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Hamptons Online
Glenn proved why it’s the heavy favorite to repeat as Division 2 champs in Suffolk County, invading Westhampton and winning the meet’s first six matches in convincing fashion. The ’Canes made a late push, but by then, the outcome had already been decided. Glenn would remain undefeated, knocking off the host Hurricanes, 35-24.
“There’s a reason why they’re undefeated,” Bass said. “There’s a reason why they’ve won every tournament. They won a couple matches they had to win.” The loss was Westhampton’s second of the difficult-to-swallow variety in as many weeks. Last week, the ’Canes (7-5, 3-2 League VI) were nipped in Mount Sinai, 33-26, on a pin in the final match. Against Glenn, their early struggles weighed down their comeback efforts, but nevertheless, with points as the sole barometer, Westhampton gave the Knights their biggest test this season. “It’s not much consolation when you lose,” Bass said.
“Pete’s been a sparkplug for us all year long,” Bass said. “He was winning and he got caught. That was huge.” With three defending Division 2 champs to follow in the next five matches, the Knights (9-0, 5-0 League VI) were in a position to wipe out Westhampton’s upset hopes early. It’s just what they did. Two decisions, two tech falls and a pin put Glenn ahead 29-0 before the sizable crowd at WBHS had settled in. “Looking at the lineup before the match, we definitely needed a few things here, a few things there, to come even close,” senior co-captain Paul DiLandro said. “Looking back, if we started out much faster, much harder, I think we could have turned it around.” DiLandro and the latter half of the Hurricane lineup then brought the crowd to its feet with a monumental surge that undoubtedly got Glenn’s attention. The comeback effort started at 140 pounds with Dennis Hayes, who continued a strong dual-meet campaign by getting Westhampton on the board with a 7-2 decision. A first-period takedown turned out to be all DiLandro needed to outduel Chris Carlucci at 152. Bass’ alterations to the customary Westhampton lineup were then put to the test. He had senior Alex Mazarakis, the Hurricanes’ strongest 171-pound entry, step up to wrestle at 215, while Mazarakis’ brother, freshman Matt, was inserted at 171 to clash with highly-touted Lawrence Dolce. Bass acknowledged it was a gamble on his part but a necessary one if the ’Canes were to prevail. “With the lineup we put in there, I thought we had a shot,” Bass said. “If we kept everybody at their weight, they would have beaten us, I felt, by 18. I’m not that kind of person. If we’re going to lose, I want to go down swinging.”
The performance of the younger Mazarakis was about all the evidence Bass needed to see that the gamble would pay off. Mazarakis didn’t just win his first varsity match but he dominated it and against a formidable opponent. The frosh led Glenn’s Lawrence Dolce 2-0 through one period and doubled it a near-fall early in round two. Mazarakis – wrestling at his elder brother’s weight – sealed the deal in impressive fashion in period three, flipping Dolce and sticking him at the 3:51 mark. At 189, James Frost needed far less time to match Mazarakis’ six-point effort, pinning him in 29 seconds. Then came Alex Mazarakis’ turn. The senior had lost just once while wrestling at 171 and 189 pounds this season, but he was brand new to 215. Mazarakis trailed 2-0 before finally breaking through in the third period. He promptly turned the Knights’ C.J. Harris and posted the Hurricanes’ third consecutive pin, a feat they had accomplished just once before this season (Jan. 5 v. Newfield). “We made a couple moves up top and it worked out really well for us,” Bass said. “I thought that was going to be the difference, but it didn’t turn out that way.” Mazarakis’ triumph completed a busy day for the senior. “You have to weigh at least 180 to do 215, and today I had to drink like eight bottles of water and Gatorade,” he said. “It wasn’t fun at all. My stomach hurt a lot. Never again.”
“As a team, this might have been good,” DiLandro said. “It’s two weeks before leagues, and maybe everybody will start picking up the pace and start working. We’re a good team, but we’re not that good yet. We have a few weeks to get back into shape.”
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