Thursday, October 1, 2026
Coming off one of the best seasons in the history of Oceanside wrestling, coach Brian Schoenfelder is hopeful that a new core of seniors can propel the Sailors to even greater heights in the coming year. It could be yet another step forward for a program that has been on the rise for several years.
“Coming to this year, it's a little question mark,” Schoenfelder said. “How bad do the kids want it and how hard are they going to work to prove that? And they're doing it so far. It's a long season and a short sample size, but they're just putting it all in. They know nothing's going to come easy.”
At the end of the 2024-25 season, Oceanside relayed a runner-up finish in Conference 1B to finish fifth in the Nassau Division I Championships with 146.5 points, a personal-best result for the Sailors. They enjoyed this success with the help of five All-County wrestlers, another school record.
But from that core of five wrestlers, only one has returned to compete for the Sailors. Expectations are high for junior Chace Morris, who has moved up to 150 pounds and is expected to continue competing at a state-qualifying level while his teammates build a new core around him.
“On paper and by accolades, Chace is the best wrestler on the team now,” Schoenfelder said. “It used to be a bunch of kids, but now the difference is, the lineup is more balanced. We don't have the accolades like last year, but we definitely have a more balanced approach, a lot of kids hungry to get those accolades.”
With one iron-sharp contender in his lineup, Schoenfelder has employed a common practice technique for Oceanside, carefully pairing Morris with teammates in training in an attempt to better prepare them. His most frequent training partner has been senior Michael Scotto, a “good” wrestler quickly “becoming a great wrestler” in his coach’s eyes.
Behind Morris and Scotto, who Schoenfelder believes can both end up as top-six wrestlers in their weight classes, juniors Mark Gorny and Kieran Harrington are expected to fill out an improving lineup for Oceanside. Like Scotto, both wrestlers had time to prepare behind Oceanside’s last senior class and are now ready to take the initiative.
“It’s a crazy thing in wrestling, the team aspect,” Schoenfelder said. “One person wrestling one match shouldn’t transcend in the next match, but it does. When you can have four or five good kids in a row, by the time you get to 157 and you start getting pin, pin, pin, pin, that's how we have success as a team. You need those kids together and working together.”
Junior Josh Moshkovich and sophomore Luis Estevez could also be ready to take the next step. In the 285-pound weight class, Moshkovich gained plenty of experience and confidence last year, while the 110-pound Estevez has worked hard to become a reliable contributor.
Sophomore Anthony Trotta, once weighing less than 90 pounds, is still undersized in the 103-pound weight class, but the young wrestler has earned immense respect for his toughness and rounds out a strong supporting cast.
