Juniors lead Jets re-launch

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After graduating nine seniors, East Meadow wrestling took to the mats this season with a junior-heavy roster.

The Jets are led by 138-pound junior Shawn Regan, who earned All-County honors as a sophomore. Regan placed sixth in the Nassau County individual championships at Hofstra last February. 

“Shawn is one of our more technical wrestlers,” said second-year coach Lou Lago. “He has good movement. He’s pretty slick on the mat.”

Lago will also look to another junior, Liam Laskowski, to help the team repeat as Conference 1B winners. The 285-pound Laskowski brings major strength to the mats, but he’s returning after he suffered injuries playing football for the Jets this fall.  

“Liam is a guy that we got a lot of good things out,” Lago said. “Last year, he was just a match away from being named All County. There are big expectations for him.”

Junior Matt Mustakis (106) won at all three tournaments East Meadow participated in at the start of the season. He took first place and most outstanding wrestler honors at the Knight Classic at Uniondale High School. He also finished first at the Battle of the Beach at Long Beach and the Sprig Gardner, a two-day tourney hosted by Kennedy and Mepham.

“Matt has been our top performer this year,” Lago said.

Among the team’s top wrestlers is junior Xavier Ramos (170), a runner-up at the Knight and Sprig who also took third at the Battle of the Beach, and Stephen Falco, a 152-pound senior who placed in all three tournaments.

“He’s doing well for us as an experienced, senior wrestler and should be pretty solid for us this season,” Lago said of Falco.

The Jets fill most weight classes and expect contributions from 99-pound eighth grader Anthony Gentile, another runner-up at the Knight and Sprig, and Stephen Caldararo, a 145-pound sophomore who shows much promise, having qualified for the county tournament as a freshman.

“Stephen’s just a sophomore, but we’re expecting good things from him down the road,” the coach said. 

The Jets fell to Farmingdale in the second-round of the dual meet playoffs last season. But going deeper into the playoffs this year could be a challenge. The team graduated its two other All-County wrestlers, Michael Choi, who reached the 152-pound finals, and Joe Bangi, who finished fifth place at the same weight. 

“We have a good team, but it also hurts that we lost nine seniors,” Lago said.

The coach believes his team has performed well to start the season, and he’ll need his younger wrestlers to step up, especially now that some realignment has brought Farmingdale into the conference.

“That will be a tough team that we’ll have to try and beat this year,” he said.  

East Meadow will look to shine in the Nassau County dual meet championships slated for Jan. 28 at Clarke High School. The county individual championships are set for Feb. 11-12 at Hofstra University’s Mack Sports Complex.