Six South Side wrestlers advance

Sixteen South Side wrestlers entered last Saturday’s Nassau qualifier tournament hosted by Syosset and six advanced to this weekend’s big stage at Hofstra for the county championships.

“I’m proud of the way our guys wrestled,” Cyclones first-year coach Mike Robinson said. “Six out of 16 is a pretty good percentage. We’re a young team and it was a great experience for everyone.”

It was a difficult day for Robinson, who coached against his former team and alma mater, Baldwin, for the first time. “It wasn’t easy, but our kids helped me get through it,” he said.

Sophomore Ryan Holzgruber had a big qualifier for the Cyclones and reached the 99-pound final where he lost a hard-fought 8-5 decision to Long Beach’s Steven Sewkumar. With three victories on the day, Holzgruber reached the 30-win plateau on the season against just six defeats.

“Ryan was right there,” Robinson said. “He took Sewkumar down in the second period and wrestled tough all the way. It was a great match.”

Robinson believes Holzgruber will be in the hunt for All-County status (top six in each weight class) at Hofstra. “I’m confident he can place,” Robinson said. “He’s only lost to high-ranked opponents and is dangerous at 99.”

At 160 pounds, senior Will Nelson took third with a pin of Baldwin’s Taimoor Kahn in the consolation match in 4:16. Nelson takes a record of 22-6 to Hofstra. “He was determined to get to the county tournament and he’s determined to be All-County,” Robinson said of Nelson, who he considers one of the hardest workers on the team. “It’s good to see him succeed.”

Junior Paul Wolfrom had to return to action last Sunday to complete his qualifier and finished third after beating Baldwin’s Ryan Brown in the 126-pound consolation final. Brown had reached the maximum five matches in a day, Robinson said, therefore the bout was moved to the following morning. “Paul’s over 20 wins for the season and he keeps getting the job done,” Robinson said of Wolfrom.