Thursday, October 1, 2026
Last season was a memorable one for Hewlett’s wrestling program.
The Bulldogs captured their first-ever conference title and followed with a fifth-place finish – the best in school history – in the Nassau team tournament thanks in large part to county champion Charles Tsakh and four other All-County performers.
“It was a great season and we were just a couple of matches away from being second or third in the county,” coach Stephen Jones said. “This year we have a bunch of county contenders surrounded by talented freshmen. We’re still dealing with a tough schedule and I think we’re going to be right there again at the end.”
Tsakh edged MacArthur’s Jeremy Hughes, 5-4, for the 160-pound crown. Mike Curiel (runner-up at 285), Owen Bachelder (third place at 138), Lucas Pincus (third at 132), and Paul Lane (third at 285) also reached the All-County podium on the big stage at Hofstra. Tsakh and Lane graduated; the other three returned and are ranked No. 1 atop their respective weight class.
Bachelder, a senior who in the 2012-13 campaign became the school’s first county champ, is seeking a remarkable fifth All-County season. Though he’s dealing with a nagging knee injury, Bachelder will be a tough out at 145. He was named Most Outstanding Wrestler at the Sprig Gardner Tournament hosted by Bellmore-Merrick on Dec. 11-12. “It’s his last hurrah, so he’s going to do everything he can to stay healthy and make a run,” Jones said.
Pincus has a pair of All-County seasons under his belt and seeks a county title, Jones noted. He’s ranked atop the 138-pound weight class and captured the Sprig title. “Lucas is at the point where he has the best technique of anyone on the team,” the coach said. “He’s a year-round wrestler and ready to take the next step. He wrestled great to win the Sprig.”
Curiel has been nothing short of dominant out of the gate, Jones said. As a junior, Curiel posted one of the biggest upsets in the county tournament when he edged top-seeded Dimitri Samuels of Lawrence in the quarterfinals, 3-2. Curiel then beat Lane, 3-1, in the semis before losing to Roosevelt’s Monair McDonald in the finals. “Mike’s a handful,” Jones said of Curiel, who won the Battle at the Beach Tournament hosted by Long Beach to open the season and took the Most Pins/Least Time award at the Sprig.
Jones is also counting on seniors Terry Micourt and Anthony Cancellarich to make plenty of noise for the Bulldogs this winter. Micourt was the qualifier tournament last season and was runner-up in last month’s Sprig at 195. Cancellarich was third in the Long Beach and Sprig events at 170.
Senior Jared Magnone (182) and junior Wyatt McMahon (220) are returning county qualifiers, while Matt Kadosh (113), Eddie Maday (126) and Michael Gordon (145) lead a strong crop of freshmen.
Defending Nassau champion Wantagh and Division figure to be Hewlett’s biggest obstacles in Conference 3A, which also includes Great Neck North, Jericho and South Side.
