Owls young and scrappy

In his 21st year coaching wrestling at Lynbrook, Rich Renz is putting his stamp on the program as the head varsity coach by emphasizing conditioning and positive reinforcement.

“We’re doing a lot of drills and getting the kids physically and mentally prepared for matches,” said Renz, who is assisted by Ed Parenteau and Joe Shanagan. “I’m very pleased with how we’ve started,” he added. “Even though we lost two tough matches, the kids competed hard and wrestled well.”

The Owls, who will battle Bethpage, Lawrence, Glen Cove, Manhasset and Valley Stream South in Conference 3B, opened Dec. 7 with a hard-fought 39-33 loss to Sewanhaka West and followed with a narrow 42-37 defeat a week later to Sewanhaka East. “I’m happy with our performances,” Renz said. 

The Owls are loaded with youth but returned a host of wrestlers with county tournament experience, including a handful that placed second in last season’s qualifying tournament: Jon Espinosa, Brandon Warshall, Charlie Curcio and Matt Mott.

Espinosa, a senior four-year varsity performer and one of the top football linemen in the county, pinned his first two opponents of the season in the 285-pound weight class and is being counted on to be a leader on and off the mat. “Jon’s a big and strong kid with leadership qualities,” Renz said. “If he keeps working hard and stays focused, he can go far.”

Warshall, also a senior with loads of varsity experience, could make noise in the county tournament at 138 pounds. “He’s a skillful, finesse wrester with a lot of moves under his belt,” Renz said.

A junior, Curcio is in his third varsity campaign and brings strength and toughness to the mat. And like Espinosa, he pinned his first two opponents at 126 pounds. “Charlie has great mat awareness and likes to be aggressive,” Renz said.

Mott, another talented member of the football team, is “one of the strongest kids in the room and quick for his size,” Renz said. The junior 195-pounder is a safe bet to rebound from two tough early losses.

Varsity newcomer Matt Liguori, a 99-pound freshman, hasn’t lost in four bouts and will try to continue to spark the Owls at the light weights along with sophomore Dan Verhey (106), freshman Sebastian Campos-Peyou (113) and sophomore Sasha Carberrry (120.)

At 132 pounds, junior Jon Lollar is benefitting from last season’s experience and has two impressive wins out of the gate. Senior Eddie Ferrall (145) is also off to a fine start with a pair of wins, and Renz is looking for him to advance to the county tournament. Senior Kenneth Jorge (152), sophomore Chris Francia (160) and junior Jason Espinosa (170) follow Ferrall in the starting lineup and all three went toe-to-toe with their Sewanhaka East opponents.

Renz said he expects Bethpage and Lawrence to provide the two biggest hurdles in the conference. “If we can hang with those teams, we’ll be fine,” he said.