Five Sailors reach county tournament

Sophomore Kash Calderon led the way for a youthful Oceanside wrestling team down the stretch, winning the Nassau Qualifying Tournament hosted by Mepham and advancing to the county championships at Hofstra with four other teammates.

Calderon, who battled illness at the midway point of the season, captured the 113-pound weight class by defeating Willy Jutt of Calhoun in the finals. “It came as no surprise,” Sailors coach Steve Candela said of Calderon’s win. “Kash was starting to put things together toward the end of the season. He was sick for a while, but he came back strong.”

In the semifinals of the qualifier, Calderon knocked off Gharvhel Carre of Hicksville. In the Nassau County Division I Tournament that began last Sunday, Calderon’s season came to an end with a 5-2 defeat to Massapequa’s Joe Doria, a two-time All-County placewinner. “Kash battled all the way,” Candela said.

Getting to coach two of his sons, senior Rocco and freshman Vinny, made Candela’s first year at the helm of the program a special one, he said. Rocco Candela, a former county finalist, finished third in the qualifier at 120 pounds and split a pair of matches at the county tournament. He opened with a win by technical fall over Freeport’s Kevin St. Louis in 2:54, but then lost a major decision to Farmingdale’s Naquan Warren. Rocco went 27-5 on the season and racked up 111 career wins on the mat. “Rocco was in a tough weight class and simply got beat,” coach Candela said. “It was a little bit disappointing, but he had a tremendous career at Oceanside.”

Vinny Candela recorded more than 20 wins in his first varsity campaign. He earned a wild-card spot in the county tournament after placing fifth in the qualifier at 99 pounds. “Competing in the county tournament was a good experience for him,” coach Candela said. “Vinny’s skills were as good as anyone in the weight class. But some of the kids that dropped down from 106 were a little stronger.”

Senior Andrew Mercadante enjoyed a nice run to the 182-pound final in the qualifier where he lost to Mepham’s Steven Lambert. Like Rocco Candela, Mercadante picked up a win at the county tournament last Sunday. He beat Lynbrook’s Jason Espinosa, 6-4, before losing a hard-fought 8-6 decision to Dylan Schmidt of Plainview. “Andrew had a marvelous year and finished with a winning record,” coach Candela said. “He won some big matches late in the season.” Freshman Mike Fishman also competed in the county tournament as a wild-card at 106 pounds.

“We had a very young team,” coach Candela said. “We started a little behind the 8-ball after the storm [Sandy], but we were pretty competitive. The kids gave all they had and got excellent parental support.”