Thursday, October 1, 2026
Calhoun, Kennedy and Mepham wrestlers were out in force at last weekend’s Nassau County Division I Wrestling Championships held at Hofstra. A total of 25 wrestlers from the three schools had previously qualified, and a handful earned All-County honors by finishing among the top six in their respective weight classes.
To gain a berth in the championships at Hofstra, wrestlers had to finish in the top of their weight class at one of the seven Qualifying Tournaments held on Feb. 6, at various schools throughout Nassau. The Cougars were led by junior Eric Brach, a Qualifying Champion at 113 pounds, who defeated Long Beach’s Dylan Martinsen, 6-4, in the finals at an event in which the Marines claimed 12 champions among the 15 weight classes. “In a normal year we probably would have won the qualifier [as a team] because we scored over 300 points,” Kennedy coach Brian DeGaetano said of his team’s second-place finish. “But Long Beach had 12 champions and scored over 600 points.”
Kennedy had four wrestlers qualify by earning second in their weight class, including senior 152-pounder Matt Schwartz, who earned All-County honors for the second time by finishing fourth, senior Anthony Lanzano (220), junior Jack Jones (170 pounds) and sophomore Brandon Mercado (106). Jones was also fourth at Hofstra, and Mercado took fifth.
For Lanzano, the second-place finish cemented what has been a season of rapid development and resulted in more than 25 victories. Senior Christopher Fugina (160), junior Sean Nanos (113) and sophomore Brad McAlister (99) all earned berths at Hofstra with third-place honors. Senior Bruno Pizzirusso (138) and a trio of sophomores — Jacob Redaelli (106), Jack Krug (145) and Boaz Smart (195) — all finished fourth. “We had a very balanced team,” DeGaetano said, noting his team’s 18-7 mark in dual meets. “One of the reasons for that success is having a good [wrestler] in every weight class.”
The Colts were represented at Hofstra by seven wrestlers, including senior Terran Cooper, a second-place finisher at 145 pounds. “He’s our only senior, put it together and had a great year,” coach Tom Schiavo said. “He placed in five of six tournaments and was our team leader all year on the mat, in the room and in the classroom.”
Dean Paolillo, took second at 285 pounds, and Calhoun had three wrestlers earn third place finishes including junior Peter Roberto (106 pounds), sophomore Matt DeFelice (138) and freshman Eric Immel (99). Junior Dylan Jainchill who hadn’t wrestled since the end of 2015 due to injury, stepped back on the mat and claimed fourth place at 126 pounds, while freshman Cristian Ayala was fourth at 106 pounds.
The Pirates sent three individual Qualifying Champions to Hofstra, including freshmen Kyle Althenn (106 pounds) and Jack Molloy (113) and senior Jose Pineda (220). Althenn dominated on his way to a 4-0 finish at the Massapequa qualifier and finished off his performance with a 10-2 win over Freeport’s Lee Mauras in the finals. Althenn took sixth in the county, and Pineda grabbed fifth.
Molloy pinned Valley Stream North’s Rob Giuliante at the 3:08 mark to claim his qualifier title, while Pineda needed overtime and rode out Massapequa’s Matt Harrison in the Ultimate Tie-Breaker and improved his record to 27-3 this season. “Molloy’s been getting better every match,” Mepham coach Rich Anderson said.
Senior Tyler Althenn advanced to Hofstra after a second-place finish at 126 pounds, and ended up All-County by taking fifth.
