The Nassau County wrestling championships concluded Feb. 16, and Hewlett High School sophomore Carlos Salazar took home the 124-pound title.
The No. 2 seed entering the Division 1 tournament, he dominated by going 5-0 as the title match got closer. In the semifinals, he pinned Freeport’s Jahari Lloyd at 5:02. Entering the finals, Salazar had a rematch with Oceanside’s Jake Strianese, the top seed in the bracket.
Strianese bested Salazar in the Long Beach Battle at the Beach early in the regular season, so the tension was taut.
“He lost to that kid prior in the year and we did a lot of game planning,” Hewlett coach Nick Khoury said.
“I lost to Jake earlier in the year, so I knew I had to readjust the mistakes that I was doing,” Salazar said, continuously critical of his craft. “I just knew I had to work on a couple of things and get better. I had to get my mind right and get in the right headspace, just mentally prepare myself for hard matches like [the tournament].”
Salazar defeated Strianese for the crown, 7-3.
“I think he was very satisfied with how he performed and achieved his goals. That made me very happy as well, just seeing the smile on his face,” Khory said.
“Happy,” Salazar described himself as he came off the mat. “It’s always fun to be there. It’s a fun environment, and I was just happy to be there and happy to win.”
That aside, it wasn’t the first time where Salazar stood at the top of the podium; in no easy feat, it was his second consecutive year earning a county title.
“He’s been there before,” Khoury said. “Our end goal is to be state champs so that’s still alive and he really just puts in the time and effort inside the room and outside the room. Everything that he earned, he deserves.”
Salazar heads to Albany’s MVP Arena this Friday and Saturday for the state championships.
“I feel like I’m going to do well up there [in Albany],” Salazar said, relying on his prior experience from last winter. “I placed last year and I think I could hopefully win it this year.”
Now, it’s full steam ahead.
“He’s ready to go, mentally,” Khoury said. “He’s just mentally ready. When he’s in this state of mind, I truly believe that not many people would be able to beat him. I think he’s confident and ready to roll.”
In the meantime, neither Salazar nor his coaching staff are relaxing. They made it know immediately when he came off the mat: “Job’s not done yet,” Salazar said where the first words he heard the coaches. “We got to do good at Albany and have some fun at the state [tournament].”
