Local wrestlers shine in tournament

Bellmore’s wrestling talent was on full display at the annual Sprig Gardner wrestling tournament hosted by Calhoun and Mepham Dec. 12 and 13.

Led by Mepham senior Joel Zambrano, named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler after winning all four of his matches, including an overtime win over Phil Spatafora of Half Hollow Hills in the finals at 120 pounds, the three schools had nine finalists in all.

Calhoun was led by seniors Anthony Fitzsimmons (182 pounds) and Thomas Fitzsimmons (195), who finished first in their respective weight classes while Kennedy had three finalists with senior Danny Arkow, already a perfect 8-0 with seven pins this season, taking top honors at 170 pounds. Sophomore Sean Nanos (106 pounds) and junior Matt Schwartz (152) were runners-up in their weight classes.

An All-County finalist last season and a two-time All-County wrestler, Zambrano literally escaped with his title, netting the match-winning point on an escape in overtime. “He worked very hard in the offseason and his goal is the county’s,” Pirates coach Rich Anderson said, noting that Spatafora was an All-County honoree in Suffolk. “We want the best competition.”

Pirates eighth-grader Kyle Althenn, a 99-pounder, has already won seven of his nine matches, and advanced all the way to the finals, where he was pinned at the 3:17 mark. Sophomore Jeremy Pekoff was third at 106 pounds, junior Tyler Althenn finished third at 120 pounds, senior Alex Pekoff took fifth in the same weight class, and junior Dilan Morris scored points for Mepham with a sixth-place finish at 285 pounds.

The Colts turned in their most impressive performance at the Sprig Gardner in recent memory, taking fifth in the 11-team field. Joining Fitzsimmons as placewinners for Calhoun were classmates Matt Krause (126 pounds) and Isaiah Arroyo (170), each of whom finished second. “We had nine guys place and the other kids are looking to break through,” coach Steven Romano said. “We expect our seniors to take a leadership role, and winning helps. We’re a much-improved team and the future looks bright for us.”

Three different Colts wrestlers finished fourth: eighth-grader Jake Marine at 99 pounds, sophomore Dylan Jainchill doing the same at 126 pounds in his first varsity tournament, and junior Terran Cooper at 138 pounds. Sophomore Peter Rebrato made his varsity tournament debut with a fifth-place finish at 99 pounds, and sophomore Alex Cruz was sixth at 145 pounds.

Perhaps no match at the two-day tournament was as much of a nail-biter as the semifinal pairing of Jeremy Pekoff and Kennedy’s Sean Nanos. It took two full matches—three periods and triple overtime—before Nanos came out on top in a 2-1 win, scoring an escape in the third overtime. The two battled at the MacArthur Tournament one week earlier with Pekoff winning that bout. “Nanos was in better position,” Kennedy coach Brian DeGaetano said of the difference in the rematch.

After dropping his first match of the tournament, 6-4, to South Side’s Matt Turner at 152 pounds, Kennedy sophomore Thomas Block battled all the way back to the placing rounds and knocked off Turner in the rematch for third place. Senior Vincent Bagnasco, perhaps the Cougars most improved wrestler, finished third at 182 pounds, and sophomore Jack Jones took fourth at 160 pounds. Jack Krug closed out the team’s list of placewinners—he was sixth at 132 pounds.