It’s been quite the career for Westhampton Beach’s Nick Broccoli and he wrapped
it up with a moment to be proud of. Broccoli became the school’s firstever All State wrestler when he placed sixth
at 145 pounds at the New York State Wrestling Championships, held on Friday and Saturday at Nassau Coliseum. “I
was hoping to place,” said Broccoli, who went 3-2 at the state tournament. “I feel that I could’ve done better
but I’m happy that I placed.” Broccoli earned his spot in the state tournament by winning the county title on February
18, becom- ing only the third county champion in school history. Current head coach Paul Bass was the last Hurricane
wrestler to be crowned county champ, back in 1978. The last county finalist was Jay Fredette, who placed second
in 2001.
In his three years as a varsity starter, Broccoli compiled a 96-11 record, including
going 39-5 his senior year, was a three-time league champion and placed in the county tournament as a junior and
then won the county title this year.
For being able to compete in the state tournament just once, Broccoli picked the
right year to qualify, since it was the first time in 40 years that the tournament was held on Long Island, allowing
more hometown fans to come support him. And the hometown support was clearly evident with plenty of cheering fans
and three banners, “Go Nick!,” “DeBragga Avenue Loves Nick Broccoli” and “Who needs spinach when you have Broccoli!”
“It was overwhelming,” Broccoli said of entering the floor of the coliseum Friday
morning. “I felt like I was representing my town. I was so happy to be there but I was nervous because of all the
people in the stands.”
Entering the tournament, Broccoli knew that it was going to be nearly impossible
to win the state title with Oxford Academy’s J.P. O’Connor in the mix. O’Connor was a threetime defending state
champion with a 36-0 record coming into the tournament and O’Connor ended up getting that fourth title. O’Connor
has more than 225 wins in his career.
Broccoli opened the tournament with a 10-0 victory over Mickey Warren of Franklin
Academy, which in turn pitted him against O’Connor in the quarterfinals. O’Connor teched Broccoli, 16-1, in 4:50.
“I just put it behind me,” Broccoli said of losing to O’Connor. “That kid is really
good, he’s like first in the nation. I’m not going to beat myself up over it. I just took it as a good experience.”
The loss dropped Broccoli down to the wrestlebacks, where he beat Tottenville’s
Cory Ranno, 7-0, in the first wrestleback match to earn himself a spot in the second day of competition.
In Saturday’s first match, Broccoli tallied a 7-1 decision over Matt Cinelli, O’Connor’s semifinal round victim,
to guarantee himself All State status and a top six finish.
The outcome of the next bout, against Matt DeMichiel of Whitesboro, would decide
who would wrestle for third and who would wrestle for fifth. Broccoli fell just two points, 6-4, shy of having
a chance at third and dropped down to the fifth-place bout. Broccoli lost that final bout, getting pinned in 2:52
by Cory Lempka of Minisink Valley.
“We knew he could place,” coach Bass said. “I think he knew he had a bad spot, having
O’Connor in the second round. It was not a good spot to be in but he wrestled a good tournament. There was a takedown
difference between third place and sixth place. And then in the fifthplace bout, it was tied 4-4 in the second
and the kid caught him.”
It was Bass’ first experience as a coach at the state tournament.
“I always get nervous, if you’re not nervous than it’s time to get out,” he said.
“When you get to that level, so much is mental. You don’t have as much scouting. It’s exciting to be at that level
and see those kids. I’m very proud of him.”
Just because the high school season is over, doesn’t mean that wrestling is a thing
of the past. Broccoli said he will wrestle in college and while undecided where he will go to school, his options
include Division I James Madison, Division I Sacred Heart and Division III Wilkes University.
“I’m upset that my high school career is over but now I’m going to move on with
my life and onto college,” Broccoli said. “New doors will be opening. I learned that hard work goes a long way.”
The loss of Broccoli will hurt the team for obvious reasons, but his accomplishments
will do wonders for the program that already has a strong base and interest in the community.
“You go through losing kids every year but what Nick has done for us is knocked
down the door for us,” Bass said. “We have a great following and great fans and the younger kids sit there and
say, ‘I can do this.’ That’s the special thing that Nick has brought. It’s really important for the program.”
