East Meadow seeks big finishes

East Meadow seniors Matthew Rodriguez and Joseph Arbitello are headed back to the Nassau County Division 1 wrestling championships on the heels of runner-up finishes last winter as well as qualifying tournament titles last Saturday.

Rodriguez has 35 wins on the season — only 3 losses — and is considered the one to beat at 160 pounds this weekend at Hofstra after reaching the county finals at 152 as a junior. He recorded three pins in the qualifier hosted by Jericho, capped by a win over Mepham’s Daniel Molloy in the finals in 3:53.

“Matt’s our lone captain and he’s looking for a county title and All-State,” Jets coach Vin Romanotto said. “It’s not going to be a breeze, but the stage is never too big for him. There are some tough kids in the weight class like [Greg] Milone from Long Beach, [Joe] Keesee from Mineola and [Oleg] Daniloff from Hewlett.”

Arbitello, second in the county at 285 pounds a year ago, also notched three impressive pins in the qualifier to take home the crown. His longest match last Saturday lasted 1:42. In the finals, he handled Garden City’s Zachary Olson in 1:35 for his 25th victory of the campaign in 31 bouts.

“Joseph has faced top-notch competition all season and has some quality wins over some Suffolk opponents and also at the Eastern States tournament where Matthew and some others got great experience too,” Romanotto said. “Both of those guys won matches at the state tournament last year as well.”

Senior Brady Hohlman also captured first place in the qualifier, topping a four-win day at 145 pounds with an 8-3 decision over Garden City’s Gabe Cohen in the finals. Hohlman, who’ll take a record of 25-8 into the county tournament stage as well as the experience of competing at 152 and 160 often, grinded out a 1-0 semifinal victory over Wantagh’s Matthew Merecka.

“Brady wrestled tough and he’s looking to hit the podium,” Romanotto said, referring to a top-six finish for All-County honors. “He qualified for counties last season and he looks to be peaking at the right moment.”

The Jets, who went 4-5 in dual meets, had two finalists in the qualifier: junior Matthew Motamedian at 124 and freshman Nico Rodriguez at 131.

Motamedian (24-7) has made tremendous strides since last season, Romanotto noted, and has earned some wins against likely All-County finishers. He was ranked fifth in the weight class prior to the qualifier.

Nico Rodriguez, who last season became East Meadow’s first-ever eighth-grader to earn All-County, is 26-7 and “very capable,” Romanotto said, of another spot on the podium despite facing all upperclassmen. Another freshman, 152-pounder Alexande Lengu (16 wins) placed third in the qualifier after missing a chunk of time due to injury. He was undefeated at the middle school level last season.

Also set to represent East Meadow in the county tournament are senior Will Tucker (160), sophomores Ryan Lopez (215) and James Gailiano (145), and freshman Vito Matthews (116.)