Thursday, October 1, 2026
After finishing 13th in Nassau Division I last season, Uniondale wrestling is in for an uphill battle for the 2025-26 season. With an overall record of 7-2, coach Tim Godoy sees a brighter future for the program in the coming weeks.
“The boys team is okay this year,” Godoy said. “We have a couple of talented individuals but otherwise we’re pretty young, so we have to wait and see how we develop over the course of the season.”
The bulk of the team is underclassmen according to Godoy.
“Most of it is freshmen and sophomores rounding out the lineup in a lot of different spots,” he said. “We’re competitive but we’re finding our way this year.”
Godoy is still assessing his options on the mat, with no clear standouts amongst the freshmen and sophomore recruits. Widening the scope to the rest of the Knights, a few athletes have left an impression already.
“Our first three weight classes usually stand out, Tajae Tamar at 103, he gets most of our matches started,” Godoy explained. “He’s a senior, looking to finally get onto the podium as All-County this year, [that] would be great.
“At 110, we have Brayan Bautista, he’s another senior that we have,” he said. “He’s been pretty talented over the years and just hasn’t gotten it fully done yet at the county tournament.
“And then we have our returning state qualifier, Joshua Pierre-Paul,” Godoy said. Pierre-Paul has seen success in the 108 weight class, now between the 112 and 118 this year.
Bautista and Pierre-Paul are the go-to figures for senior leadership, according to Godoy. There’s also senior Thierry Robergeau at 190 who showed particular excellence in a match against Calhoun before winter break.
Godoy also mentioned sophomore Jesus Castillo, who operates in the 126-pound weight class, as someone who the coaching staff regards well.
On the heavyweight side, there’s sophomore brothers Jayden and Joshua Armstead, at 215 and 285, respectively.
Assistant coach Harry Coffin spoke highly of the team’s sophomore class, saying how they showed potential at a tournament before winter break.
“We exceeded expectations, I feel like we could compete,” Coffin said. “We beat a team in Tapan Zee and they went on to win the tournament… so that was kind of an eye-opening tournament for us.”
Like any other coach, Godoy wants to shoot for the stars. Like any other coach, he has to be pragmatic to get his team where he wants it to be.
“I think it’s just a rebuilding couple of years for us,” he explained. “We’ve had a few shining stars over the last few years, but we just haven’t had the whole team aspect come together yet. I think this 9th and 10th grade group is coming through, we’re hoping in the next couple of years that they do what previous teams have done. We’d like to get back into the top 10 in the county and have the same success that we used to have.”
Coffin has a glass-half-full outlook.
“Between sickness and injury and kids getting down in weight, we haven’t really been full-strength yet, so I think the best wrestling is yet to come,” he said. “I think we’re trending in the right direction.”
