Thursday, October 1, 2026
Senior Dennis Feeney led the way for Baldwin in the Nassau wrestling qualifier hosted by Massapequa on Feb. 6, capturing the 160-pound championship with a pin of Valley Stream Central’s Joel Rosario in the title bout.
“He looks phenomenal right now,” Bruins coach Jim Murphy said of Feeney, who had his share of ups and downs during the season. “He worked hard to solve some technical problems and he’s wrestling as well as our coaches thought he could,” he added. “He hustles and he’s tough. He’s in great shape.”
Feeney wore down the younger Rosario, who’s a sophomore, Murphy said. He advanced to last weekend’s Nassau Division I championships at Hofstra along with six teammates.
“We were in one of the more difficult qualifiers,” Murphy said of the six tournaments held in various locations and featuring between seven and eight schools. “Overall, I was pleased,” he added. “Most of the veteran kids placed, and the young guys wrestled like young guys but got valuable experience.”
Baldwin had three runners-up in the qualifier, including junior Armando Roman (24-9 record) who lost a tough battle to Freeport’s Isaiah Louder, 4-3, in the finals at 182. “Louder trains with us during the offseason, so it was an interesting matchup,” Murphy noted. “It was a solid effort by Armando. He’s had a great season and was ahead in a lot of the matches he lost.”
Senior Dan Ponce, ranked fourth in the county at 285 and the team’s wins leader with a record of 29-5, ran into second-ranked Tom Amato of Massapequa in the finals of the qualifier and was pinned in 2:20. “Dan was down only 4-3 when he got caught with a move,” Murphy said. “Once you get out of position in those upper weight matches, it’s tough to get momentum back. Dan’s had a strong season and is one of our leaders.”
The coach was pleasantly surprised with the performance of senior Juan Ventura, who reached the finals at 195 pounds before coming up short against Massapequa’s Paul Brachfeld. Ventura made a difficult personal decision to give up the sport midway through the season, but returned after a heart-to-heart talk with Murphy. “He came back and wrestled with more confidence than ever and started to have fun again,” Murphy explained. “The season is a long grind and everyone handles it in their own way. Juan came back competing a thousand percent better and saw the results.”
Three-sport athlete Jon DeBique, a junior who had a big football season for the Bruins, reached the county tournament after placing fourth in the qualifier at 220 pounds. “He always goes out there and wrestles tough,” Murphy said.
Talented sophomore Abraham Mitchel (99) was also fourth in the qualifier and got a taste of the big stage at Hofstra last weekend. “He works hard all year round and has a real bright future,” Murphy said.
Senior Ronaldo Escobar had a tremendous campaign for the Bruins but came up short in the 113-pound bracket in the qualifier, Murphy said. Freshman Paul Weir earned a wild-card invite.
