Long Beach sends 18 to counties

Long Beach had eight finalists and crowned three champions at the Nassau wrestling qualifier it hosted last Saturday and is preparing to send 18 representatives to the Division I individual county championship tournament this weekend at Nassau Community College.
Eighth-grader Dunia Sibomana (102 pounds), senior Wyatt Parker (126) and junior Freedom Excel (145) finished atop their respective weight classes as the Marines amassed 423 points to easily top the nine-team field. Hewlett, which led the way with six champs, was runner-up with 318.5 points, followed by Freeport in third with 271.
“The kids wrestled awesome as a whole,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. “Our performance exceeded my expectations a little bit. A number of guys wrestled above their seed.”
Sibomana pinned his way to the finals — three pins in a combined 5:01 — where he won by injury default against senior teammate Mason Franklin just nine seconds into the title match. Adams said the two collided heads and out an abundance of caution, Franklin didn’t continue. “The goal is to get both of those guys upstate,” Adams said.
As was the case at 102, the Marines had both finalists at 126 as Parker met junior Michael Berube and won an 8-1 decision to take the title. Like Sibomana, Parker recorded three pins on the way to the finals. Parker leads Long Beach with 28 wins, followed by Sibomana with 27.

Berube knocked off Hewlett’s Ariel Waldman, the No. 1 seed in the county as of Jan. 16, in the semifinals, by the count of 7-4. “Mike was down 4-2 in the third period and rallied with a reversal and put Waldman on his back,” Adams said.
Excel lived up to his last name with two wins by decisions and lastly a pin of top-seeded Anthony Moore of Roslyn in the third period of the finals. “Freedom is a great kid and had a great day,” Adams said.
Sophomore Konner Rosensweig (118), senior Davila Oscar (152) and junior Luke Anfossi (160) also reached the finals, and all three fell to opponents from Hewlett. Kirk Smith won at 118, Jon Zenny at 152, and Josh Gendlin at 160. Adams believes Rosensweig, Oscar and Anfossi can all make a push for the All-County podium (top six in each weight class) this weekend.
Freshman Gregory Walpole (110), sophomore Gregory Milone (132), sophomore Thomas Cieleski (145), senior Yehuda Bitton (160) and junior Ben Shapiro (285) all finished third in the qualifier with strong efforts. Each of them won four of five matches and will look to carry their momentum to the big stage at Nassau C.C.
“I think it’s going to be an exciting race for the title,” Adams said. “Every point counts.”
The top three finishers in each weight class this weekend will advance to the New York State tournament Feb. 25-26 in Albany. No postseason events were held last winter.