Sumo-sized entertainment at MacArthur

MacArthur High School and Salk Middle School students were entertained in an interesting way, as they watched teachers and administrators participate in a sumo wrestling competition on Jan. 21.

The students filled the stands in the MacArthur gymnasium that afternoon, before the varsity and junior varsity wrestling matches against Westbury, to cheer on the adults donning big, rubber suits. The first match was all about bragging rights between the two schools separated by only a parking lot. Principals Joseph Sheehan of MacArthur and John Zampaglione of Salk faced off, with Sheehan winning the best-of-three match.

“Both Mr. Z. and I jumped at the opportunity,” Sheehan said. “He was an extremely tough competitor.”

Sheehan noted that wearing the suit limited his movement and “once you get down, you can’t get back up.” The suits were donated by Jump And Jam Long Island.

The event raised money for the Wantagh-based John Theissen Children’s Foundation, which helps sick and underprivileged kids across Long Island. Theissen, of Seaford, is a MacArthur graduate and told the crowd he was grateful for the support.

“To raise money for such an incredible cause makes it all worth it,” Sheehan said, adding that he is proud to call Theissen a member of the Generals family. “I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

The second match featured husband and wife Bill and Caroline Kind, both teachers at Salk, with Mrs. Kind showing her husband who’s boss. Varsity wrestling coach Brian Luball defeated science teacher Chris Weggeland in the third round, followed by the battle of math teachers with Chris Bergersen beating David Levy.

In what was perhaps those most mismatched contest of the day, MacArthur Assistant Principal Michael Scaduto’s considerable size advantage over Salk Assistant Principal Patrick Mulligan led to the obvious outcome.

The competition wrapped up with Wisdom Lane Middle School dean Chris Leahy defeating his counterpart at MacArthur, Steve Fazzolari.

The event was organized by junior varsity assistant wrestling coach Michael Marrero, a 2013 MacArthur graduate. He said the goal was to generate an interest in wrestling while “at the same time doing it for a good cause.”

MacArthur’s wrestlers watched from the sidelines. “It’s great,” junior co-captain Ryan O’Shea said. “It’s for a great cause. It’s fun to watch them.”

O’Shea said that it gave the team a chance to see their coach, who advanced to the finals, in a different light.

He and senior co-captain Sal DeLuca noted the big crowd that came out to watch. “It’s a great event that bring the two schools together,” DeLuca said. “It gets more people around the wrestling community.”