| MacArthur (22-2) defeated Massapequa (11-2), 47-3, to claim the Nassau County Dual Meet Championships, before 650 fans at Tresper Clarke HS. The Generals won their fifth consecutive dual meet title and in two weeks, will be seeking their fifth straight Nassau Tournament crown. The Generals, under the tutelage of veteran coach, Howie Greenblatt, now in his 19th season, are ranked second on Long Island and fifth in New York State.The Generals lived up to their ranking, as the team is peaking and the program is as strong as ever, which has been evidenced by their domination of many opponents from 2000 to 2005. MacArthur was ready, as they won 12 of the 13 bouts and were led by returning county champions; junior Steve DeLorenzo(17-4) and senior Bruce Popko(20-5). DeLorenzo registered a major decision over Peter McAtee, 11-2, at 125 and Popko was embroiled in a wild match with the Chiefs' Zach Spero(27-5) at 130 pounds. Spero put Popko in a cradle midway through the third period and attempted a comeback, but Popko proved to have a repertoire of moves, and emerged with a 27-16 victory. In the 112-pound bout, Massapequa's county runner-up, Shane Strumwasser(26-7) and MacArthur's Greg Popko(20-5) squared off in an entertaining bout. Strumwasser scored on a late double leg takedown to knot the match at 6-6, but Popko responded with a quick arm drag takedown in the overtime stanza and posted an exciting 8-6 decision. Massapequa and coach Gary Mims, now in his 26th season , got on the scoreboard as Mike Doria(21-10) edged Dom Tarallo(14-9), 4-3, at 119 and brought the team score 6-3 in favor of MacArthur.The Generals would then reeled off ten consecutive victories and had key performances turned in by many of their grapplers.In the 135-pound bout, MacArthur's tough Nick Monaco(14-7) scored with a pancake takedown and later used a cement job for the pin at the 3:25 mark over Chris Arcuri(10-4). Other standouts for the Generals were; the Calvacca brothers, Dan at 140 and Bill at 145 pounds. Dan Calvacca(22-4) met ranked Adam Gottlieb(30-6) at 135 pounds, in that bout Gottlieb scored with a nice pancake to tie the bout at 4-4, but Calvacca responded with an escape and a slip-under takedown late in the third period for a 9-6 victory. Bill Calvacca(23-6) narrowly defeated Matt Cellan(23-8), 3-1, at 140, and gave his team a comfortable 26-3 lead with five bouts remaining. At 189 pounds, MacArthur's Brian Scher(23-2) turned his second period granby roll into a four-point move and posted a solid 6-1 decison over the Chiefs' Dan Bittner(10-6), in what might be a possible preview of the Nassau County finals. MACARTHUR 47 MASSAPEQUA 3 103-Daly(Mac) dec. Licata, 3-1. 112-G.Popko(Mac) dec. Strumwasser, 8-6 ot. 119-Licata(Mass) dec.Tarallo, 4-3. 125-DeLorenzo(Mac) dec. McAtee, 11-2. 130-B.Popko(Mac) dec. Spero, 27-16. 135-Monaco(Mac) pinned Arcuri, 3:25. 140-D.Calvacca(Mac) dec. Gottlieb, 9-6. 145-B.Calvacca(Mac) dec. Cellan, 3-1. 152-Diamantis(Mac) pinned Mundo, 5:09. 160-Villante(Mac) dec. Varon, 4-3. 171-O'Donnell(Mac) dec. Poulos, 3-2. 189-Scher(Mac) dec. Bittner, 6-1. 215-Olsen(Mac) pinned Feifer, 2-23. |
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| MACARTHUR WINS NASSAU DUAL MEET TITLE |
| MacArthur's Billy Calvacca controlled Massapequa's Matt Cellan in the 145- pound bout which Calvacca won 3-1. |
| Massapequa's Adam Gottlieb tries to come out the back door on Dan Calvacca (MacArthur). Calvacca held on to win the 140-pound bout 9-6. |