Long Beach wins conference title

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Long Beach put an exclamation point on the Conference 2A wrestling championship with a convincing 54-16 victory over visiting MacArthur in a winner-take-all match before a packed house on Jan. 21.

The Marines won 11 of 15 weight classes, including six by pin, and are considered one of the top contenders for both the Nassau County dual meet team championship as well as the tournament title. They finished the regular season 11-2 (6-0 against conference rivals) in dual meets.

“MacArthur is our biggest rival and our kids rose to the occasion,” coach Ray Adams said. “It was a great crowd and very loud. The kids fed off the atmosphere and energy.”

Freshman Jacori Teemer, the defending New York State champion at 99 pounds, remained undefeated this season at 106 with a pin of Liam McAllister to even the match early. Teemer, who is 28-0 heading into this week’s dual meet playoffs, recently won the Eastern States Tournament, featuring some of the best competition in the state. “Jacori is ranked No. 1 in the county and has wrestled great,” Adams explained. “He put in all the work during the offseason and he’s been able to pick up where he left off last year.”

In addition to Teemer, the Marines have five others ranked in the top five in the county in their respective weight classes. Long Beach is third behind Wantagh and Locust Valley in the dual meet rankings, and rated as Nassau’s top tournament team. The Marines will host one of six county qualifier tourneys on Feb. 7 beginning at 9 a.m., with Freeport, Oceanside, Baldwin, Herricks, Uniondale and Glen Cove also participating.

In the win over MacArthur, Josh Bourne followed Teemer with a 14-11 decision over Jake Thompson at 113 pounds. Bourne had seven takedowns in the win. Sophomore Matt Maquet, ranked fourth in the county, then won a 7-3 decision over MacArthur’s Troy Ellers at 120.

After the Generals picked up a win at 126, Long Beach freshman Elijah Rodriguez rocked the gym with a third-period pin of two-time All-County opponent Travis Cooksey at 132. “It was a close match up until that point,” Adams said. “Elijah really ignited the team with that finish. Then Charlie [Spada] went out and got a quick pin, and we kept rolling.”

Spada, a sophomore ranked No. 3, pinned Noah Weisberg in the opening period at 138. Sophomore Tyrese Byron, ranked third, recorded a pin at 152, and Marc Paez followed with a major decision victory at 160. At 182, sophomore Tyreek Bromley, also ranked third, won by technical fall. Jeffrey Alvarez (195) and Donovan Campbell (285) notched pins, and Mark Rivera (220) grinded out a 3-0 decision.

“If the kids wrestle well, we’ve got a shot to win the dual meet and tournament titles,” Adams said. “There’s a bunch of strong teams out there and we’re ready for the challenges ahead.”