Third county title for Mosher

There isn’t much Kyle Mosher hasn’t accomplished on a high school wrestling mat.

But there’s one thing the South Side senior is looking to get his hands on — a state championship. Mosher moved one step closer to his ultimate goal last Sunday night at LIU Post, capturing his third Nassau County Division I title with an 8-0 decision over North Shore’s Stephen Grabher in the 160-pound final.

Mosher, who has four All-State (top six) campaigns under his belt, takes a record of 41-1 to the state tournament at the Times Union Center in Albany Feb. 22-23. He placed fifth in the state at 145 last winter.

“Kyle’s been on fire all season,” South Side coach Mike Robinson said. “He’s been competing at a whole different level and his goal is to bring home a state title.”

Mosher, who also won the qualifier tournament hosted by Long Beach on Feb. 1-2, was the No. 1 seed in Nassau and had three quick pins on his way to a second straight county crown. “This season I set goals to get as many pins as I could and to keep opponents from scoring against me,” Mosher said. “I’m trying to get past the semifinals at states and go all the way.”

Nine other members reached the big state at LIU Post to represent South Side/East Rockaway, which advanced to the dual meet playoffs for the first time in Robinson’s nine seasons and knocked off Plainedge in the first round.

In addition to Mosher, junior Brendan McCarthy finished first in the qualifier. Described by Robinson as the team’s most improved wrestler, McCarthy peaked at the right time and earned his 24th win in style, pinning Hewlett’s Jonathan Zenny in the third period of the 152-pound final. “It’s great for Brendan to take the success and county experience into next season,” Robinson noted.

Nick Shimkin (120) capped an outstanding senior campaign with a spot on the All-County podium. He placed third in one of the more challenging weight classes after finishing runner-up to Baldwin’s Paul Wehr in the qualifier. “Nick was awesome all season and had a record of 28-5,” Robinson said.

Daniel Del Valle, a senior at East Rockaway, was a key to the dual meet lineup at 170 and worked his way to the finals of the qualifier. In limited action, he went 17-6 including three impressive wins at LIU Post.

Junior William Abrams hit an early bump in the road in the qualifier, losing his opening match, but rallied to run the table thereafter and secured third place at 145 with a quick pin of Hewlett’s Muiz Hussain. Abrams battled injuries throughout the season and finished 11-9.

Senior Greg Lethbridge, a strong, athletic and quick 182-pounder, was in a stacked weight class and held his own, taking third in the qualifier and winning one bout in the county tournament.

A pair of 113-pounders reached the county event. Andrew Cancel, a freshman at East Rockaway, made his second appearance, while South Side junior Oren Rubin made his first. Junior Andrew Shulov (22 wins at 120) and senior Connor Alfano (160) both enjoyed quality runs.