Oceanside in youth movement

Oceanside’s wrestling program is rebuilding with a team so young they are without any seniors and have just a handful of juniors to lead the sophomore-and-freshman-heavy 28-man squad.

Junior Dan Fishman reached the semifinals at the Division I individual championship tournament at Hofstra last season, and his goal is to win the counties in the 106-pound weight class in February.

Fishman was among eight Sailors who qualified for the Battle of the Beach tournament in Long Beach on Dec. 2, and he competed in a finals match with Josiah Encarnacion, an All-State selection from Wantagh last season, for nearly 4:40 minutes before he was pinned. Four days later, in Oceanside’s 40-33 win against South Side, Fishman defeated Andrew Shulov decisively in a 14-5 decision.

“Dan is looking very strong,” said fifth-year coach Julio Flores.

The team’s captains are juniors Sam Burns, who Flores praises for his “phenomenal stamina,” and Joe Amir, who executes an artillery of moves on the mat.

At the South Side match, Burns pinned Adian Kelly in the 132 bracket, and Amir won an 8-6 decision against William Abrams at 138. In a 51-30 team loss at Roslyn to open the season, Amir pinned Nikolaus Zirbes, and he notched another 8-6 decision against Jake D’Agostino in a 59-15 team loss to Lynbrook on Dec. 13.

Junior Parker Jervis typically competes in the 152 bracket but won 11-5 against Daniel Del Valle in 160 class at South Side.

“Parker is an aggressive wrestler who is full of energy,” Flores said.

Justin Marine is an aggressive freshman who excels at takedowns. Competing at 126, he won a 12-8 decision against Jacob Rubin at South Side and pinned David Vivar in the bout at Lynbrook. 

Fellow freshman Luke Strianese wrestles at 106 but aims to compete regularly at 99, the class in which he pinned Oren Rubin at South Side.

“Luke is very coachable when he’s out on the mat,” Flores said.

The coach alternates Strianese with two other promising 106-eligible freshmen, Jake Denicker and Luke Stadler, who he believes just need to continue to work hard to contribute and succeed.

Oceanside’s 285 weight class wrestler is Jared “Wisconsin” Gonzales, a highly motivated 310 pounder whose nickname refers to the state where he moved from last year. Gonzales used his athleticism and speed to pin Matthew Renz at Lynbrook. 

“Oh my God, Jared is so quick,” Flores said. “He can do moves that the lightweights can do with no problem.” 

Flores’s goal with his young team is to at least earn a playoff berth in Conference 1B, even though he and his new energetic and upbeat assistant coach, Brian Schoenfelder, concentrate on teaching the fundamentals to each wrestler. They want at least half their squad to qualify for the counties, and at least two juniors to attain All-County status this season.

“We want to perfect everything now,” he said. “So next year or two years from now, they are going to be so knowledgeable with all the moves they’ve learned.”