Carey's Zorn wrestles to a title

A two-way standout on the football field, Carey High School senior Rob Zorn creates plenty of headaches for opponents on the wrestling mat as well.

Zorn’s combination of strength and athleticism led him to the 195-pound Nassau Division I wrestling title last Sunday evening at Hofstra University. The No. 1 seed held off Uniondale’s Davion Porter, 4-2, in the finals and will head to Albany for the New York State championships Feb. 24-25 at the Times Union Center.

“I really can’t believe it,” said Zorn, a two-time All-County linebacker/running back for the Seahawks. “Wrestling is my second sport behind football, but I work hard and always give my all.”

“I had high hopes coming into the tournament and knew Porter would be tough to beat,” he added. “I’m ecstatic.”

Zorn spent half the season at 182 pounds and half at 195, Sewanhaka East coach Ian McConnell said, and dominated each weight class on the way to becoming the program’s second county champion in as many seasons. Christian Dluginski won the 135-pound crown last winter.

“Rob’s had a fantastic year,” McConnell said of Zorn, who also won a Nassau qualifying tournament hosted by Wantagh Feb. 5. “He’s wrestled a lot of top guys,” he added. “We bumped him up to 195 for the stretch run because we thought he matched up better. His opponents were bigger, but Rob’s very athletic and that’s what made the difference for him.”

Zorn, who takes a 29-3 record into the state tournament, was the No. 1 seed in the county tournament and received a bye into the second round. “I felt a little bit of pressure being the top seed, but I wanted to make it stand up,” he said.

He opened with a 17-2 decision over Kevin Strauss of Island Trees last Saturday morning, and in the quarterfinals that afternoon took down T.J. Ragusa of Massapequa, 11-3. Zorn came back Sunday morning to defeat Lawrence’s Karl Ravilus, 13-7, in the semis, to set the stage for a meeting with Porter, the No. 2 seed, in the title bout.

The championship was a power struggle and neither wrestler was in danger of getting pinned. Zorn opened a 2-0 lead in the first period, and after Porter pulled even in the second Zorn had a pair of escapes for the difference. “He’s a heck of a wrestler,” Zorn said of Porter, who steamrolled into the finals by pinning his first two opponents and beating Wantagh’s Sean Tomlinson 8-0 in the semis. “I’m just glad I found a way,” he added.

Joining Zorn at the county tournament were teammates Jack Murnane (220-pound qualifying champion), Milton Calderon, Erick Vilchez, and Guisseppe Palma. 

“Rob’s something special,” McConnell said. “He has so much pride. He didn’t want anyone to take this away from him.”