In the first round of the annual Commack Duals, Chaminade defeated Bayport, 37-27, and host Commack dominated Bellport, 57-9. Other duals involved Uniondale and Section One power Pearl River. Chaminade (10-0) got started by Brendan Condon as he posted a fall at the 3:50 mark in the 103-pound bout and Ian McMenamin coasted to a 15-2 superior decision at 112 to give the Flyers an 11-0 lead. Bayport (7-3) battled back with three consecutive victories and were led by DJ Campos ( a 3-1 decision at 119), Kyle Edward (13-2) who recorded a solid 6-2 decision overTim Higgins at 125 and Kevin Hutchins who reversed his opponent to his back to secure the fall at the 4:54 mark which gave the Phantoms an 11-10 lead in the dual. Chaminade responded and were sparked by Andrew Murawski who posted a 1:24 pin in the 145-pound match. Two of Long Island's top wrestlers squared off as Chaminade's Neil Franciotti (25-1) faced Bayport's Matt Tommasino (12-1) in the 160-pound bout.
Franciotti opened the scoring with an underhook-double leg takedown midway through the first period for a 2-0 lead.He added a second period escape and controlled Tommasino's stand-up attempts with his lifts and an unrelenting controlled ride for a solid 3-0 decision. At 171 pounds, Bayport's Doug Sessa battled Flyers' Andrew Grasso and scored a come-from-behind victory with a double leg takedown and 5-3 overtime win. The Phantoms' Mike Zigrosser scored a stunning first period pin at 189 to bring the team score to 31-21.But, Chaminade's Pat Kerner responded as he worked his granby roll reversal and posted a third period fall at 4:35 mark in the 215-pound bout.
Commack (9-0) won the first ten bouts in their dual against Bellport (6-4) and breezed to a 53-9 victory. The team was lead by lightweights Kevin Missale (103) who recorded a fall at 3:07, junior Mike Piccirello (15-3), a 12-6 winner at 112, and freshman Mike Fennell (16-2) who received a forfeit at 119. Posting falls for the Cougars were Nick Feraco (125), Steve Oliveri (130), Tom Simmons (135) and JP Meringolo at 189. In the top bout of the dual, Bellport's Axel Ayala (19-2) faced Vince Pennachio at 171 pounds. Ayala scored with a strong double to take the early lead but Pennachio battled back with a key reversal to pull within one point. Ayala responded with a third period takedown and held on for an exciting 6-4 victory. Bellport's Bryan Springsteen (17-5) scored a fall in the 215-pound to conclude the scoring in the meet.
MAT NOTES...
Chaminade's George Dlugolonski is now in his 31st season as head coach and has 329 career dual meet victories. His Flyers have a very formidable squad and are amongst the top teams on Long Island. Bayport head coach Mark Maningo is now in his eighth season and his Phantoms should challenge for the Class B county title. Commack's Bill DeSario was a 1964 state champion from Mepham HS and was the former head coach at Babylon HS in the 1970-1980s. Bellport coaches Chuck Maragioglio and Ryder Hermann have a potential county champion with Axel Ayala at 171 pounds. Other top prospects for the League IV power are Evan Bernstein (15-4) at 160 and Dave Halverson (18-2) at 189 pounds. Uniondale's head coach Tim Godoy (1991 state runner-up from Sachem) and able assistant John Mankowich (Commack North) have brought the wrestling program to respectability. Godoy, started with only 12 kids in the program eight years ago and now boasts over 50 wrestlers. Standouts for the Knights include junior Nick Boyd (16-4) at 96, junior Tayvon McKenzie (18-4) at 112, junior Rishaun English (21-1) at 152 and highly-touted sophomore Eric Burnett (21-1) at 215 pounds. That quartet will challenge for county medals and could bring a top ten team finish at the Nassau County Championships... |
