Plainedge off landmark season

Plainedge wrestling team’s dual meet state championship in Syracuse last season was a landmark accomplishment. 

And the Red Devils are ready for a repeat. Why not? A year ago, Plainedge won its first state dual-meet title as the smallest school in Division I. 

Now Plainedge, because of a slight drop in enrollment, has moved down in classification to Division 2.

“We went down to Division 2,’’ coach Rob Shaver said. “In a dual meet setting, it’s a little less challenging. Schools are smaller and it’s tougher to have a full lineup. Even if we lost a few good guys, we should be OK.’’

 Though the dual meet state event is only been around seven years, Shaver said Plainedge’s work in 2023-24 was epic. The red-clad wrestlers upended two-time defending champion Minisink Valley of Orange County.

 “The biggest accomplishment in school history,’’ Shaver said. “It’s really hard, especially since we’re the smallest school in Division I last year. Some teams graduate nine times what we do. It’s tough to spread out kids among 13 weight classes. It’s a hard thing. in that population.’’

Shaver is also head football coach and coming off a wonderful run to the championship game. In the late stages of the season, he had to conduct back-to-back practices with wrestling starting at 2:30 p.m. followed by football. 

 Plainedge graduated four starters from the state-title team including star Vinnie Petzold, second in the individual state tournament.

But the Red Devils return plenty of studs, led by junior Devin Downes and senior Luke Nieto.

 Downes committed to Maryland after winning the state individual championship as a sophomore and posting a 54-2 record in 2023-24. Downes wrestled at 170 pounds last year and will move up to 190.

.“He’s a fierce competitor,’ Shaver said. “That’s what separates him from everyone else. He competes really hard al the time.’’

 Nieto was a state runner-up at 138 pounds in 2024 and compiled a 55-2 clip.  “He has one of the best feels I’ve ever seen,’’ Shaver said. “He just has tremendous body awareness, knows where he is all the time. His positioning is very good.’’

 Nieto, who has multiple colleges interested, will move up from 138 to 152.

 That his two most accomplished grapplers are wrestling at higher weight classes is of no concern to Shaver.

 “Not really if they go about it the right way with lifting weights,’ Shaver said. “Devin went up one weight class. Luke is up two weight classes but that’s where he should be. He had to hold down his weight last year.’’

 There’s a lot more to this team than those two grapplers. Kyle Carter was the Nassau County champion at 145 and will return at that weight class, where he posted a 45-6 record.

Junior Joe Manfre, at 108, became a hero at the state meet when he pinned a Minisink Valley wrestler with a cradle move in a key bout.

A football player, Jaden Camp will wrestle at 215 after being a county qualifier last season. The football team’s kicker, Jonluca Frucci, will start at 131.

 It is all setting up sweet for the North Massapequa program that is feted with a state championship sign hanging on Hicksville Road.