Nine Rams reach county tournament

Clarke found itself behind the 8-ball in many dual meets and tournaments thanks to having to forfeit matches in as many as six different weight classes due to injuries.

But the Rams made things work by racking up plenty of victories by pinfall on the way to a 15-12 dual meet record, and that success carried over to last Saturday’s Nassau County qualifying tournament at MacArthur. As a team, Clarke’s first 13 victories were by pin, and that success helped the team pile up six finalists, including senior Dave Amann, who won the title at 138 pounds. Nine Rams wrestlers in all qualified for this weekend’s county championships at Hofstra University.

Amann dominated Lynbrook’s Eddie Ferral in a 9-1 major decision to capture the title, notching several takedowns and controlling the match from the start. “Dave has beaten four of the top six guys in his [weight] class this season,” coach Mike Leonard said of Amann, who pinned his first two opponents in the tournament. “He doesn’t stop. He’s technically good and he keeps going.”

Freshman Tyler Constantine was one of four second-place finishers and fell shy in the 99-pound final, dropping a 6-2 decision to MacArthur’s Michael Coiro. At 106, junior Joe Hoffman upset Bellmore’s Tyler Smith in the semifinals, using his conditioning to come out on top by decision. Facing the No. 1 wrestler in Nassau in the finals, Justin Cooksey of the host Generals, Hoffman kept it close for two periods. “His win in the semis shows that he can compete for All-County [honors] next week,” Leonard said.

Senior John Aries, like Constantine, fell just shy in a finals decision, as his title run was stopped short by MacArthur’s Rob Bennett, a returning All-County performer, 7-6. Despite dropping a 4-0 battle to Bellmore-Kennedy’s Matt Accetta in the finals at 220 pounds, junior Enndy Nunez advanced to his third county tournament. “Enndy pushed the pace and got a little overanxious trying to put himself in a position to win,” Leonard said. “But he went down throwing. He showed he could compete for All-County honors.”

Senior captain Carl Schmidt captured win No. 30 of the season and took third place at 182. Senior Austin Peraza (195) and juniors Joe Weinberg (138) and Justin Eufemia (152) also finished third. Eufemia’s finish is particularly impressive, because he spent a majority of his time during the season wrestling at 160 and 170.

Leonard was hoping sophomore Tom Strobe (120) and senior Vinny Lombardo (152) could squeak in to Hofstra as wild cards.