By Steve Siniski
Senior Rob Creamer (171 pounds) and junior Joe Ginobbi (152) placed third and sixth respectively, and won a combined eight matches, while three other Rams won at least one bout.
"We've opened a lot of doors in this program," coach Eric Petrullo said. "We've been getting better and better, and it's starting to pay off.
"Now that we're able to wrestle better competition, we can build the program and set the schedule so we get those tough matches. We're going to bring a lot of experience into that wrestling room next season. The Nassau County Championships let some of the guys have a taste and find out what it's all about. Next year our goal is to send more than eight wrestlers to the county championships."
Creamer started out with a loss in the first round. The senior, however, never gave up. Facing elimination in his next match, he came out on top, winning five straight overall to capture All-County honors. "I can't say enough about Rob," Petrullo said. "He lost that first-round match, but he showed a lot of heart in coming back in such a tough weight class."
Ginobbi, like Creamer, also fought his way through one of the tougher weight classes at the championship level and earned first-time county honors. After winning his first two matches, Ginobbi found himself matched up against the defending Nassau County champion at 152 pounds and was knocked out in the quarterfinal round.
However, a win in the wrestlebacks earned him the sixth-place finish. "He was excited," Petrullo said. "He wanted it so bad and really worked hard to get there. Now he knows what he has to do to get back. The next step for Ginobbi is to win."
Ralph Fraile (135 pounds) entered the competition as a number-one seed after winning his weight class at the Nassau County Qualifying Meet two weeks ago and earned a victory in his first-round bout. However, in the second round, Fraile found himself in a battle against Mepham's John Gunther. "He was just matched up against an opponent that had a different style," Petrullo said. "It was one of those days for him [Fraile]."
Fraile fell short in his second-round match, and Gunther went on to earn third-place honors.
Mike Creamer (103) and Giacomo Sciuto (215) also earned first-round victories.
"We know as a team what the next step is, and we showed people we could compete," Petrullo said. To be the best you have to wrestle the best."
In other Clarke sports
On the hardwood, the Rams' varsity basketball team finished 6-6 in Conference IV with an 81-75 road win over Division. Jay Losco (25 points and 11 rebounds) and Kevin Fabianski (22, 13) both ended the year strong, and Eddie Park sealed the deal with two clutch free throws with 45 seconds to play. As a team, the Rams converted 20 of 25 attempts from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
