County champions spark MacArthur

MacArthur’s wrestling team was well represented at the top of the podium during the individual Nassau County Division 1 championships at Hofstra on Super Bowl Sunday.
The Generals produced two county champions in seniors Benjamin Velasquez at 215 pounds and Paul Lichter (152) while freshman Vincent Orandello placed second after a narrow defeat in the 102 finals. All three qualified for the New York State Championships in Albany this weekend along with Charles Bergonzi, who placed third at 102.
MacArthur finished third in the team standings during the championship tournament held at Hofstra’s Mack Sports Complex for the first time since 2018 with 183.5 points, just 25 points behind runner-up Long Beach. 
“We had almost three champions, four guys going to the state’s and six who are All-County so we did well,” fourteenth-year MacArthur coach Rob Paletta said of his team’s performance on the big stage. 
Velasquez conquered the 215-pound division for his first county crown by pinning Bellmore-JFK’s Joshua Amiel 3:37 into the finals. He reached the championship bout with a 6-4 semifinal win against Ralph Caputo of Lynbrook.

Lichter also won a county title in his final try with a dominating 11-2 win against East Meadow’s Matthew Rodriguez. He finished second last year at 145 and did not get to compete for a championship during an abridged 2021 season when there were no postseason tournaments held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“He has been dominant all year,” said Paletta of Lichter. “He took second last year and has been on a bit of a mission since then and hopefully it continues next weekend at states.” 
Orandello nearly capped off his breakthrough freshman campaign with a county title of his own, falling to Ethan Andreula of Long Beach 1-0 in the 102-pound finals. The score was scoreless after one period before Andreula scored on an escape before holding on for the victory.
Bergonzi punched his ticket to the state championships with a 6-3 victory against Chace Morris of Oceanside in the 102 consolation finals. He took control of the match early by placing Morris on his back.
Also earning All-County honors for MacArthur were Jonathan Fox with a fourth place finish at 126 and Matthew Lichter, who finished fifth at 118. 
The New York State Championships are scheduled for this weekend at MVP Arena in Albany. Paletta sees a strong chance that the four Generals competing can be in the mix to once again finish at the top of the podium. 
Paletta is especially excited for Lichter and Velasquez, who will get one last chance to compete against the state’s best wrestlers after overcoming adversity during their high school careers, which included a truncated sophomore season near the height of the pandemic. 
“They are the heartbeat of our team as captains and this is a testament to their hard work,” he said. “They put the work in during the offseason and this is how we expect our older veterans, elite guys to go out, at the state tournament wrestling their best.”