MacArthur aims for high finish

The MacArthur wrestling team is looking to remain among the top Nassau County programs this winter.

The Generals earned the fifth most points during the individual wrestling championships at Hofstra last February. Eighth-year head coach Rob Paletta hopes his squad can improve on this showing and also have a presence at the New York State Championships in Albany.

“We have a young up and coming team,” said Paletta, a former standout MacArthur wrestler who placed second in the 1991 county finals.

Senior Ryan O’Shea, who placed second in the states at 285 pounds last year, leads MacArthur’s quest for a high county finish. O’Shea hit the mats following a successful fall on the football field where he captured the Martone Award for the county’s top offensive lineman.

“He is our big gun,” said Paletta of O’Shea. “He has a competitive spirit.”

O’Shea is a co-captain with fellow senior Steven Szilagyi, who Paletta believes has the ability to earn All County accolades. The Generals are also receiving strong senior leadership from Nick Cardone (120), Nick Brennan (182) and Ilijah Acquaviva (282).

Junior Christian Dougherty (138 pounds) also could be standing on the podium this February after earning All-County honors as a freshman. His younger brother Nick Dougherty wrestles at 113 pounds and was one win from all county accolades as an eighth grader last year.

“They are a big brother combination,” said Paletta of the Doughertys.

Paletta has been impressed early on with eighth grader Jake Schneider. The 99-pounder posted a 15-0 technical fall win against Long Beach’s Luke Mantia on Dec. 9. His older brother Steven Schneider was Long Beach’s last state champion in 2014 and now wrestles at Binghamton.

Schneider along with Szilagyi and Dan Steinman will be competing at the prestigious Eastern States Wrestling Classic on Jan. 13-14 at SUNY Sullivan in Lake Sheldrake, N.Y. Paletta said facing strong competition upstate should prepare the trio well for the looming high stakes county matches.

“It is probably one of the tougher tournaments on the east coast,” said Paletta of the Eastern States. “There will be a lot of quality wrestlers there.”

MacArthur got challenged right from the get go with a non-league matchup at defending county champion Long Beach on Dec. 7. The Generals fell 65-14 to New York State’s number one ranked team, but battled hard in many matches with Schneider, Nick Dougherty and Christian Dougherty posting victories. The Generals then followed up the Long Beach dual match with a fourth place finish in the Gray/Fitzgerald Tournament at Sayville High School.

MacArthur will host dual matches against Manhasset on Jan. 18 and Hewlett on Jan. 20 to close the regular season schedule. The Generals will then compete in the dual meet championships on Jan. 26 at Clarke High School where they will seek to improve on last year’s quarterfinal finish that ended with a setback to neighborhood rival Wantagh. The Nassau County individual championships are slated for Feb. 11-12 at Hofstra with the state championships scheduled for Feb. 24-25 at Times Union Center in Albany.