By TONY BELLISSIMO
"It was a great weekend," Falcons coach Chris Critchley said. "None of our guys gave in. All of them put up fights and it's a tremendous feeling to have a county champion."
Both Moran and Bishop won qualifying tournament crowns at Long Beach and headed into the main event with plenty of momentum. Moran, who will carry a 31-3 record into the New York State tourney on March 7-8 at the Onondaga War Memorial in Syracuse, won a 10-7 decision over Mike Moor of Seaford in the county final.
"It was a good, tough match," Critchley said. "Joe was down 3-2 after the first period and he also trailed 6-5, but he battled back. He had a super journey the past two seasons. He put in the extra time after not placing in the county as a sophomore. He came in third last season and continued to do what he needed to do, and came out on top."
Moran's road to the final couldn't have been more impressive. He opened Saturday's action with a pin in 1:01 against Kevin Bishop of Garden City, and then breezed into the semis with a 14-0 decision over Bethpage's Jorge Pinto. In the semifinal on Sunday, Moran needed only 1:36 to pin East Meadow's Spencer Cook.
"He made getting to the final look easy, but it wasn't," Critchley said. "He wanted it and he worked for it."
Moran began practicing with the rest of the Nassau individual champions this week at Division High School.
Bishop went 3-2 in the counties and finished the campaign with a 29-6 mark. He won twice on Saturday to advance to the semis. His run ended with a 14-4 loss to eventual champion Mike LaBella of Massapequa.
"James was shooting for third place after the loss but he was pleased nonetheless," Critchley said. "He really put together a solid season."
The All-County finishes for Moran and Bishop, along with two victories apiece by seniors Chris Carbajal (119 pounds), Nick Gericitano (140) and Paul Conrad (215), and one from senior Rich Sensale (130) allowed the Falcons to finish 13th in the county, with 66 points.
Of the three area high schools, South had the most participants, with eight. North had four and Central three, but no Spartans or Eagles placed in the top six.
Moran won't be at a loss for Valley Stream company at the state matches in Syracuse. His mother, Dawn, and grandmother, Martha Keifer, who's a regular at all his matches at South, will be driving up with eight or 10 of Joe's wrestling friends to cheer him on.
"He's feeling very confident," Dawn Moran said. "He's ready for this, watching his weight. It's interesting that now he'll be wrestling on a team made up of all the kids he's been wrestling against. They're all on one team now.
"I'm just so happy for him," she added. "He turned 18 in January and he's already accomplished a dream of his."
His grandmother watched him take the county title. "When he won and I saw that it was over, I cried," she said. "I mean, I saw him work so very hard for this every single day and night. I am thrilled for him that he has achieved what he wants."
John C. O'Connell contributed to this story
