By TONY BELLISSIMO
"I thought we'd get seven or eight kids through to County's, but I was hoping for three or four All-County," Bennett said. "We didn't have a good opening day. It's a little disappointing but it wasn't because of a lack of effort. The kids worked hard."
The Owls finished in fifth place in the eight-team qualifier hosted by Massapequa on Feb. 16, totaling 163 points in the process. Of their seven participants on the big stage at Hofstra, senior Matt Gill enjoyed the most success with a fourth-place finish at 189 pounds. The top six in each weight class earned All-County honors.
"I've coached Matt since he was in eighth grade," Bennett said. "He was a county runner-up last season and wanted to get back to the finals and try to win it. He's a little upset, but he still had a pretty good weekend in a tough weight class.
Gill was unseeded for the county tournament, which began Friday, and knocked off Matt Ortiz of Plainedge, 16-7, and No. 5 seed Kevin Gardvits of Glen Cove, 17-1, before losing to fourth-seeded and eventual runner-up Ryan Hickey of Calhoun. Gill then pinned two straight opponents in the wrestlebacks to guarantee All-County status. He won a fifth match before falling to top-seeded Thomas Jackson of Farmingdale in the third-place bout.
Gill was Lynbrook's only senior qualifier, so the future looks bright. "Matt's a kid others look up to," Bennett said. "He was one of our leaders in the room. I wish him the best of luck in college. He's definitely going to continue wrestling. It's just a matter of where."
Junior Peter Curcio (145) came within a victory of All-County. He pinned his first opponent, Edwin Franco of Glen Cove, then ran into top-seeded John Greishiemer of Wantagh and lost 15-5. Greishiemer went on to take the title, while Curcio split two additional bouts. "Peter has a dynamite headlock and had some big wins throughout the season," Bennett said. "He had Greishiemer on his back at one point. He's not going to settle for anything less than All-County next season."
Junior Tom Ligouri (130) split four matches in the tournament, winning his first two and losing his last two, and junior Vinnie Salamone (112) battled through a shoulder injury to go 1-2. Along with Gill, Ligouri and Salamone were runners-up in the Massapequa qualifier as well. Others reaching the county tourney for the Owls were junior Joe Francia (125) and sophomores James Ferral (103) and Steve Kobo (215).
Lynbrook compiled a 5-3 record in dual meets and impressed in regular-season tournaments by winning a pair (Long Beach, West Hempstead) and finishing second in another (South Side).
Comments about this story? tbellissimo@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 204.
