By STEVE SINISKI
For the first time in school history, the program finished atop the Nassau County charts in both the Dual Meet and Individual Championship Tournaments. Led by Tom Rispoli¹s individual title at 135 pounds and nine other All County wrestlers, the Jets outdistanced second place Plainedge (183-143).
³The team that we had this season, from top to bottom, is the best that we¹ve had,² East Meadow coach Tom Reynolds said. ³It was a continuation of the whole season, how the guys worked hard and kept improving.²
Rispoli (36-3), a four-time All-County honoree, earned his first-ever individual championship with a 6-5 decision over Plainedge¹s Rocky Cervini at 135 pounds. No. 2 all-time in victories at East Meadow, Rispoli advanced to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championship on March 2-3 at the Times Union Arena in Albany.
Seeded second in the bracket, Rispoli avenged a loss to the top-seeded Cervini earlier in the year. ³It was a tight match and they¹re both great wrestlers,² Reynolds said of the rematch. ³[Tom] Rispoli was in control and very aggressive. His technique was flawless.²
Rispoli advanced to the championship round after winning three consecutive decisions by scores of 8-0, 12-2 and 13-1. Jimmy Pannullo (96-pound weight class), Sal Hanna (152) and Phil Thomas (171) all finished second in their respective weight classes.
Hanna nearly pulled off one of the tournament¹s biggest wins, falling a single point shy in his championship round bout with Long Beach¹s Eduardo Delgado. The 4-3 decision included three consecutive points by Delgado, the Tournament¹s Champion of Champions, after Hanna had opened up a 3-1 lead. Delgado scored a point on a third-period escape and added two more on a late takedown. He prevented Hanna from escaping for the final 30 seconds to defend his Nassay County title, but the hard-fought loss by Hanna did not go unnoticed.
³He has earned the respect of every wrestling fan in Nassau County,² Reynolds said of Hanna, a three-time Nassau County runner-up, who finished his career fifth on the Jets all-time victory list with 111. ³It was almost as if he had won the way people were coming up to him [after the match].
³[Eduardo] Delgado and [Sal] Hanna had two matches [this year] decided by a point.²
Pannullo was on his way towards breaking a last-minute tie with an escape against Syosset¹s Danny Arnel in the finals, only get caught in a cradle and put on his back. Arnel had grabbed the tie-breaking points and earned a 5-3 win. Thomas fought his way to the title as the No. 10 seed, knocking off the second-, sixth- and seventh- ranked wrestlers in his class. MacArthur¹s Dan Mahoney, ranked No. 1 in the state at 171 pounds ultimately squeaked out an 8-4 decision over Thomas for the title.
³Not many gave him a chance and nobody thought it would be as close as it was,² Reynolds said. ³He¹s very difficult to score points off of, but [Dan] Mahoney¹s technique was [excellent].²
Dan O¹Leary defeated Baldwin¹s Willie Quinn, 11-8, to grab third place at 140 pounds, while Steve Conway (145) and Dan Germann (152) earned All-County honors by finishing fourth in their respective weight classes. Frank Krayer took home fifth place at 215 pounds, while Cory Krimmer (112) and Jimmy Mustakis (125) finished sixth. Of the 16 Jets entered in the two-day tournament, 10 earned All County honors by finishing sixth or better.
³At this point it¹s a personal achievement,² Reynolds said. ³Those that got it done are very happy. [Earning] All-County puts them up on the high school Hall of Fame.²
