Lynbrook enjoys big regular season

Lynbrook 126-pound sophomore Matt Swanson, top, is eyeing another All-County finish after placing fifth in Nassau last season.

Donovan Berthoud/Herald

Lynbrook followed a strong regular season by splitting a pair of matches in the Nassau County wrestling dual meet playoffs last Friday. The Owls knocked off Bethpage in the opening round before falling to host Locust Valley, the defending Division 2 county champs, in the second round.

“We’ve had a really good season and are hoping to finish with a strong qualifier and county meet,” Lynbrook coach Rich Renz said. “We went undefeated at home in dual meets, 7-0, and finished ranked 17th in the county in dual meets.”

Joe Becker (106 pounds), Matthew Swanson (126) and Zachery Kornberg (170) went 2-0 in the playoffs, while Matt Ferrante (99), Anthony Arena (145), Anthony Salamone (152), Mike McGuire (160) and Tom Urena (195) picked up one win apiece.

Becker, one of three starting freshmen, will compete in the 99-pound weight class in this Saturday’s Nassau Qualifying Tournament hosted by Division. “He’s only lost a couple of times at 99, so I think he’s got a pretty good chance to finish in the top four at the qualifier and get to the county tournament,” Renz said of Becker, who is approaching 20 wins and pinned Bethpage’s Geoffrey Shamah in last Friday’s 47-38 victory. “He’s wrestled tough all year.”

Becker and Ferrante, another freshman, are workout partners. Ferrante placed third in the South Side Tournament early in the season and picked up a key win against Bethpage with a pin of Ryan Walker to kick off the match.

Swanson, a junior, is looking for a second straight All-County finish after placing fifth in Nassau last winter. He leads the Owls (13-7 overall in dual meets) in wins and should surpass the 30 plateau this weekend. “Matt’s a technician and he never stops moving,” Renz said. “He’s ranked third in the county and really has a chance to go far if he wrestles well.”

Kornberg, another junior, had a pin against Bethpage and won by technical fall in Lynbrook’s 49-32 defeat to Locust Valley. “Zach was second in the qualifier last season and I’m expecting him to be in the mix again,” Renz said.