Marines make big splash

Long Beach prepared for its showdown with MacArthur for the Conference 2-A wrestling title with a monster performance in last weekend’s prestigious Eastern States Championships in upstate Liberty.

The Marines finished third out of 100 teams in what’s widely considered the toughest in-season tournament in New York State. Seniors Dylan Palacio (152 pounds) and Mark Raghunandan (113) both claimed individual titles with five wins apiece and remained undefeated this season, while senior Krishna Sewkumar (106) and junior Steven Sewkumar (96) placed fifth.

“It’s our best finish at the Eastern States in six years,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. “Our guys are used to competing on a big stage and they came up big. I’m not too surprised, but very happy.”

Palacio, a defending Nassau County champion who placed third in the state last season, is 24-0 after beating the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the nation, reigning state champ Brian Realbuto of Somers. Palacio, who has drawn interest from Cornell, Virginia and American, won a hard-fought 8-5 decision in the final. “It’s rare when Dylan’s an underdog, but his win over Realbuto was considered an upset,” Adams said. “Dylan’s approaching 200 wins for his career and is ranked first in the state at 152. He’s in a zone and aiming for a state title.”

Raghunandan, a state runner-up who has Rutgers and Old Dominion on his radar, won for the 25th time without a loss with a last-second reversal of another state runner-up, Dylan Realbuto of Somers, for a 6-5 decision. “Mark’s been pretty dominant,” Adams said. “He’s also ranked first in the state and is looking for a state title.”

Krishna Sewkumar, a returning county champion, is very much in the title picture again, Adams said. The same goes for Steven Sewkumar, who closed the Eastern States event with a 6-5 win over Gerard Daly of Minisink Valley, and senior Oral Allen (120), who placed sixth despite losing a pair of tough overtime bouts. Junior Walter Ulloa picked up two wins in the tournament at 220.

On Jan. 11, the Marines improved to 4-0 against conference foes and remained in a first-place tie with MacArthur by knocking off East Meadow by a 51-22 margin. Krishna Sewkumar, Steven Sewkumar, and Liam Fitzpatrick (160) pinned their opponents, Allen won by major decision, Palacio won by technical fall, and Matt Gray (113), Raghunandan, Freddy Medina, Rich Tagliagambe, Ulloa and Pete Amabile all captured decisions. Tagliagambe, a senior, won the most exciting match of the night by nipping Mike Moratis, 6-5, at 145 pounds.

After facing MacArthur in the conference regular-season finale, the Marines will serve as one of the host teams in the dual meet playoffs (Jan. 28-29), and Adams said they also applied to host one of Nassau’s six qualifying tournaments Feb. 4.