By: Steve Siniski
The Jets are currently loaded with talented sophomoresseven are in the team-s starting lineup of 13including Tom Rispoli, who-s ranked No. 1 in the county at 103 pounds.
Cook and DeLuca, like Rispoli, are currently sitting at the head of their class. It-s not a bad mix because the future looks promising, East Meadow coach Tom Reynolds said. Between the youth and the leadership of Cook and DeLuca, the guys are getting a lot of varsity experience early in their career.
Along with Rispoli, Dan O-Leary (119 pounds), Bob Abbate (125), Sal Hanna (145), Phil Thomas (152) and Frank Krayer (189) have all taken the bull by the horns and succeeded against older, more experienced opponents.
Even in defeat, Krayer played a major role in the Jets 30-29 dual-meet win over Long Beach in late December. Despite a 5-3 loss in the final bout, his ability to stay alive until the final horn without getting pinned prevented the Marines from taking home the team victory.
In other words, Long Beach may have won the battle, but East Meadow ultimately won the war. By [next week] we should have a better idea of [where we are as a team], Reynolds said. We have multiple wrestlers in each class that we can use depending on the team needs. Some guys are quick throwers and best [utilized] for pins. Others can go longer [in a match].
East Meadow has won three straight dual meets, including a pair last weekend against Sachem North (39-20) and Sachem East (36-21). Matt Ingber continues to make strides in his shift from 103 pounds a year ago to the 130-pound weight class this season. Despite the addition of muscle, it hasn-t hindered his technical development, a testament to the offseason weight-training program set up by Nick Tropiano. Five other wrestlers, including Rispoli and O-Leary, have taken part in the program and the results have been outstanding. We-ve seen tremendous improvement [because of] the training, conditioning and weight training, Reynolds said. Rispoli-s progressed because he-s a year-round wrestler. He-s always seeking good competition and looks to the older guys. They-ve been to the next level and he just absorbs things. He sees them once or twice [and then performs them].
This Friday the Jets host Freeport at 7 p.m., and also hold their Senior Recognition Night. From there, the Jets will take on conference rival Uniondale at home Jan. 21 at 7 p.m.
