’s excellent on his feet and always battles.”
Another freshman, Thomas Cozier, earned All-Conference honors with a fifth-place showing at 96 and is an alternate for the county tournament.
The Cyclones went 2-3 in conference dual meets, and Washington is expecting improvement next season. “We forfeited too many weights,” he said. “We won’t have those kind of holes next season.”
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