Five qualifier champs for MacArthur

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The MacArthur wrestling team has qualified 17 grapplers for this weekend’s Nassau County individual wrestling championships and is looking for another strong showing on the Hofstra stage.

Five Generals took home first place honors at last Saturday’s qualifier tournament hosted by MacArthur, with three placing second. The 17 total qualifiers who finished in fourth place or higher exceeded seventh-year head coach Rob Paletta’s expectations, and he hopes the momentum carries into the finals slated for Saturday and Sunday at Hofstra’s Mack Sports Complex. MacArthur also qualified 17 last winter and went on to earn the highest point total in the county championships.

“I am very pleased,” said Paletta, who wrestled at MacArthur in the early 1990s and came in second place in the 1991 county finals. “Hopefully we can wrestle well in the county tournament.”

Returning All-County wrestlers Travis Cooksey (138 pounds), Jeremy Hughes (170), Sal DeLuca (182) and Christian Dougherty (120) all shined at the qualifiers. Hughes, DeLuca and Dougherty all won qualifying titles with Cooksey coming in second place. Senior Vin Thron also won first place in the 152-pound weight class with Liam McAllister defeating his MacArthur teammate Nick Dougherty in the 99-pound finals.

Hughes took second in the counties last year and is ranked No. 1 at 170 pounds by the Long Island Wrestling Association. Paletta said Hughes is motivated to end his senior year with a county title and to also make noise in the New York State Championships in Albany on Feb. 26.

“He is motivated,” Paletta said of Hughes. “He is looking to put a title next to his name.”

Senior Ryan O’Shea is heading into the county championships with momentum after a second place finish in qualifiers. Other MacArthur wrestlers who qualified for the counties include Stephen Gross (106), Nick Goodelman (113), Dan Steinmann (113), Steven Szilagyi (132), Michael Langelotti (132), Jon Vachis (145), CJ Louie (145), Shane Scafidi (160) and Dan O’Shea (182).

DeLuca was recognized with the most pins, least time award. He took down three opponents on the afternoon en route to his first place showing.

MacArthur finished second in Conference 2A behind only Nassau County dual meet champion Long Beach. The Generals had a strong showing in the county dual championships at Clarke High School on Jan. 29-30 with preliminary wins against Plainedge and Cold Spring Harbor before falling to neighborhood rival Wantagh in the quarterfinals. MacArthur finished 14-10-1 overall in dual matches.

“We finished around where we were supposed to finish,” Paletta said. “We’ve had a good year.”

Paletta said scheduling challenging matches this season should pay dividends for his wrestlers when they go up against top competition this weekend. The Generals faced Long Beach and competed against the state’s top teams during the prestigious Union-Endicott duals and Eastern States Wrestling Classic during a grueling January stretch.

“We try to go against the best teams,” Paletta said. “It pays off in the end.”