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Southampton Press
January 6, 2000
Hurricane Grapplers Stay Busy and Enjoy Success at Tournament
By Jody Shenn
While other high school students sleep away the week between Christmas Eve and New
Year’s Day, wrestlers have some of their busiest days of the year.
The Westhampton Beach wrestling team took in a little holiday tournament action in West Islip on Thursday, December
30, and the Hurricanes’ strong showing in the West Islip Tournament sets the stage for an even busier month to
come, with their League IV dual meets set to start at home against Sayville today at 6:30 p.m. According to coach
Paul Bass, the Golden Flashes are one of the top 10 teams in the county, and will be vying with the Hurricanes
for the League IV title.
The Hurricanes’ performance last week gave them reason to feel ready. Ten Westhampton Beach wrestlers were entered
in the varsity tournament, and eight placed. In the overall team score, the Hurricanes finished fourth out of the
10 teams in West Islip on Thursday.
The tournament featured tough wrestlers from William Floyd, Patchogue, West Islip, Central Islip, Amityville, Harborfields,
St. John’s, and, today’s opponent, Sayville. Sayville finished second in total team points, a point above West
Islip.
Westhampton Beach seniors Lou Vecchio (130-pound weight class) and Mike Hadley (215) both took home championships
as they continue to lead the Hurricanes this season. Earlier this year, Vecchio and Hadley took second and third
place, respectively, in their weight classes in the Sprig Gardner tournament at the East Hampton High School on
December, 11.
Senior Sean Kellenberger also made the finals in the West Islip tournament, but lost to Ryan Maurer of William
Floyd, last year’s state champion, to finish in second place in the 152-pound weight class. Sophomore Jason Fredette
(103) and junior KC Heinrich (171) won in the consolation round to take home third-place medals. Senior Pat Hadley,
freshman Kyle Berglin, and sophomore Mike DeStefano all earned promising fourth-place finishes, but suffered loses
in the consolation round.
Vecchio manhandled Jay Topal of Sayville, a three-time league place winner, in the finals with an early takedown
and back points en route to a 9-0 win, and, according to coach Bass, looked good doing so.
“It was nice to see Lou dominate a tough kid,” Bass said. “It wasn’t even as close as the score.”
Hadley also came up strong against tough competition with an 11-1 decision in the semifinals over Kara Bowiak of
Patchogue, the second-ranked heavyweight in the county, who had already won the Patchogue and Bellport tournaments
this year. Hadley won in the finals with a late pin of Paul Guida of West Islip after leading, 18-4. So far, Hadley’s
only loss has come against a New Bern (North Carolina) wrestler he met in the early rounds of the Sprig Gardner
tournament.
Kellenberger made his way through the early rounds, but he met up with Maurer in the finals where he lost by a
first period pin to fall to second. According to Bass, Maurer is one of the elite wrestlers in Suffolk County,
wrestling on a “whole other level” than most of his Suffolk County opponents.
In a rematch of last year’s league final at 103 pounds, Fredette beat Justin Dimetrius of Sayville in the consolation
match at 112 pounds. After three frantic periods, the match was still tied at 8-8 and headed into overtime, just
as it did in last year’s league tournament, which Fredette won. In the sudden death, Fredette got stuck under Dimetrius
on a shot, but dragged his way out of a front headlock and got control for the takedown and the victory.
Fredette had needed to wrestle back after an early loss, and did so with three straight wins in the consolation
bracket to capture third.
In the 171-pound consolation finals, Heinrich made up for being behind in points with a pin of Frank Delarocka
of Patchogue. According to Bass, Heinrich had a “definitely good tournament.”
Pat Hadley also wrestled back after a first round loss, but fell in the 171-pound consolations to take fourth.
In their first varsity tournaments, Berglin and DeStefano also took fourth. Berglin lost a close match in the consolation
finals to Rob Walters of Sayville, who he may see today, losing a 1-0 decision.
In the junior varsity tournament on Wednesday, December 29, eighth-grader Rob Fredette took first in the 112-pound
weight class by winning four straight matches.
The Hurricanes will see if they are ready for dual meet action today against Sayville, and will host the Westhampton
Beach dual meet tournament on Saturday, January 8, starting at 10:30 am. If the Hurricanes go far in the tournament,
they’ll get plenty of dual meet experience going against teams from East Islip, Walt Whitman, Islip, Hampton Bays,
and Eastport. This will be the fourth year the tournament has pitted teams against other teams, instead of individuals
versus individuals, and it should offer exciting all-day mat action.
Issue Date: Southampton Press 01/06/2000
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