Seaford dominates in qualifier

Seaford’s wrestling team is looking to make a splash on the county stage this weekend. 

The Vikings will send more than two dozen wrestlers to the Nassau County individual small school Division 2 championships slated for this Saturday at Cold Spring Harbor High School.

Seaford produced a strong showing at last Friday’s qualifying tournament held at Locust Valley High School with 25 of 30 wrestlers advancing and seven winning titles in their respective weight classes.

 “We’re excited to get 25 guys into the county championships,” Seaford fourth-year head coach Dave Takseraas said. “The guys really performed well.”

Emerging as qualifying champions were Jake Murphy (99 pounds), Andrew Schutzman (126), Jake Palmer (132), Tom Galinski (138), Mike Silipo (160), Larry Wing (152) and Nick Brandi (220). Palmer and Silipo both recorded pins against opponents they had previously lost to in the regular season.

“It shows how much they have progressed and gotten better,” said Takseraas of Palmer and Silipo. “I believed they could win and they believed they could win.”

Takseraas was also impressed with Tyler Volpi (145) and Tom Lynch (106), who both reached the finals by taking down some tough opponents. After a 4-4 dual meet season, Takseraas believes his wrestlers are peaking at the right time and positioned to make a run for the most points in the individual championships. Last year Seaford finished fourth with 126 points behind Locust Valley, Cold Spring Harbor and Clarke.

“I’m hoping that with the way that we’re competing and our depth that we can make a run in the championships, but it will be tough,” said Takseraas, who wrestled at Seaford in the mid-1990s and was an assistant coach for 15 years prior to taking over the program as head coach for the 2013-14 season.  “I’m hoping we’ll have some guys go to the state tournament.”

Takseraas has seen determination to improve throughout the season led by senior tri-captains John Cantwell, Dante Botti and Palmer. Seaford, which is ranked ninth in the county by the Long Island Wrestling Association, defeated Island Trees, Massapequa, East Meadow and Hampton Bays in dual meet matches and nearly knocked off Plainedge in a 35-28 setback on Jan. 10. The Vikings, who returned 13 seniors, have worked hard both on and off the mats in an effort to achieve the highest results.

“They have come into the weight room every day looking to get better,” Takseraas said. “I’m really pleased with how hard this team has worked all season.”

Seaford will look to improve on last year’s individual county championships where the Vikings had two county champions. Takseraas hopes for more county winners this year and to have a large Seaford presence at the Times-Union Center in Albany for the New York State Championships on Feb. 24-25.

“We’re determined to come out and have a much stronger showing this year,” he said. “We have some potential to do some great things.”