Baldwin's Knauer wrestles to final

As impressive as junior Quinn Knauer performed on the first day of the Nassau Division I wrestling championships Feb. 11 at Hofstra, Baldwin coach Jim Murphy was concerned about the 138-pound semifinal matchup against Lucas Panebianco of Island Trees.

“I saw Panebianco go toe-to-toe with Dylan [Cohen] twice and thought it would be a real close match,” Murphy said. “But Quinn dominated. We seemed to have a connection throughout the whole tournament.”

Knauer thumped Panebianco, 11-4, and was a surprise runner-up to top-seeded Dan McDevitt of Wantagh to lead the Bruins to an 11th–place finish in the team standings with 73.5 points. “Quinn wrestled great until the finals,” Murphy said. “I’ve known him and his family a long time. I always knew he had it in him to go far.”

Knauer, who placed second in the county qualifying tournament hosted by Syosset Feb. 4, won four bouts on the big stage at Hofstra. He opened the county championships with a pin of MacArthur’s Sal Randazzo in 1:58, took a 15-7 decision against Roslyn’s Brian Carus in the second round, and upset Uniondale’s Davon Russell with a pin in 3:07 in the quarterfinals. Russell finished third, while Panebianco was fifth. Syosset’s Jared Delin, who edged Knauer in the final of the qualifier, was fourth in the county. “It was one of the stronger weight classes,” Murphy said.

Cohen, a senior who took a 34-1 record to Hofstra and was fresh off a qualifying tournament title, was the No. 1 seed at 145 pounds and cruised into the semifinals with a pin of Farmingdale’s Greg Heinz in the first round (2:22), and a 10-5 quarterfinal triumph over MacArthur’s Michael Marrero. In the semis, Cohen came up short against eventual champion Louis Hernandez of Mepham and settled for fourth place after splitting a pair of wrestlebacks. “Dylan had a tremendous season,” Murphy said. “He was money in the bank. He didn’t wrestle his best after getting sick and missing a few days of school the previous week, and Hernandez is very good.”

Senior Austin Valenti also earned All-County honors for the Bruins by placing fourth at 120 pounds. After winning an 11-3 decision over Freeport’s Aaron Valerio in the first round, Valenti was relegated to wrestlebacks after falling to MacArthur’s Chris Cataldo in the second round. Wins over East Meadow’s Vinny Pannullo (10-0) and Bethpage’s Jake Einbinder (3-2) guaranteed Valenti a spot on the podium. “Austin was one of the best athletes in the weight class,” Murphy said. 

Of Baldwin’s other county qualifiers, junior Victor Robinson was the only multi-match winner. The 132-pound qualifying champion took Uniondale’s Dillon Sterling, 13-4, in the second round and also won a wrestleback. A 3-2 defeat to Hewlett’s Rob Rosenberg ended Robinson’s All-County hopes. “He’ll be back to get after it next year,” said Murphy, who is encouraged by the early commitments to offseason workouts.