Oceanside rebuilds with youth

After spending two seasons coaching Oceanside’s JV wrestlers, Joe Pumo was elevated to run the varsity program and finds himself in the middle of a rebuilding process.

“Half the battle is getting kids to wrestle year-round,” Pumo said. “I’m encouraged by the turnout we had for off-season workouts. All the kids are working hard and learning every day. We’ve got a very young team and we’re headed in the right direction.”

The Sailors feature two quality leaders in Louis Catalanotto and Nick Cascio, some talented sophomores with county tournament experience, as well as an influx of freshmen. Catalanotto, who competes at 130 pounds, and Cascio (160), are the only two seniors on the roster.

“Louis is tough, long and lanky,” Pumo said of Catalanotto, who earned a win in the dual meet opener against Westbury. “It’s a goal of his to qualify for the county tournament. I’m expecting a lot from him, and he’s working and putting things together to make it happen.”

Cascio is looking to return to the county tournament and make noise. “Nick’s a strong kid who’s tough on his feet,” Pumo said. “He’s learning some new techniques that’ll make him that much tougher to deal with.”

Sophomores Rocco Candela and Zach Strandberg figure to benefit from last year’s county experience. Candela, a technically sound and scrappy wrestler at 96 pounds, had an impressive third-place finish in the Battle at the Beach Tournament in Long Beach to open the season and rolled to an easy victory against Westbury. “Rocco worked on his fitness to go along with his superb technique,” Pumo said. “He knows exactly what he has to do to be successful in a match.”

Strandberg, a 119-pounder, also picked up a win against Westbury and will be a key to the lightweights all season. “He gives opponents problems when he’s on his feet,” Pumo said.

Four of Oceanside’s nine freshmen picked up wins in the JV portion of the Westbury match: Dan Grossman (112), Sebastian Jimenez (130), Andrew Rullo (135), and Marco Sinnona (160.) Pumo said some freshmen will compete in varsity bouts during the dual meet season.

The Sailors are in Conference 1B along with Baldwin, East Meadow, Farmingdale, Hempstead and Hicksville. “We’re in a tough conference,” Pumo said. “I expect our guys to wrestle hard and compete.”