Long Beach wrestlers win it all

For the first time since 1996, Long Beach sits on top of the Nassau County wrestling mountain.

The Marines had seven semifinalists, including 96-pound champion Mark Raghunandan, and finished with nine All-County wrestlers on the way to capturing the Nassau Division I team title at Hofstra's Mack Sports Complex last Sunday night.

"We thought we could do it," Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. "It was an unbelievable performance. We've had our share of second-, third- and fourth-place finishes, and it feels great to break through."

The Marines amassed 207.5 points and had the crown wrapped up before the 15 individual weight class champions were decided. Defending county and state champion Wantagh was second with 187 points, followed by Syosset (170.5), Uniondale (148.5) and Massapequa (143).

"The kids stayed focused despite not practicing for two days because school was closed," said Adams, citing back-to-back snow days on Feb. 10 and 11. "I think we built a lot of momentum and confidence in the qualifier."

Long Beach had hosted — and won — one of six county qualifying tournaments the previous weekend and wound up with 14 participants at Hofstra. Nine of them finished among the top six in their weight classes, earning All-County honors, and Raghunandan, a sophomore, is moving on to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships at the Times Union Center in Albany on Feb. 26-27.

"Mark was the top seed, and I don't think anyone is surprised he won," Adams said of Raghunandan, who pinned his teammate and cousin, sophomore Krishna Sewkumar, in the finals in 58 seconds. "I saved a text message Mark sent me in August," Adams added. "He signed off with '2010 county champion.' He worked hard since last season ended and made it happen."

Sewkumar was one of four Long Beach runners-up. He pulled three upsets on the way to the finals, including a 4-0 decision over Conner Sullivan of Plainedge in the quarterfinals and a 3-2 decision over second-seeded Robert Person of Kennedy in the semifinals.

Despite all the success the Marines enjoyed during the two-day tournament, they experienced a stretch of heartbreak when they came up short in the finals at 130, 135 and 140 pounds.