Calhoun impresses in qualifier

The Calhoun wrestling team thought last season was a banner year. But now it is ready to top that. 
At the Nassau County qualifying tournament hosted by Kennedy last Saturday, Calhoun outdid itself with a glorious showing.
 Calhoun qualified 15 wrestlers for the upcoming Nassau County Division I championships that will be held this weekend at Hofstra.
Of those 15 qualifiers, three Colts took home titles – junior Bobby Bello (160 pounds), senior Dan Fauci (116) and  junior Carter Tenenbaum (215). 
It is the most county tournament qualifiers in coach Peter Marques’ six seasons in Merrick. In addition, Bello won the award for most pins (4) in the least amount of time.

“It says how much the program has grown over the years,’’ Bello said. “It’s the time and dedication the coach and players have put in. The community of wrestling has just blown up. It’s very positive.’’
 Last season, Calhoun had two All-County wrestlers (a top-6 finish) in Ray Adams and Andrew Foy. This season, the Merrick school is gunning for even more.
“Our goal is if we can get four guys if everything goes really well,’’ Marques said. “Last year we finished 10th as a team. We want to improve on that.’’ 
The best shot at an All-County grappler is Bello, a junior who didn’t place in the counties last year. Now he’ll go into the counties as a high seed. 
 “I just have to really wrestle tough and keep doing what I’ve been doing,’’ Bello said. “I have to keep my mental state right and keep training hard. All-County would be a huge stepping stone in achieving some of my goals.’’ 
Bello was a pin machine at the qualifier. “He’s  a very good athlete and able to use his athleticism and speed,’’ Marques said. “He’s a very technical wrestler on the top position. He sticks to his game plan and does what he does well.’’
Bello gained revenge in The Finals with a pin on McArthur’s Mike Waters, whom he had lost to earlier this season. “I tried to get on offense quicker,’’ Bello said of the rematch. “I got a reversal and then I stuck him.’’
The 116-pound class became an All-Calhoun final with Fauci beating his teammate, Devin Nichols in The Finals. Both move on to Hofstra. 
Tenenbaum’s first place became the most riveting as the match went into double overtime in the 215-pound class. In the second OT, Tenenbaum started from the bottom and notched a reversal during the 30-second period. In the next 30-second segment, with his opponent at the bottom, Tenenbaum kept him down.
The coach Marques believes Bello, Fauci, Nichols, Tenenbaum, junior Sean Gallagher (108 pounds) and Dom DiRico (108) are all All-County candidates. 
Gallagher, Nichols, Nicholson, Jayce Joosten and DiRico each finished in second place in their weight classes to make it to the counties. James Chicco was a third-place finisher. Finishing fourth and eking in were Zach Gubba, Liam Lynch, Dylan Nichols, Michael Nicholson, Greg Katragis and Gianni Castiglia. All head to Hofstra. 
And it gets even better for the Colts. The lone female wrester who practices with the squad, Reese Adams, finished second last weekend in the girls individual Long Island Championships at 114 pounds. Her brother, Ray wrestles at Duke after being All-State at Calhoun.