Oceanside primed for breakthrough

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The sleeping giant that is Oceanside wrestling might just be ready to roar this winter.

After a program-best eighth-place finish in the county last year, the Sailors could be set for unseen heights this season.

“This is the first time we’ve had seven seniors who wrestled all four years through the program,” Oceanside coach Brian Schoenfelder said. “We’re in a very good position right now, I think, to be able to do some really good things we’ve never done before.”

Leading the charge is a pair of captains who are on the verge of reaching the 100-win plateau and “have been through the ringer,” Schoenfelder said.

Senior Jake Strianese took third place in Nassau Division I at 116 pounds last season, placed at the Eastern States Classic, and is a two-time All-County selection. The Williams College-commit was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Battle at the Beach Tournament at Long Beach after winning at 131 pounds.

Jared Marine is the co-captain. The senior is in his fifth season on the varsity team after being called up as a seventh grader. Marine placed third in the county last year and eighth in the state at 190 pounds.

Marine also won at the Battle at the Beach Tournament at Long Beach.

“This is his year. He’s been building for this since he was in third grade. He’s made for this,” Schoenfelder said. “He grew up through the weight classes. So he’s got all the moves, he’s got great hips. You can’t replace the experience that these kids have. They wrestle 40,50 matches in the off-season. They live wrestling, they love it.”

Schoenfelder is hoping Jesse Bittenbender, a four-year varsity wrestler who has had tough luck to this point, can follow in the footsteps of Ben Rivezzo, who won the county championship at 215 pounds a year ago.

“He’s one of the guys I'm really rooting for,” Schoenfelder said. “He doesn't have the accolades, he hasn’t won all the things. He’s hopefully one of those kids that puts it all together and can have a great senior year.”

At 138 pounds is sophomore Chace Morris, already a two-time All-County wrestler who Schoenfelder calls “one of the toughest kids I ever met.” Morris took fourth in Nassau Division I at 116 pounds a year ago.

Michael Scotto, who bangs heads with Strianese and Morris in the wrestling room every day, could find his spot at 145 pounds. Freshman Luis Estevez took second at the Battle at the Beach Tournament at Long Beach at 101 pounds, Alexander Schoenfeld is a four-year senior who helps plug a hole at 108 pounds.

Kieran Harrington and Mark Gorny are both battling at 116 pounds and then there’s the entertaining Santino Palmisano at 170 pounds.

“We call him the great Santi,” Schoenfelder said. “You can’t miss him wrestling. If you do, you’re going to miss something great.”

That may also be true of the Sailors, who took second at the Battle at the Beach Tournament, ahead of perennial powerhouses Long Beach and Massapequa.