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Southampton Press
January 13, 2005
Canes Are Off To Hot Start
By Kerry Monaco
The league season got off to a good start for the Westhampton Beach wrestling team
as the Hurricanes dominated Amityville, 42-20, on Friday at home and placed second at their own tournament on Saturday.
But the team was dealt a severe blow at that tournament when the Canes lost two of their top wrestlers to injury
and illness.
At the tournament, the team’s heavyweight, Charlie Pendlebury, had to bow out due to an illness and 145-pounder
Mauricio Molina, an All County returnee, separated his shoulder. Pendlebury is expected to return in the near future
but there is no definite return date and Molina will probably not return to the mats until the league tournament
in mid-February. The Hurricanes were already without 119-pounder Kyle Hubbard, who is out with a hand injury that
is expected to keep him sidelined for at least another week.
“Losing Charlie and Mauricio hurts,” Westhampton Beach coach Paul Bass said. “We just need the rest of the team
to stay healthy and we’ll be okay. These injuries are testing us right now.”
The team looked good in the opener against Amityville, which is always a top competitor in the league. The Warriors
won the county title in 2002.
“They have some talented kids,” Bass said. “They have five studs. Anytime you have that many very talented kids
in the lineup, you run the risk of losing five matches. They didn’t get any pins in those five matches. We wrestled
well.”
The five studs Bass is referring to are the 112-, 119-, 130-, 171- and 189-pound kids. The Hurricanes lost all
five of those bouts, but didn’t give up more than five points in each bout. The team lost a three-point decision
at 125 but won the seven other bouts, four of those with pins.
The match opened with an Amityville forfeit at 103 and then four straight three-point decisions for the Warriors,
to put Amityville up 12-6. In spite of losing those matches, Bass was pleased with losing just three points in
each of the matches and not giving up five or six.
Hurricane Scott Lagoumis was facing the top ranked wrestler in the county at 112 pounds, Matt Camarrota, and very
easily could’ve gotten stuck for a pin, giving up six team points. But he held his own, losing 12-5, scoring three
much-needed points in the final seconds of the bout to ensure only three team points were given up.
“Scott wore the kid down,” Bass said. “Scott was the one scoring points at the end. I was happy with that match.
Scott did a good job and held it to only a three-point decision.”
At 119, Joe Graf got his first varsity start in the absence of Hubbard, losing an 11-7 decision. Again, Bass was
pleased with the effort up against one of the Warriors’ top wrestlers.
Hurricane Andy Mistina lost a 15-12 decision at 125 and Mike Miller, who was appearing in his first varsity match,
lost a 9-5 decision at 130 pounds to put the Hurricanes into a 12-6 hole.
The Hurricanes rebounded from those early losses to win the next five straight, going up 30-12. Jon Gress (135)
scored five points with a technical fall decision in 5:39, Nick Broccoli (140) won his match, 12-1, Mauricio Molina
(145) pinned in 2:13, James Uresk (152) pinned in 1:26 and Steve Kobus won an 8-1 decision at 160.
The Canes ran into two more county-ranked kids at 171 and 189, losing eight points between the two matches, keeping
the Warriors alive, 30-20, with two matches remaining.
Charlie Pendlebury secured the win for the Hurricanes with a pin just 45 seconds into the heavyweight bout. Teammate
Jay Herrick pinned his opponent in 2:30 in the super-heavyweight bout to bring the final score to 42-20.
“We just came out and wanted to win more, we had more heart,” Pendlebury said after the match. “League matches
are so important. This is key, this was big. We’re going to win the leagues this year.”
The Hurricanes were scheduled to travel to East Hampton on January 12 and will host Miller Place today. The squad
will compete in the Kujan Tournament on Saturday.
Canes Place 2nd at Tournament
At their annual tournament, the Hurricanes placed second, falling to Sayville in the finals, 46-18.
The six teams were divided into two pools with three teams in each pool. Westhampton, Deer Park and Newfield were
in one pool while Sayville, Bayport/Blue Point and Central Islip were in the other. Each team wrestled the two
others in its pool and the two undefeated teams after that round wrestled for the final, the two with 1-1 records
wrestled for third place and the 0-2 teams wrestled for fifth.
“It was some good wrestling,” Bass said. “Between Deer Park, Sayville and us, there are nine county-ranked kids
between 135, 140 and 145. Deer Park has five county ranked kids on their team. There were some good teams there.”
The Hurricanes beat both Deer Park, 37-21, and Newfield, 63-12, in the pool round, setting up the final against
Sayville.
Pendlebury was not available at all for the tournament and against Deer Park and Newfield, the Hurricanes were
able to dodge any bullets. Newfield forfeited 215 and Deer Park forfeited 189, allowing the Canes to move John
Gillen from 189 to 215, saving the team from losing any points.
But that option was not available against Sayville and the Canes were forced to give away six points at 215. The
Canes also lost six points due to injury default in the match against Sayville as Molina suffered a separated shoulder
in the 145-pound bout.
The Hurricanes won just four bouts against Sayville. Lagoumis pinned at 112 in 3:47, Gress won a 4-0 decision at
135, Uresk edged his opponent, 2-1, at 152 and Mike Gandolfo pinned in 1:01 at 171.
Against Newfield, Lagoumis (112), Graf (119), Andy Mistina (125), Juilen Lee (130), Nick Broccoli (140), Rudy Mistina
(145), Uresk (152), Kobus (160), Gillen (189) and Herrick (275) all won their bouts. In the win over Deer Park,
Lee (130), Gress (135), Broccoli (140), Molina (145), Kobus (160), Gandolfo (171), Gillen (189) and Herrick (275)
all won.
Issue Date: Southampton Press 1/13/05
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