Long Beach makes state duals

The day after a heartbreaking defeat in the Nassau Division I dual meet final to Farmingdale, Long Beach wrestling coach Ray Adams wanted to ease some of the pain and share some good news with his team.

But first, he wanted to mess with them.

“They just had the meeting for next week's state duals to determine the wild cards. Unfortunately, bad news for you guys,” Adams wrote in the first text.

“You won't be able to hang out in Long Beach next weekend. Pack your bags, boys. We still have life. Syracuse, here we come for that state dual meet title. Go Beach and see you at practice manana,” he followed with.

The Marines secured the first of two wild-card berths to the state dual meet tournament at SRC Arena and Events Center in Syracuse this Saturday. Long Beach is the No. 4 seed and joins West Genesee and Webster Schroeder in one of the four three-team pools.

Two-time champion Minisink Valley is the top seed, followed by Horseheads and Farmingdale.

It is Long Beach’s first appearance in the state dual meet championship, which started in 2018. The Marines captured back-to-back Union-Endicott Duals in 2016 and 2017, considered the unofficial state championship at the time.

Nassau County has had a great deal of success in the state dual meet tournament, with Massapequa, Plainedge and Wantagh each winning.

“We’re excited, the kids are pumped,” Adams said. “It kind of makes you forget about [the Nassau Division I dual meet final]. It’s move on and next stop on the journey.”

Ahead of the Nassau duals, Long Beach captured the Conference 2A crown dramatically, edging second-place MacArthur, 35-27, in a battle of two of the top 10 teams in the state.

The second-seeded Marines (14-1) followed that up by knocking off Mepham and Bellmore JFK before ousting perennial powerhouse Massapequa, 37-20, in the semifinals.

That set up a showdown with undefeated top-seed Farmingdale. Long Beach won five of the first six bouts, but the Dalers rallied to win four in a row to set up a winner-take-all final match at 215 pounds, with the Farmingdale’s Wilson Quintanilla beating Liam Hastings to secure the title.

“I told them I was proud of them,” Adams said. “They showed up, they battled hard, and that's all you can ask out of kids, is to show up, battle, do the best they can, and I think they gave max effort.”

Adams has been impressed with his hard-working squad this season. Casey Powers at 101 pounds has improved this year, while Matt Diamond (145), Jordan Andreula (145) and Ari Kaye (160) each have more than 20 wins.

Jahmel Isaac has made the biggest strides, also picking up more than 20 wins at 160/170 pounds.

And then there’s the “big guns,” as Adams calls them, led by North Carolina-commit Dunia Sibomana at 124 pounds.

“He’s really matured from last year,” Adams said. “You can tell he’s more confident in himself, his technique is on point, he has a great mindset. All those things coupled together have really elevated his game.”

Sibomana is joined by 131-pounder Greg Walpole, who Adams said is hitting his stride after rebounding from injury, and Brody Franklin at 138 pounds.

They’re all on the way to Syracuse to erase the pain from the Nassau loss and make Long Beach history.

“That wasn’t the end,” Adams said. “It’s only the beginning.”