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Overcast Baldwin sends 10 to wrestling championships
Valenti, Trigona win qualifier
Baldwin crowned a pair of champions at last Saturday’s Nassau Division I wrestling qualifying tournament at Levittown-Division and will be well represented at this weekends county championships at Hofstra.
Junior Austin Valenti (119 pounds) and sophomore Sal Trigona (103) finished at the top of their respective weight classes, while eight other Bruins placed no worse than fourth to advance to the big stage at Hofstra. The team finished third in the qualifier with 220 points.
“I’m pretty happy,” Baldwin coach Mike Robinson said. “The only three seniors we brought to the qualifier got through and we had some of younger guys do really well. I think as a whole, they exceeded expectations.”
Valenti was named the qualifying tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler after an injury plagued regular season limited him to nine wins. He had three dominant performances last Saturday and will look to make some noise at Hofstra. “It’s a confidence builder,” Robinson said.
Trigona also won three matches last Saturday and raised his record to 15-10 on the season. He won the title by technical fall over Division’s Tom Maguffin. “Sal dug in,” Robinson said. “He’s a darkhorse who can beat anybody. He’s great on his feet and always looks to put a kid on his back.”
Senior Quincy Parrish, in just his second season competing, picked up two wins and reached the 96-pound final. “Quincy has a lot of talent and has come a long way,” Robinson said. “He’s still learning.”
Baldwin’s depth at 125 showed when sophomore Quinn Knauer surpassed 20 wins on the season on his way to a runner-up finish, sophomore Victor Robinson took third, and sophomore Ryan Brown grabbed fifth, which was good enough for All-Conference honors but he’ll have to wait for a trip to counties.
Four other Bruins placed third, including seniors Eli Alvarado (152) and Kyle Clarke (285). The latter was fifth in the qualifier last season and met a personal goal of reaching the county tournament. “Kyle has been coming on strong,” Robinson said. “I’m not surprised he made it.”
