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Hamptons Online
December 10, 2007
Westhampton Grapplers Lead ’Canes To Third Place In Sprig Gardner Tourney
By Brett Mauser
Westhampton's Cory Hubbard looks to escape the grasp of eventual 119-pound
champion Nick Scotto of Ward Melville. Photos by Brett Mauser
East Hampton - It was late afternoon
by the time Westhampton Beach’s Alex Mazarakis finally stepped in for his first match as the top seed in the 171-pound
weight class at the 31st Annual Sprig Gardner Wrestling Tournament. The senior received a bye all the way to the
semifinals, making him a spectator until the early afternoon.
For those who came to see the Hurricanes kick off the 2007-08 season, his effort was worth the wait. Mazarakis
pinned Ward Melville’s Joe Biro at 2:14 to capture the 171-pound title, wrestling what Westhampton Head Coach Paul
Bass called “The best match he’s ever wrestled.”
Southampton junior Julius Anglickas squares off against Ward Melville's Cody
Ferraro
in the 215-pound final.
While his teammates celebrated personal victories or slumped their shoulders in
individual defeat, Mazarakis waited for his opportunity. Finally it came against Riverhead’s Delon Richards, who
won by fall in 25 seconds in the second round. Mazarakis exhibited similar dominance against Richards, pinning
him at 1:13 of the first round. Then he took care of Biro to assume the top spot on the podium. “He was doing a
lot of different things,” Bass said. “When he does that, he’s pretty dangerous.”
Mazarakis was less enthused about his performance, despite starting the season with a pair of pins. “I could have
done better,” Mazarakis said. “I could have pinned him [Biro] earlier. I’m tired. I need to condition more.”
Two other Hurricanes had their patience tested by early byes, but each responded with first-place finishes. Freshman
Conner Bass – the coach’s son – rolled through the 96-pound bracket, winning a 12-2 major decision over Riverhead’s
Pat Thomas in the final. Sophomore Pete DeTore was even more dominant at 103 pounds. He scored a pin at 1:03 in
the semifinals before notching a technical fall with a 17-0 edge on Riverhead’s Kevin Tuthill.
Westhampton freshman Conner Bass drives Riverhead's Pat Thomas to the ground
en route to a 12-2 major decision in the 96-pound title match.
DeTore won the 96-pound title last year en route to Most Outstanding Wrestler honors.
Westhampton, with senior captains Paul DiLandro and Kyle Hubbard out with injuries, had to settle for third with
225.5 points. Thanks to fielding seven champions, Ward Melville won the tourney title with 304.5. Riverhead took
second (249.5).
Ryan Marin (140), Scott Carey (145) and John Prudenti (152) each took home second-place finishes. Zach Bass (112),
Cory Hubbard (119) and James Frost (160) won their final matches of the day to grab third.
Despite a trio of championships, Coach Bass wasn’t pleased with the Hurricanes’ overall effort. Last year, they
won seven individual titles.
“We had some young guys that did really well – our ninth and 10th grade classes are absolutely loaded – but I’m
a little disappointed in some of my other seniors,” Bass said. “The young guys are pushing. If [the upperclassmen]
don’t get it back together, those young guys are going to take some spots.”
Two Take Top Honors For Hampton Bays
The Baymen didn’t have the bodies to compete for the team title, but two of its finest reeled in first-place finishes
in leading Hampton Bays to fourth overall.
Junior Ryan Jordan, wrestling a weight class up at 125 pounds, knocked off Riverhead’s top two entries to reach
the championship match. He knew he’d have his hands full in the final, having drawn East Hampton’s Jake Terando.
Mercy's Donald Ford (right) has no luck escaping 140-pound Bayman Bill Altman.
“As I went to pick my up bout sheet, the guy said ‘you’re going against a hometown
hero,’ ” Jordan said. “The weight was on me then. It was just great to win.”
He was joined on the podium’s top step by teammate Bill Altman. The junior went 4-0 on the day, finishing in style
by pinning Westhampton’s Marin at 5:40 of the championship match. Altman also scored wins by fall in his first
and second matches of the day. “I had a good time,” Altman said. “I’ve been preparing a couple weeks for this tournament,
so I came in prepared. I was wrestling a couple weight classes up, and I felt pretty good.”
Baymen Coach Rafael Lievano was pleased with his team’s effort. Sophomore Ryan Dargan impressed with a fourth-place
finish at 103 pounds. “I didn’t know what to expect for a lot of the young kids, but they wrestled tough,” Lievano
said. “I’m proud of all of them. They worked hard.”
