Hewlett rolls into county tournament

Following a regular season for the history books, Hewlett backed up its first-ever conference wrestling title with a strong showing in the Nassau Qualifier Tournament it hosted last Saturday.

The Bulldogs finished runners-up to MacArthur in the seven-team event and crowed four individual champions along the way. Junior Owen Bachelder, who two years ago became the school’s first-ever county champ in the sport, had the Most Pins in Least Time at the qualifier with four in 11:31. He capped a perfect day by pinning Seaford’s Adam Weissberg in the 138-pound final and improved his record on the season to 37-4.

“We have at least 11 qualifiers for the county tournament,” Hewlett coach Stephen Jones said. “It’s a pretty similar number compared to the past three years. The county tournament is a funny thing. Upsets happen and you really can’t count on anything being a lock.”

Bachelder, who was third in Nassau last winter at 132, entered last Saturday’s action ranked third in the county at 138 behind Division’s Ricky Stamm and Farmingdale’s Naquan Warren. “He has so much experience in big situations and is peaking at the right time,” Jones said of Bachelder. “He’s crushed it all season.” 

The Nassau County Tournament begins this Friday morning on the big stage at Hofstra University. The semifinals are Sunday morning, and the finals will get underway on Sunday at approximately 6 p.m. “We’re hopeful to get a bunch of kids into the finals and a bunch of others on the All-County podium,” Jones said.

Senior Charles Tsakh (160 pounds), senior Alex Gordon (170), and junior Terry Micourt (182) also captured titles at the qualifier. Sophomore Lucas Pincus and senior Paul Lane were runners-up at 132 and 285, respectively.

Tsakh is the likely top seed for the county tournament after completing the qualifier with a victory over Seaford’s John Falzarano in the finals. It was Tsakh’s 30th win of the season. “Charles is very explosive and can be a hammer when he’s on top,” Jones said. “He looks like the one to beat.”

Gordon, known for putting a lot of points on the board, did just that in the finals of the qualifier when he knocked off MacAthur’s Sal DeLuca, 7-2. “He’s constantly on the attack,” Jones said of Gordon, who enters the county tourney with a record of 31-7.

Micourt, described by the coach as one of the team’s hardest workers, grinded out a 3-2 decision over Luis Campos in the finals. It was win No. 25 for Micourt, who has potential to achieve All-County status this weekend, Jones said.

The coach believes Pincus, who lost 1-0 to MacArthur’s Michael Brown in the finals, will be a dangerous opponent at Hofstra, along with Lane and fellow heavyweight Mike Curiel, a junior. Lane and Curiel came up just short against Roosevelt’s Monair McDonald in the finals and semis, respectively, last Saturday.