Thursday, October 1, 2026
Three consecutive one-point victories earned Sewanhaka East’s Christian Dluginski the 135-pound title at the Nassau County Division I wrestling championships at Hofstra.
Dluginski’s 30th win of the season came in the semifinals over No. 1 seed Bobby Krug of Bellmore-JFK, 4-3, and he capped a memorable weekend with a 3-2 triumph over MacArthur’s Angelo Rella in the finals.
“Christian does what he has to do and finds ways to win close matches,” Sewanhaka East coach Ian McConnell said. “He only had seven pins, but he frustrates a lot of opponents and wears them down. He’s tall with great leverage.”
Dluginski, a senior, also won a qualifying tournament title in Freeport on Feb. 5. After a bye in the first round of the county tournament, he opened with a technical fall victory over Aleskey Rizzo of Garden City in the second round. Then he followed with a 7-6 win over Uniondale’s Devol Haye in the quarterfinals.
“All the quarterfinals at 135 were close,” McConnell said. “I don’t know how many people believed Christian could get by the Uniondale kid.
“Christian is mentally strong and very smart on the mat. He stays calm and doesn’t make many mistakes.”
Dluginski competed in the New York State tournament last weekend at Albany’s Times Union Center.
Sewanhaka East had two other wrestlers earn their way onto the All-County podium at Hofstra by finishing in the top six of their respective weight class. Senior Jeff Saint Macary placed fourth at 160 pounds, and senior Greg Goetz finished fifth at 215.
“We faced tough competition all season long,” McConnell said. “It helped everyone prepare for the county tournament.”
