South Side qualifies nine wrestlers

Posted

The South Side wrestling team took another step forward in its development at last Saturday’s Nassau qualifying tournament hosted by Plainedge. Of the 15 Cyclones’ wrestlers that competed in the event, nine advanced to this weekend’s Division I county championship tournament at Hofstra.

“I think we’re taking steps in the right direction in terms of improving,” coach Mike Robinson said.

Leading the way was freshman Kyle Mosher, a 120-pounder, who won all four of his matches by first-period pinfall. His win in the finals over Oceanside’s Mike Fishman was also the 100th of Mosher’s career. Joining Mosher, the county champ at 99 pounds last season as well as an All-State honoree, in the winner’s circle was senior captain Patrick Wolfram, one of his wrestling partners in the South Side room.

After overcoming a number of injuries throughout the entire season, Wolfram put it all together at the perfect time, winning all four of his matches, including a battle with Alex Bruni of Great Neck South in the finals at 145 pounds. Wolfram earned his first-ever County tournament berth with his first-ever individual championship, knocking off the first, second and fourth seeds along the way. “He was phenomenal,” Robinson said, noting how the injuries kept his overall win total down entering the qualifier. “He’s a hard worker and one of the hardest in our room as far as practice is concerned. I think it was surprising for people who looked at his record.

“He was just on,” Robinson added. “He was pushing the pace, being aggressive and riding guys out.”

Sophomore Jacob Rubin earned All-Conference honors last season and continued his improvement at the qualifier. During the regular season Rubin ripped off a 10-match win streak, and now he’s qualified for the County Tournament after finishing second at 106 pounds. His only loss was in the finals to top-seeded Joe Simons of Farmingdale, who’s also the No. 1-ranked wrestler at 113 in Nassau County. Senior Paulo Carre finished second at 160, coming out on the short side of his bout with Farmingdale’s Darin Simons in the finals.

After battling through a number of close losses throughout the season, junior Mark Marasco was third at 126 pounds. A defensive wrestler by nature, Marasco turned on his offense which helped push him into the battle for third place. He defeated Farmingdale’s Dan Keller in his final match.

Freshman Greg Lethbridge has been showing signs of being a Cyclones’ wrestler on the rise, and he put an exclamation mark on the ascension with a win over Oceanside’s Zach Kluger for third place. “He’s stepped in and stepped up,” Robinson said of the first year varsity wrestler. “To jump in as a freshman [at 160 pounds] is rare, but it happens, and fortunately for Greg he’s holding his own. He’s a defensive wrestler and great on his feet, and you definitely don’t want to be on the bottom with him.”

Junior Dan Schwartz qualified for the county tournament with a third- place finish at 195, while freshman Nick Shmikin punched his ticket to Hofstra by taking fourth at 99. Junior Cliff Cornell also advanced with a fourth-place finish of his own at 113.