East Meadow off to promising start

East Meadow pinned down an early season game plan and worked it to perfection, knocking off Division (34-16) and Baldwin (44-19) in its first wrestling dual meet of the season on Dec. 16.

After performing well in a pair of tournaments, the Jets scheduled the dual meet to help prepare for the Conference I-A schedule that began earlier than normal because the wrestling season was shortened by a week.

“We didn’t have that dual meet mentality [last season],” coach Chris Critchley said. “In a tournament, if you win it doesn’t matter how you win. In a dual meet, sometimes you have to do more and get bonus points [to help the team].”

Nick Falco, a 125-pounder who’s had his share of heartbreaking finishes at the Nassau County Tournament over the last two seasons, has opened his senior campaign with a string of victories over top-ranked opponents. His latest, a 12-2 decision over Division’s John Pellegrino, a returning All-County performer, came on the heels of earlier victories over an All-State wrestler (Longwood’s Corey Rasheed) and Seaford’s Anthony Locast, also a returning All-County honoree. In the win over Pellegrino, Falco actually moved up a weight class and gave away close to six pounds yet still managed to walk away with the 10-point win.

Falco’s been sparked by the return of junior teammate Steve Rispoli, who wrestles at both 130 and 135 pounds and was expected to return to the mats in the conference opener after missing all of last season due to injury. “Having Steve back is only going to help [Nick],” Critchley said, noting that the two are often workout partners.

East Meadow finished third at the Bruins Cup at Baldwin on Dec. 12, just 10 points behind Long Beach, and also turned in an impressive performance at the Knights Tournament at Uniondale on Dec. 5, sending 10 wrestlers to the finals. Five Jets came out with individual titles at Uniondale: sophomore Vinny Pannullo (103 pounds), Falco (125), senior Rocco Calderaro (171), and juniors Andrew Danziger (215) and Lenny DiSalvo (285). Danziger, a returning All-County honoree, also won a pair of matches against Division and Baldwin.