Seven Mariners Reach Podium
Southampton junior Julius Anglickas reached his second consecutive Gardner final at 215 pounds. A year after scoring
a 3-0 decision to win the title, he came up short against Ward Melville’s Cody Ferraro, who had pinned Anglickas’
teammate, Adam McElrath, in the semifinals.
Nick Alessandrini of Southampton rides Westhampton's Tim Daley in a consolation
bout.
While others cited early-season fatigue as their main concerns, Anglickas didn’t
offer it as an excuse. “I was just manhandled,” he said. “I wasn’t tired. He was just stronger.”
The top seed at 135 pounds, Neko Gettling, was upended in the semifinals by Ward Melville’s Mike Calvin. Gettling
nonetheless took home some hardware, as he was the only wrestler to record four pins on the day. He pinned his
way to two wins in the consolation bracket to take third.
The Mariners racked up 89.5 points to grab fifth place as a team. Nick Alessandrini (5th, 96 pounds), Josh King
(4th, 112), Erin Simmons (5th, 152) and Demetrius McCoy also landed in the top six for Southampton. “I was hoping
that Neko and Julius would come out with first-place finishes, but it doesn’t always work out that way,” Southampton
Coach Ryan McCready said. “It’s all right. It’s early in the season. They know what mistakes they made, and they
know what they need to do to fix it.”
Young Bonackers Show Steady Progress
There’s young and then there’s really young. East Hampton’s the latter. The host’s squad ripened a bit with a solid
showing. Junior Jake Terando led all the Bonackers by taking second at 125 pounds. Terando won a hard-fought 6-4
decision against Ward Melville’s Jack Jantzen, the eventual third-place finisher. Then in the semis, a long battle
with another Patriot, Justin Kaller, ended with Terando winning by fall at 4:26.
Ethan Dayton finished fourth at 160 pounds, and Nick Jarboe defeated teammate Blake Parker by fall in the 189-pound
fifth-place match. Jarboe, named one of the Bonackers’ captains as a sophomore, was irked by an early loss, which
sent him to the consolation bracket.
“[Ward Melville’s Chris Brown] had a size advantage on me,” Jarboe said of the eventual class runner-up, “And he
knew what he was doing more than I did.”
Assistant Coach Joe Russo figured that, if anything, his troops would learn from the experience, and that certainly
was the case. “We have a young team,” Russo said. “We’re just going to have to take our lumps. The kids are showing
progress in the practice room, and we need to deliver it to the competition.”
East Hampton's Jake Terando temporarily has Hampton Bays' Tim Jordan under
wraps.
31ST ANNUAL SPRIG GARDNER WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
at East Hampton
Team Scores: 1. Ward Melville (WM) 304.5; 2. Riverhead (R) 249.5; 3. Westhampton
Beach (WHB) 225.5; 4. Hampton Bays (HB) 97; 5. Southampton (SH) 89.5; 6. East Hampton (EH) 47; 7. Mercy (M) 35.5
96: 1. Conner Bass (WHB); 2. Pat Thomas (R); 3. Will Mazzone (WM)
103: 1. Pete DeTore (WHB); 2. Kevin Tuthill (R); 3. Andrew Levanti (WM)
112: 1. Dan Grey (WM); 2. Josh Tyte (R); 3. Zach Bass (WHB)
119: 1. Nick Scotto (WM); 2. Dan Treacy (WM); 3. Cory Hubbard (WHB)
125: 1. Tim Jordan (HB); 2. Jake Terando (EH); 3. Jack Jantzen (WM)
130: 1. Ryan Kraus (WM); 2. Travis Baskin (R); 3. C.J. Givinski (R)
135: 1. Edwin Perry (R); 2. Mike Calvin (WM); 3. Neko Gettling (SH)
140: 1. Bill Altman (HB); 2. Ryan Marin (WHB); 3. Jesse Catalano (WM)
145: 1. Alex Goldenberg (WM); 2. Scott Carey (WHB); 3. Tom Fordy (M)
152: 1. Ryan Rheaume (R); 2. John Prudenti (WHB); 3. James Maier (WM)
160: 1. Will Izzo (WM); 2. John Andrejack (R); 3. James Frost (WHB)
171: 1. Alex Mazarakis (WHB); 2. Joe Biro (WM); 3. Delon Richards (R)
189: 1. Conor Pryor (WM); 2. Chris Brown (WM); 3. Myles Buhner (R)
215: 1. Cody Ferraro (WM); 2. Julius Anglickas (SH); 3. Adam McElrath (SH)
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