Promising results for Clarke

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A young Clarke wrestling team took a major step in a Jan. 4 league match against Mineola that was decided at the wire.

Freshman Osmond Bouyer, a 200-pound varsity newcomer, stepped up with a win in the day’s final bout to help the Rams pick up a 35-33 victory. “Ozzy handled the pressure real well for a ninth grader with the crowd going crazy and everything on the line,” coach Mike Leonard said. 

Like several of his teammates, Bouyer wrestles in multiple weight classes on Clarke’s 19-man roster heavy with freshmen and sophomores. Bouyer competes in the 220-pound class, in which he pinned Hicksville freshman Tyler Krom-Power at the Cove Cup in Glen Cove on Jan. 7, and at 285 whenever his team needs points. In addition to its relatively small roster, Clarke has had to sideline a few wrestlers due to injuries, including two who perform in the 285 and 99-pound classes.

The Rams also lean on Vinny Trovato, a senior captain who typically wrestles at 160, to fill the voids. Trovato often gets bumped up to compete in classes of 15 or more pounds. “Vinny fills in wherever we need; he’s a real team player,” Leonard said about one of his four All County wrestlers from last season. 

Another is fellow senior captain Anthony Buffolino, who competes at 182 with an aggressive, never-say-die approach. “Anthony’s the leader of the team,” Leonard said. “He takes charge wherever it’s needed.”

The other All County returnees are Tareq Ibraham (195), who is more laid back and calculated about his strikes, and sophomore Austin Carman (152), a county champion last year who suffered a knee injury during practice early this season but is slated to return.

The Rams took third at the Paul Grammatico Tournament at Valley Stream South, a dual meet in mid-December. Ibraham, Buffolino and Lucus Abbatiello (132), a promising, aggressive freshman, were crowned champions.

Junior Tyler Abbatiello (152), the younger brother of Lucus and an All-Conference wrestler who missed All County honors by one point in a meet last year, is a key contributor to the team. “Tyler is more precise on his shots than his brother,” Leonard said. 

At 152, sophomore Sean Russell wrestles in the same weight class as Carman. Once Carman is cleared to return, they will both cover the 160 class, and Trovato and others will also get bumped up in the county dual championships that Clarke will host Jan. 28. 

But Leonard said his squad will be unable to adequately fill the lineup to make a serious run at the duals. He is focused more on the Division II individual county championships at Cold Spring Harbor on Feb. 11.

Leonard is working to get at least 11 wrestlers to qualify for that meet. He’d like to see between four to seven of them earn All-County honors, and he expects as many as three may end up county champions in their respective weight classes.