55.0°,
Mostly Cloudy South Side/East Rockaway building towards future
The South Side/East Rockaway wrestling team is a lot younger this season and the early results suggest there will be some growing pains this winter, but there is hope that some of the group’s more experienced grapplers can land on the podium at the end-of-the-year county event.
The Cyclones have won just 10 non-forfeit bouts during their 0-4 start in dual matches and placed in the bottom half in all three tournaments entering the final week before Christmas, but some of their competitors do have multiple victories under their belts to start the campaign. Coach Mike Robinson recognizes that most of his roster is green and has been impressed with their compete level thus far.
“We’re very young, but we’re just plugging along every day and trying to get better every match,” he said. “The kids are competing, but being so young, the experience level is not there yet.”
Senior Lucas Cortarzar, a fifth-year varsity wrestler, has shown no signs of slowing down after jumping to the 145-weight class from 138 and has a pair of wins in the duals to go along with his finals appearance at the Paul P. Grammatico Wrestling Tournament on Dec. 9. He had 6-0 and 4-2 decision victories after a bye to reach the title match.
“I honestly think he has the ability and skill set and technique to be All-County,” Robinson said. “He’s just got to get that mental part [down], which is the most important part.”
“Garren’s come a long way from his freshman year,” Robinson said. “He’s put a lot of time in the off-season to get better and the results have shown on the mat.”
Senior Evan Russell (190) finished third at the Frank Giampaolo Cyclone Tournament at South Side Dec. 16, picking up two pinfall wins along the way. He also had one of the Cyclones’ two victories against Calhoun on Dec. 15.
“Evan’s our leader,” Robinson said. “He’s working really hard to get better [and] his confidence has gotten a lot better.”
C.J. Brower also had a strong showing at the Grammatico tourney by placing fourth and had a 3-0 decision victory against Roslyn on Dec. 6. Fellow sophomore Eamon Ferrick (215) added a pinfall win against Roslyn, freshman Ryan Perry (108) had his own against Oceanside on Nov. 29 and freshman Richie Lanciers III (124) had two decision wins en route to his sixth-place finish at the Giampaolo event.
To promote female wrestling, South Side also hosted the Giampaolo Girls Tournament in which 62 grapplers competed from 21 schools throughout Long Island. Robinson is hoping that his program could produce some girl wrestlers of its own in the future.
“It was a good event,” Robinson said. “I’ve been trying to get the girls involved and they know that female sports at South Side are very competitive. Maybe in the future.”
