Thursday, October 1, 2026
If you’re going to talk about Hewlett wrestling, Carlos Salazar is the name you think about. After a stellar 2024-25 campaign, the junior took home the Nassau County championship (126) in his respective weight class and became the first two-time All-State wrestler in program history.
“I’m hoping Carlos can be our first state champ,” said Hewlett coach Nick Khoury. “He puts in a lot of time and effort. He’s ranked at the top of the state, so he’s been there before. He’s got two more years to try to be a state champion.”
In two tournaments this season, Salazar finished atop the podium in both the Battle of the Beach in Long Beach and in Garden City.
Wrestling alongside Salazar, two expected to make an impact for the Bulldogs are senior captains Matanel Rosenthal (144 points) and Jesse McMahon (132.) “[Rosenthal] has been wrestling in the program a while,” Khoury said. “He had a good county tournament last year, but fell a little short. I see him hopefully stepping on the podium this year.
“They’re [Rosenthal and McMahon] just very vocal,” Khoury added. “They lead by example a lot, in and out of the room, both school work and on the mat. They’ve just been in the program so long that they understand what’s expected of them. They’re very good at showing their peers what this program’s about.”
One in particular has leaped this offseason, and it’s caught the eyes of his coach, and that’s junior Salim Kaptan at 150.
“He plays many sports, but he’s just one of those kids that we always talk about after a match,” Khoury said. “[They say] ‘You got to wrestle like Salim.’ He wrestles the entire six minutes. He doesn’t give up even if he’s losing; he just continues to try hard. His work ethic is really unteachable. He’s just an awesome kid all around.”
A handful of others look to fill out a lineup with flexibility by the names of freshman Danir Dzhakhanob (126), his brother and junior Arslan Dzhakhanob (157), freshman Levi Goldin (118), sophomore Jacob Gendlin (118) and sophomore Ariya Rahmanzada (138) in their respective weight classes.
“[Goldin] wrestled for us as an eighth grader last year on the varsity,” Khoury said. “He’s been having some really great wins this year and you can just see the potential he has. He’s definitely going to be an All-County wrestler in the future, if not, this year.”
Success is measured differently from coach to coach. For Khoury, it’s all about having fun and getting better.
“If they can have an enjoyable season, they all stay healthy, they’re making friendships and they’re all giving it their all,” Khoury said. “I always tell them, ‘It doesn’t really matter about the outcome. As long as you tried your hardest and you can look yourself in the mirror at the end of the day and say that you tried win or lose, then you should be proud of yourself.”
