By Steve Siniski
They followed it up with another dominating performance at the Bruins Cup last weekend at Baldwin. East Meadow finished first in that 10-team field, racking up 289 total points to hold off Commack (221.5), Island Trees (215.5) and Longwood (206.5).
Jets coach Tom Reynolds said, ³The Long Beach Tournament was a great start because it gave a lot of experience. Most of the guys picked up four or five matches. Baldwin had strong teams and it was great to see [our] team come together.
³We knew we had Long Beach sewn up early, but were challenged by Island Trees, Commack and Longwood. We knew every match had a lot at stake.²
Things don¹t get any easier this weekend, as East Meadow, seeded third in Nassau County, heads to the third annual County Cup at MacArthur. The top eight teams in the county will be represented. ³It¹s like a mini County tournament,² Reynolds said. ³It generates interest among the fans, coaches and wrestlers and could be a preview of the County finals.²
Five East Meadow wrestlers earned first place finishes in their weight class at Baldwin, led by juniors Tom Rispoli (119-pound weight class) and Sal Hanna (152), both of whom are returning All-County finalists. They are also two of eight juniors currently in the starting lineup and each has raced out to an undefeated start. Rispoli capped his 6-0 opening with a 16-0 decision by technical fall over teammate John Kleiber in the finals, while Hanna, now 7-0, walked away with a 15-8 victory in his championship bout.
³We¹re enjoying the ride right now,² Reynolds said. ³There¹s a lot of good competition [ahead].²
Junior Bobby Abbate (130) and sophomore James Pannullo (96) joined Rispoli and Hanna in the Winner¹s Circle at Baldwin. Abbate¹s 8-0 mark on the young season was punctuated by a 5-3 decision over Baldwin¹s Keron Williams in the finals. ³He¹s been in a lot of tight matches,² Reynolds said. ³He¹s been in two overtime [bouts] and a few decided by one point. The tougher the scenario, the tougher he gets.²
Seniors Nick Angello (152), Teddy Mellace (189) and Robert Rutkowski (215), along with junior Jimmy Mustakis (125) earned second-place finishes at the Bruins Cup.
Well-balanced to perform well in tournaments and dual meets, East Meadow¹s led by a strong senior class that also includes Tom Cross and Chris Abbate. Ben Syers (125), Dan O¹Leary (135), Joe Spinola (189) and Frank Krayer (215) are part of the strong junior class.
³The senior crew is doing well and the juniors are moving up,² Reynolds said. ³It happens every year. At the beginning of the season, the names are not familiar, then [people] take notice.²
During the holiday break from classes, East Meadow hosts its own tournament on Dec. 27. The first match is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
