Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Freeport wrestling team had a strong presence at the podium during the individual Nassau County championships at Hofstra on Presidents Day weekend with five All-County placements and one state qualifier.
Freshman Christian McCravey achieved the highest placement on the big stage with a third-place finish in the 116-pound division to qualify for the upcoming New York State Championships in Albany this weekend.
With qualifications for states on the line, McCravey knocked off Christian Morris, 14-13, in the consolation finals by holding on a late charge from his opponent after leading throughout the match.
“He ended up giving up a couple takedowns at the end, but he fought off a real deep shot late to secure the win,” said Freeport wrestling head coach Matt Cellan of McCravey. “Christian did a really good job of defending and staying tough in the last few seconds.”
It marked the second place third place counties showing for Mccravey, who as an eighth grader won a consolation finals match at 101 pounds and just missed out on making states. He fell to Valley Stream North’s Andrew Poh in the semifinals in a rematch of a county qualifier final on Feb. 8 at Jericho High School where McCravey won 19-14.
“He may meet him again in the state tournament,” said Cellan of a possible third match this month looming between Mcravey and Poh.
McCravey will get his opportunity to make some noise among the state’s top wrestlers starting Friday at MVP Arena in Albany.
McCravey was one of two Red Devils to reach the semifinals along with Edwin Aracena, who dropped a 4-3 decision in the heavyweight division to James Mulhern of Massapequa. Aracena earned All-County status with a sixth-place finish.
Junior John Saraldi also shined at heavyweight and reached the podium with a fourth place showing. Cellan said he was impressed with the grit Saraldi showed after falling to his teammate Aracena in the quarterfinals to battle back in the wrestlebacks to earn a spot on the podium.
“He had an outstanding tournament,” said Cellan of Saraldi.
Senior Jahari Lloyd reached the podium in his final high school match by placing fifth at 124. Lloyd, who also was fifth in the counties at 116 as a junior, defeated Hicksville’s Lackshay Singh-Bala, 6-5, in the fifth place final to end his career on a high note.
“He wrestled really well in that fifth place match,” said Cellah of Lloyd. “I’m really proud of him for finishing off the tournament strong.”
Senior Anthony Velasquez also ended his high school career with All County accolades, placing sixth at 170. He also reached the podium as a junior in the same weight class.
As a team, Freeport placed 10th in the counties with 93.5 points, to beat out Garden City (70 points) for a top 10 finish.
