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Fair Foursome advances for Oceanside
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Oceanside junior Miguel Aguirre, top, won two matches at 125 pounds at last Friday's county qualifying tournament at Plainedge.
Jeff Wilson/Herald
Junior Nick Cascio, sophomore Hector Quintin and freshmen Zach Strandberg and Rocco Candela are set to represent Oceanside at the Nassau Division I wrestling championships this weekend at Hofstra’s Mack Sports Complex.
The four head to the county’s main event after finishing in the top four in their respective weight classes in last Friday’s qualifying tournament at Plainedge. Cascio placed third at 152 pounds, Quintin was third at 215, Strandberg was third at 112 and Candela took fourth at 96.
“We’ve got a very young team that wasn’t ready to challenge for a conference championship, but everyone worked hard and improved individually,” Sailors coach Joe Kachuba said. “I thought we competed well in the qualifier. We brought 12 kids, and seven of them won at least one match.”
Of Oceanside’s four county qualifiers, Kachuba tabbed Strandberg as the biggest surprise. His back was against the wall after he dropped his first match to eventual champion Eric Faimon of Syosset, but he rallied with wins over freshman teammate Justin Stone, Plainedge’s Matt Ishak and Matt Parket of Great Neck North. “Zach had a solid regular season in a tough weight class and treated the qualifier as a brand new start,” Kachuba said. “He grew more confident as the day went on.”
Candela lost to Syosset’s Chris Frisina in the semifinals—in overtime—but rebounded with his team-leading 22nd win of the campaign to punch his ticket to the county’s big stage. “Rocco came to us more advanced than the average freshman,” Kachuba said. “He’s wrestled a long time. He’s technically sound and has a shot to be All-County [top six]. At 96, the field is usually filled with young kids and anyone can beat anyone on a given day.”
Cascio also came up short in the semis against an opponent from Syosset—Brandon Guastafeste—but managed to earn his second straight trip to the county tournament with wins over Joe Ronzetti of Locust Valley, Zack Pek of Great Neck North and Tyler Poli of Plainedge. “Nick is a strong kid who could get All-County if everything falls into place,” Kachuba said of Cascio, who has 18 wins on the season.
Quintin pinned Valley Stream Central’s Omar Soltan and South Side’s Steve Meoli en route to qualifying. He also defeated Chris Pellizari of Plainedge by decision and suffered his lone loss to Steven Graziano of Syosset. “Hector is a strong kid who’s coming into his own,” Kachuba said. “He just missed qualifying last season and it’s good to see him take the next step.”
The Sailors, who compiled a dual meet record of 3-8, saw sophomore Joe Rende pick up All-Conference honors by placing sixth at 112 pounds, while juniors Miguel Aguirre (125) and Lou Catalanotto (130) each picked up a pair of victories. Senior Matt Strandberg lost his only bout after ranking among the team leaders in regular-season wins with 13.
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