Hewlett, Lawrence crown three apiece

Big performances were the rule and not the exception for Hewlett and Lawrence wrestlers at the Nassau Qualifying Tournament hosted by Long Beach last Saturday. The Bulldogs and Golden Tornadoes each had three individual champions and will send at least 15 participants combined to the county tournament this weekend at Hofstra.

“I’m hoping for some wild cards in addition to the eight kids we had qualify,” said Hewlett coach Stephen Jones, whose team racked up 269.5 points to finish second behind host Long Beach in one of six seven-school events countywide. “We’ve faced topnotch competition all season long, and hopefully we finish strong.” he added.

Seniors Matt Kaminer (220 pounds) and Oran Revivo (138), as well as freshman Lucas Pincus (120), captured qualifying titles for the Bulldogs, while defending county champion Owen Bachelder, a sophomore, was runner-up at 132.

Lawrence, which totaled 155.5 points and placed fifth, was led in the qualifier by champion juniors Oscar Puk (145), Hamza Ramza (195), and Dimitri Samuels (285.) “We wrestled up to our potential,” Golden Tornadoes coach Dom DelVecchio said. “We had a tough regular season having to forfeit four or five weights every match, but I’m glad the way the qualifier turned out. The kids did well.”

Pincus, the youngest of the local county qualifiers, raised his record to 28-10 a year after earning All-County honors as an eighth-grader. He beat Long Beach’s Alan Teemer in the semis, and Westbury’s Rico Jackson in the finals, to finish atop what Jones described as the toughest weight in the qualifier. “Four of the top six kids in Nassau at 120 were in our tournament,” Jones said. “I think Lucas has a chance to win the county. He’s peaking at the right time.”

Revivo, who takes a 32-7 record to Hofstra, worked his way past Long Beach’s Jon Greifenberger, 4-1, in the finals of the qualifier. Kaminer, with a record of 32-6 after dominating the qualifier, is ranked second in the county. Bachelder will be looking for a repeat of last winter when he was runner-up in the qualifier and became the Bulldogs’ first-ever county champ.