By Steve Siniski
By winning 10 straight dual meets and then beating Garden City 34-33 last Saturday at Clarke High School, the Bruins captured the Conference II Dual Meet Championship.
"It's nice for the guys on the team," head coach Steve Shipos said. "They were struggling for a little while but closed with 10 straight wins. "We had several of our [dual meet] defeats by just one or two points during the season, where every match made a difference."
With Baldwin trailing entering the 152-pound weight class, Ernesto Estevez turned things up a notch by forging a 22-22 tie with an 11-2 decision over Pawel Pereguda, which Carlos Caban followed up with a pin in 4:43 in the 160-pound weight class to put the Bruins ahead.
"Ernesto's win Saturday was crucial for us," Shippos said.
Andrew Delpezzo (103-pound weight class) and Derek McNerney (112) got Baldwin off to a fast start with a pin (1:09) and decision (4-2),
respectively, while Andrew Cardella (125) made it three wins in four
matches to begin the meet with an 8-1 decision of his own.
But for all of the success the Bruins had as a team in recent weeks, things are about to change with the County Qualifying Tournament on tap this Saturday at Baldwin High School beginning at 9:30 a.m.
"Everything comes back to a regular basis now," Shippos said. "There is no strategy in the County Qualifying Tournament. In dual meets you can move some wrestlers around in weight class to take advantage of your strengths. Now, the guys must wrestle where they're placed. It's more ofan individual meet now."
Six schools in all will be competing at Baldwin High School, with the top four finishers in each weight class advancing to the Nassau County Championships to be held at Nassau Community College on Feb. 16-17,starting at 11:00 a.m.
The Bruins have several wrestlers who can make a run this weekend, including reigning county champion Chris Weidman (189-pound weight class). Thierry Delva, Baldwin's heavyweight, has taken big strides throughout the year and stepped up when the team caught fire.
"He won more meets for us in the final match than anyone I can remember," Shippos said of his heavyweight who at one point won four of five matches. "He wrestles with Weidman in practice, and he's really looking better."
But if you're looking for the glue on the Bruins, go no further than Cardella. "We knew going into a lot of meets that he could get us a win," Shippos said. "So we moved him around a little between 121 and 125 pounds to give the team a better chance."
Along with Weidman, Delva and Cardella, McNernery, Caban and GabrielEstevez (130-pound weight class) all have the potential to make some noise in front of the home fans this weekend.
