By Tony Bellissimo
As the Mepham varsity wrestling team sets to enter the conference dual meet season, Pirates Coach Mike Muscara is pleased with the way some of the team's youngsters are progressing.
"For the most part, I am happy with how we performed in all of the tournaments we've had," Muscara said after the Pirates placed sixth in the eight-team Massapequa Tournament last Friday. "We only have two seniors in the lineup, and we're probably the youngest team in our conference.
"The younger kids are going to learn from their mistakes and continue to improve," he added. "The kids who won and placed in the tournaments are the kids we'll be counting on along the way. All of our conference meets are matches that can go either way. Hopefully we'll be ready for them all and we'll have a 50-50 chance."
The Pirates have been dealing with adversity since their initial event of the new season. That's because senior 112-pounder Nairan Mahmood tore his anterior cruciate ligament during the Freeport Takedown Tournament on Dec. 9. Mahmood, who is expected to undergo surgery later this month, is out for the season.
"It's tough for us, and it's tough for Nairan," Muscara said. "It's unfortunate because he's a senior, and he was hoping to reach the counties this season. But I know he'll bounce back from this."
Mepham had five wrestlers place in the Massapequa tourney, led by seniors Rob Scholl (runner-up at 152 pounds) and Dave Margulies (runner-up at 275). Junior George Pacciano finished third, while freshman
Patrick Moore and junior Jason Muscara both placed fourth.
"Of all the tournaments we participated in, Massapequa was the toughest," Muscara said.
The Pirates' best early-season showing came in the South Side Tournament on Dec. 23. Scholl, Margulies and Muscara were runners-up, while junior Jon Gunther (135 pounds) and freshman Phil Sofia (189) took home individual titles.
Sofia, a junior-high champion last season, is one of the youngsters that Muscara will be counting on for years to come. "He's off to a nice start," the coach said of Sofia.
Scholl, Margulies and Gunther all captured first-place prizes in the Sprig Gardner Tournament, which was held at all three district high schools on Dec. 14, 15 and 16.
Before opening the conference schedule at South Side on Jan. 10, the Pirates will participate in the Locust Valley Tournament this Saturday beginning at 10 a.m.
"We'll get to see a few teams we'll be facing in the coming weeks, so it should be good for us," Muscara said.
