By STEVE SINISKI
"[The seniors] in our room were great leaders," Baldwin coach Mike Robinson said. "The younger guys looked to them as good examples of how to work hard."
Senior co-captain Greg Roll (135) capped his Baldwin career as an All-County wrestler, taking fifth place at the Nassau County Division I wrestling championships on February 19-20. It was an exclamation mark for the hard-working Roll, who finished the weekend with a 3-2 mark against the best competition around. "It's great to see him end his career as an All-County [honoree]," Robinson said.
"Last year he came up short [at the tournament] but I think he understands that he's right up there with anyone [in his weight class]. He beat the number one seed during the regular season and the number three."
Freshman Vinny Famularo, meanwhile, earned a fourth-place finish at the County Tournament and represents the large contingent of underclassmen who make up Baldwin's strong nucleus. His versatility helped the Bruins during the dual-meet season and exposed him to a number of different styles on the mat.
"It's not a surprise [that he earned All County] because he wrestled tough all year," Robinson said. "He wrestled at 112 [pounds] early then dropped down to 103 and did well in tournaments and competition. We're very happy and pleased [at his performance]."
A strong showing at the Nassau Qualifying Tournament on February 12-13 earned seniors Phil Eye (171) and Kyle Nordack (189) All-Conference honors. Eye nearly joined Roll and Famularo in the All County circle, falling just one match short of the benchmark two weekends ago.
"He lost his first match [4-3] by one point and had to come all the way back," Robinson said. "He's improved every year of his career. It's unfortunate that he fell one match short."
Of the eight Bruins who wrestled in the All-County tournament, five are returning, including Billy Redmond, Caron Williams, Willie Quinn, Gerard Quinn, Tim White, Donald Clemens and Dakota Lupo. Lupo, who missed a significant portion of the season because of injury turned in an inspiring performance at Nassau Community College in the County tournament. Trailing 9-2 in one of his earlier matches, Lupo fought back to pull off a cement mixer on his opponent and walk away with a victory by pinfall.
"He's the type of person that never gives up," Robinson said of Lupo. "Next year will be his fifth year and he_s bounced back from a lot of injuries. He wrestled up to the second week of December and was out [for a long time], but he's put together a lot of big wins for us."
