By TONY BELLISSIMO
Colts' Cliff Smith named most outstanding wrestler at county tourney
Only three teams in Nassau County had more than one individual champion at the county wrestling championships last weekend at Nassau Community College, and Calhoun was one of them.
Senior 125-pounder Cliff Smith and junior 160-pounder Greg Lawrence both took home titles, with Smith earning the Most Outstanding Wrestler honor as well. The tandem will represent the Colts and Section VIII at the state tournament in Syracuse on March 2 to 3.
"We had a banner weekend," Calhoun Coach Gregg Muscarella said. "The kids came up big at the right time. I was optimistic that good things were going to happen and they did. We had four All-County kids all together, and all of them put in a lot of extra time during the season. They set a great example of what it takes. The motto on the back of our T-shirts read 'It takes a little bit more to be a champion,' and those guys proved it."
The Colts finished an impressive sixth in the team standings with 81 points. Senior Mike Crisona (fourth at 112 pounds) and junior Steven Glaser (fifth at 130) also earned All-County honors.
But the stories of the weekend were Smith and Lawrence. Smith, who is 112-15 in his career, defeated Kennedy's Mike Abgarian in the semis and then defeated top-seed Colin Camac of Long Beach in the final, 5-1.
"I knew he could win if he wrestled well," Muscarella said of Smith. "The Long Beach kid has a knack of finding ways to win. Cliff broke through midway through the match and took him down for a 3-0 lead."
There were 300 wrestlers at the championships, and only one received the Most Outstanding Wrestler award. Smith was the one.
"Cliff's strength and athleticism really made the difference for him," Muscarella said. "This is the best I've seen him wrestle."
Lawrence knocked off Steve Indellicato of Division in the semis and butted heads with Farmingdale's Steve Panarelli in the final. Like Smith, Lawrence was seeded second-and won. He beat Panarelli in an exciting match, 2-1.
"I wasn't sure how the clash of styles would play out," Muscarella said. "Greg is very aggressive and Panarelli is not. But Greg really took it to him."
Crisona and Glaser, whom the coach described his two hardest workers during the off-season, wrestled with confidence down the stretch and left it all out on the mat. Crisona gave eventual champion Derrick Fontaine of Long Beach a scare in the semis, losing 8-5. Glaser capped his season in style by defeating Angel Acosta of Lawrence to take fifth place.
Other participants who contributed to the Colts point total were senior Bobby Kurian (152), juniors Rob Catalfomo (140) and Mike Kopecky (125), sophomore Anthony Tobia (152) and freshman Mike Annibell (96).
Said Muscarella: "It was a magnificent two days for our program."
