Thursday, October 1, 2026
Oceanside’s wrestling team is no longer the bridesmaid in Conference 1B.
After finishing second to Farmingdale in the division in each of the past three seasons, the Sailors finally wrestled the throne away from the Dalers on their home mat with a hard-fought 39-33 victory Jan. 16. The highlight of the match was senior Richard Calvo’s pinfall win at 215 pounds over Josh Kama, one of the top wrestlers in Nassau County.
“It’s great,” Oceanside coach Brian Schoenfelder said. “Four years in a row we’ve gone through Farmingdale. It’s really good for the program.”
Eight days later, Oceanside edged Farmingdale again, 34-31, in the quarterfinals of the Section 8 Division I Dual Meet Championships, thanks to Joshua Moshkovich’s dramatic 9-2 win over Daler senior Mike Suwalski, with the final 10 points coming in the closing minute.
With the teams tied at 31 entering the heavyweight bout, Moshkovich clung to a 1-0 lead deep into the final minute. Suwalski flipped the momentum with a reversal that sent the gym into a frenzy, but Moshkovich escaped seconds later to tie the score, then delivered the decisive blow with a takedown near the edge of the mat with about 20 seconds remaining. He added back points as time expired, turning a nail-biter into a stunning win.
“In the last 30 seconds, there were like seven points,” Schoenfelder said. “It was a total nail-biter. I was nervous, the other coach was nervous. At that point, the kid just has to wrestle. You can’t even coach.”
Oceanside is 24-4 on the season — setting a school record for wins in the process — and Schoenfelder credited the team’s success to a more balanced lineup that could produce as many as nine 30-match winners by season’s end. Senior Michael Scotto, junior Chace Morris, and sophomores Luis Estevez and Anthony Trotta have already reached that mark, while others such as juniors Oliver McMurray, Mark Gorny and Kieran Harrington, and senior Max Gutman are closing in.
“They really gel as a team,” Schoenfelder said. “They support each other more than our past teams. A lot of them work and train together outside the room, and that carries over into the room.”
Scotto, in particular, elevated both his performance and his presence as a team leader, Schoenfelder said, setting the tone for a young Sailors lineup as it prepares for the county championships.
“The biggest jump has been Michael Scotto,” Schoenfelder said. “He’s taken the reins of leadership, his skill level has taken off, and he’s the hardest worker on the team. He wants it so bad, and the amount of work he’s put in is really paying off. He’s a hell of a wrestler.”
With the Nassau County championships set for Valentine’s Day weekend, Schoenfelder believes Oceanside is positioned for a memorable postseason run if the Sailors stay focused on the moment rather than the outcome.
“If the kids wrestle the way they’re capable of and clear their minds — just worrying about who’s in front of them — I think we’ll be talking about this season next year,” he said.
