Sunday, March 23, 2025
Dunia Sibomana flashed four fingers to signify consecutive Nassau Division I wrestling championships.
But outside of that, there were no outward displays of emotion from the Long Beach junior, unlike some of the other county champions Sunday night at Hofstra University.
That’s because Sibomana is on a mission.
“It feels once again amazing,” Sibomana said after pinning Valley Stream North’s Andrew Poh in 2:51 to clinch the 116-pound county title. “But there’s still a lot of work to be done.”
The North Carolina commit, who last month won his second consecutive Eastern States Classic championship, is in search of his second state title. Sibomana captured the 102-pound title as a freshman but came up short on his next two trips to Albany.
A year ago, Sibomana lost a heartbreaker to Cooper Merli from Newburgh Free Academy in the 108-pound final. Last month, the Long Beach junior earned a measure of revenge by beating Merli in the 116-pound final at the Eastern States Classic.
“All this is just getting me one step closer to that match that I need,” Sibomana said. “Even though I beat him recently in Eastern States, I want the state title. Nothing else.”
Sibomana will head to MVP Arena with three of his Long Beach teammates, as Brody Franklin, Casey Powers, and Ethan Andreula also clinched berths in the state tournament.
“It’s amazing we still have [four] kids going upstate. That’s great,” Sibomana said. “It just shows how much we’ve been working in the Long Beach room.”
A year after finishing third in the county at 124, Franklin won his first county title, with the junior defeating Oceanside’s Chace Morris, 11-4, in the 131-pound final.
“He really stepped up his game this year,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said of Franklin, who also placed third at 110 pounds as a freshman. “He brought it to another level. And I knew he could win if he wrestled the way he was capable of, so excited for him to go back upstate.”
Powers rebounded from getting pinned by Calhoun’s Zachary Gubba in the semifinals to defeat Bellmore JFK’s Jason Brodack, 6-3 in overtime to place third at 101 and book his spot upstate.
“I think Casey did great,” Adams said of the sophomore. “He put in the time this year. He worked hard. I was really proud of him after he lost in the semis, that he refocused, came back, and took third to qualify for the states. That takes a lot of mental toughness.”
Andreula narrowly missed out on a third straight county title, falling to MacArthur’s Vinny Orandello, 4-1, i in the 108-pound final. The two met in county finals in each of the last two years, with Andreula pulling out close victories both times.
The Long Beach freshman did it again in the consolation bracket in last year’s state tournament, placing third at 101. That came after beating Orandello in the third-place match in last year’s Eastern States Classic.
It’s a defeat Adams thinks will fuel Andreula in Albany.
“I think it does. You learn more from your losses, certainly,” Adams said. “And he’s got to change his game plan a little bit to win, which he will.”
