Carrying back-to-back undefeated league titles and an arsenal of weapons to the
mat for the 2006-07 season, the Westhampton Beach wrestling team should find itself looking for a threepeat, as
it battles it out for the top spot again.
For the second straight season, Westhampton Beach posted a 6-0 League VI record
to win the 2005-06 league title, making it 17-1 in league dual meets over the last three seasons. Those two titles
weren’t a walk in the park, and again the competition is gong to be fierce in what head coach Paul Bass describes
as “the best league in the county.” The defending champ returns to League VI and will face Rocky Point, Harborfields,
Miller Place, Amityville, Shoreham/Wading River, Mount Sinai and Bayport/Blue Point. Leaving League VI from last
season are Eastport South Manor and Smithtown East, which are moving to Leagues V and III, respectively. Rocky
Point is new to the league, moving down from League V.
Also new to the league are Mount Sinai and Bayport/Blue Point, which both saw success
last season in League VII, as Mount Sinai was the undefeated league champion and Division II county champion and
Bayport/Blue Point put up an 8-2 mark. The move from League VII to League VI also means the jump from the small
schools to large schools division. Although the level of competition is greater, coach Bass believes that neither
one of those teams will be a pushover.
“It’s so neat to be part of a team that’s won back-to-back league titles,” Bass
said. “This team is as good as any of them. We are a very good dual meet team. We have only one kid that would
be ranked in the county right now, [Steve] Kobus. There are no superstars other than him. Every weight has someone
who is better than average, works hard and is a great competitor. We are good all the way though the lineup. “I
like this team a lot, I like their work. (See CANES, Page C6 ethic, they like to win,” he continued. “With the
exception of the seniors, these kids haven’t experienced a league loss. They are hard-nosed, physical kids.”)
Once again, thanks to a strong youth program, numbers aren’t a problem for the Hurricanes
with 46 wrestlers between the junior varsity and varsity ranks, including 20 freshmen.
Bass, along with his assistant Bob Emmons, are constantly praising the efforts of
their colleagues who prime young wrestlers for the junior varsity and varsity program. Korey Williams, John Krupp
and Fred Musemeci run the Westhampton Beach Middle School program, while Dr. Steve Curtis heads the East Moriches
Middle School team, which sends just about all its wrestlers to Westhampton Beach High School in ninth grade. Introducing
kids to the sport in Kid Wrestling are Jeff and Vinny Ciolino.
Looking at the lineup changes since last season could make an outsider think the
middle of the lineup was decimated by graduation. Not so. Even though the team lost six seniors, including the
most successful wrestler in the program’s history, Nick Broccoli, there is plenty of talent to take the place of
the graduates. Broccoli became the school’s first-ever All State competitor when he placed sixth at the state tournament
after becoming just the third county champion in school history. For his career, Broccoli amassed a 96-11 career
record. Also graduating from last year’s team were Jon Gress (140), a league champion, James Uresk (152), Julian
Less (130), Chris Lettieri (171) and Rudy Mistina (145). Also missing from the lineup this season is Sarah Bonilla,
who will be undergoing shoulder surgery for an injury she suffered during the offseason and will be out for the
rest of the year.
The graduating wrestlers took with them more than 100 wins, more than 50 pins and
more than 150 team dual meet points. That may seem like a lot to swallow, but there are plenty of wrestlers waiting
in the wings ready to step in and make up those points, wins and pins. And coach Bass likes that no one knows about
these new starters.
Stepping into full time roles this season will be seniors Joe Santaly-Graf (135),
Mike Miller (145) and Rich Mailand (160). Santaly-Graf placed third in the league and saw a decent number of varsity
matches last season, while Miller and Mailand spent most of their careers on junior varsity. Also filling out the
middle of the lineup will be junior John Prudenti, who certified at 140 pounds this season. These four have spent
three years behind middleweights Uresk, Gress and Broccoli.
“No one knows anything about them,” Bass said. “I think they’re hungry. They’ve
been waiting their turn. It might look like we’re weak in the middle, but these guys are champing at the bit. I
think these guys will be right there. I don’t think these kids are going to miss a beat. They’re dying to get their
shot.”
The most accomplished wrestler returning to the lineup this season is senior Steve
Kobus, who will move from 171 to 189 pounds. Kobus, one of the team’s co-captains, placed sixth at 171 pounds at
the Suffolk County Tournament last season after winning the League VI title. He was crowned a champion at three
tournaments last season and was second behind Broccoli for team dual meet points scored with 51, recording a 29-5
mark.
“He’s clearly one of the top three or four guys in the county,” Bass said. “It takes
some luck, some skill. But as long as he stays healthy and everything goes right, he has a really good shot.”
The team’s other co-captain is senior Scott Lagoumis (125), who placed fourth at
the league tournament last year at 119 pounds. He was a champion at the Sprig Gardner Tournament last season and
earned 40 team dual meet points, finishing with a 21-10 record.
“He’s always been a clutch performer,” Bass said. “He always comes up big when we
need it for the team but now he needs to do it for himself.”
In only his third year on the mats, senior Jimmy Zambik is expected to surprise
this season. The heavyweight, who has grown from 190 pounds to 215, didn’t come out for wrestling until he was
a sophomore. “Jimmy’s gotten a lot bigger, a lot stronger since last year,” said Bass. “Last year, he was brand
new. He’s not brand new anymore. He got in about 30 matches during the offseason.”
Junior Paul Dilandro placed second in the league at 135 pounds last season. This
year he will step in at 145 or 152. Dilandro, who Bass described as “a machine,” attended the intensive 28-day
J. Robinson camp this summer in Minnesota. Cory Hubbard placed second in the league last season at 103 pounds as
an eighth-grader and will move to 112 pounds this season. Dennis Hayes, an All-League wrestler at 103 pounds last
year, will go at 119 and Bass described his style as “long and lean and scrappy.” Going at 125 or 130 pounds will
be junior Tom Comoroda, who placed at the league tournament two years ago, while fellow junior Kyle Hubbard, who
placed fourth in the league at 125, will go at 130 or 135 pounds. Returning starter Alex Mazarakis flip-flopped
with Kobus between 171 and 189 last season and this year, with Kobus at 189 to stay, Mazarakis will be the guy
at 171.
Freshman Pete Detore is the leading candidate at 103 pounds. Detore certified at
96 pounds, so that weight class will be optional for him in dual meets. With his experience, he will have a leg
up on the rest of the small guys for the 103 spot.
Connor Bass, who certified at 96 pounds, Zach Bass and Brian Lagoumis, who both
weighed in at 103, will also see some time in the varsity ranks, depending on the day, the style of the opponent
and who is healthy.
With all the positives that come with having such a deep, skilled team, there is
one negative—not having enough room in the lineup for all the talent. Russel Skinder (112), Mike Mercurio (125-130),
Ethan Mitchell (119-125), Ryan Marin (135), Chris Squeri (130-135), Rachelle Klug (125-130), Josh Hernandez (145)
and James Frost (152) are all wrestlers that coach Bass said “would start on 90 percent of the teams out there.”
Westhampton Beach will compete in four preseason tournaments. The Canes head to
the Sprig Gardner Tournament at East Hampton on December 9, a tournament at Bellport on December 16, a tournament
at Connetquot at December 22 and the Half Hollow Hills East Tournament on December 27 and 28. Westhampton Beach
will also host its own annual dual meet tournament on January 6.
League dual meets get underway on January 3 with a home match with Miller Place and then on January 5, the Hurricanes
face Bayport/Blue Point on the road.
