Thursday, October 1, 2026
Two Seaford wrestlers left Cold Spring Harbor High School’s gymnasium last Saturday as Nassau County champions and will next compete on a bigger stage against the best in New York State.
Senior Kevin Digney and junior John Cantwell took home titles at the Nassau Division II individual championships. The first place finishes on the mats qualify them for the New York State Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany on Feb. 26-27.
“It’s exciting for them to reach the state’s,” Seaford coach Dave Takseraas said. “It’s a goal they have had and it’s exciting to reach that goal.”
Cantwell rallied from an early deficit to defeat Cold Spring Harbor’s Ray Costa in the 113-pound finals by a 14-10 decision. He had split two earlier meetings with Costa this season. “We knew it was going to be a close match,” Takseraas said. “This was the rubber match and stepped up when he needed to.”
Digney won his county title match at 195 with a commanding 9-4 victory over Christian Casazza of Locust Valley. Digney was the top seed entering the county championships after only losing once the entire season. “He dominated like I expected him to,” said Takseraas of Digney’s county title match performance. “He is excited to reach state’s and show what he is made of.”
Takseraas was also impressed with sophomore Andrew Schutzman and senior Jack Lasher, who both reached the county finals. Schutzman made strides as a sophomore and was matched up against state champion Joe Gomez in the title match at 120.
“He was overmatched in the finals, but it was great for him to reach the finals,” Takseraas said of Schutzman.
Lasher rose to the 152-pounds finals despite battling through injuries suffered in a car accident just before the county qualifiers. His successful Seaford wrestling career came to a close with a championship setback to Locust Valley’s Bailey O’Brien.
“The accident really limited what he could do on the mat,” Takseraas said. “He has tremendous heart.”
