Clarke stays tough despite injuries

Injuries have hit Clarke hard on the wrestling mats, but that hasn’t stopped the Rams from piling up some impressive victories in several tournaments, including a second-place finish at the annual Sprig Gardner in Bellmore-Merrick on Dec. 10. Despite entering only 14 wrestlers into the two-day event, Clarke finished only 27.5 points behind first place Kennedy (288.5-251) as every single Ram earned points.

“We beat some really good teams,” Rams coach Mike Leonard said. “If we get everyone on the mat healthy and together, we can do well. We can make a run at the league championship again.”

Senior Dave Amann, one of four co-captains, knocked off junior teammate Joe Weinberg with a pinfall at the 3:11 mark of the 132-pound championship bout to capture the Rams lone title at the Sprig Gardner and followed that up with another crown on Dec. 17, at the Terry Haise Tournament at Freeport. Weinberg was one of three second-place finishers at the Sprig Gardner, along with senior Jon Arias (132) and senior Austin Peraza (195). Arias, who lost a 5-4 overtime decision to Kennedy’s Richard Luxmore in the championship round, was injured during the bout and is only now returning to the mats. His absence, and that of several others, including senior co-captain Vinny Lombardo (152/160) coming off a 36-4 campaign, has helped open the door for teammates to get some matches under their belts.

“We’re hoping by the start of league season to have everyone back,” Leonard said of the kickoff just after New Year’s. “[Now] we have a lot of juniors getting into the lineup and getting experience, so we’ll have a more experienced [team going forward].”

Junior Endy Nunez has bumped up to the 220-pound class and despite giving up roughly 15 pounds each time he hits the mat, has still finished third in three tournaments, thanks in large part to an aggressive year-round commitment that has also made him quicker than the bigger opponents. Sophomore Tom Stobe (120 pounds) knocked off South Side’s Tom Coizer, an All-County returnee, on the way to a fourth-place finish at the Sprig Gardner, while freshman Tyler Constantine, who splits time at 99 and 106 pounds, has placed in two tournaments.

Juniors Joe Hoffman (113 pounds) and Justin Eufima (152/160) and sophomore Joe Truono (152/160) have already contributed along with junior Justin DeFilippi, who stepped into the lineup at 132 pounds at the Uniondale Duals during the holiday break. Senior co-captain Carl Schmidt finished first at 182 pounds at Freeport and earned third-place at the other two early season tournaments, while senior Evan Godstein (145) helped win several matches at Uniondale after senior Shane Irwin was injured in his first bout.

Clarke hosts its annual Alumni Night on Friday against North Shore starting at 7 p.m., as part of a season-opening stretch of three league dual meets in a span of just four days. The Rams return to the gym Saturday for a matchup at Seaford.