Long Beach dominates qualifier

The Long Beach wrestling program will once again have a major presence in the Nassau County Individual Championships after qualifying 18 for the big event to be decided on Super Bowl Sunday. 

The Marines dominated a Division I qualifier tournament held at home last Saturday with eight first place finishes and four placing second. Long Beach will now look to exceed last year's impressive showing at the Division I Championships at Hofstra’s Mack Sports Complex where the Marines produced two county titles and sent five total wrestlers to the New York State Championships.

“The kids wrestled really well,” said longtime coach Ray Adams. “We are very happy with their effort and their grit.” 

Eighth-grader Ethan Andreula, who made history last year as Nassau County’s youngest wrestling champion, dominated the 101-pound weight class en route to a finals win by technical against his teammate, Casey Powers. Adams said Andreula has a strong chance to repeat as county champion and could also make a deep run at states. 

“He was the first seventh grader in the history of Nassau County to win a Division I wrestling championship and hopefully this year he can do it again,” said Adams of Andreula.  “He's got a couple of tough guys in his way, but he wrestles very well and he's capable of winning it again.”

Sophomore Dunia Sibomana also shined at qualifiers, taking first place in the 108-pound division with a 10-7 victory against Manhasset’s Will Russell. Sibomana, who has captured two straight county titles and won a state championship as an eighth-grader two years ago, pulled out the 108 finals win with a late takedown after Russell tied the match at 7-7 in the third period.

“I really liked how he battled and how we responded to little adversity,” said Adams of Sibomana, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler. “Will Russell is a very tough opponent and this could be a potential county finals rematch.”  

Also placing first in qualifiers for Long Beach were Gregory Walpole (116), Brody Franklin (124) Gregory Milone (160), Matan Greenfeld (170), Tyler Clogcough (190) and Liam Hastings (215).  

Earning spots in the counties with second-place finishes qualifiers were Konnor Rosenzweig (124), Maceo Eramo (131), Gavyn Vicente (190) and Powers. Third place qualifiers included Jordan Andreula (138), Jason Tsesmelis (152) and Blake Vasaturo (108). Nick Sackaris (101) and Ari Kaye (145) qualified by placing fourth. 

The county championships will be decided this Saturday and Sunday at Hofstra. The New York State Championships are then slated for MVP Arena in Albany on Feb. 23-24. 

Adams said up to six wrestlers could bring home county titles with eight to 10 potentially reaching the podium with All County honors. He noted that a grueling non-conference schedule is paying dividends for crucial February matches.

“I would rather have a guy who is 20 and 10 and battle tested than a guy who is 30 and 0 and wrestled nobody,” Adams said. “With our non-league schedule we always schedule the toughest teams.”