Long Beach sends 10 to county tournament

Despite boasting its youngest roster in coach Ray Adams’ 17-year tenure, Long Beach’s wrestling team came up big in last Saturday’s Nassau County Qualifying Tournament hosted by Baldwin.

The Marines didn’t have an individual champion, but produced three finalists and seven other top-four finishers who’ll advance to the county tournament this Friday and Saturday at Hofstra University. Adams said placing second behind MacArthur in the seven-team event met the team’s goal.

“A few kids might be disappointed [with the results], but overall I think it was our best tournament of the season,” Adams said. “Our qualifier had the most upsets. It was exciting, and proof that anything can happen.”

Reaching the finals for Long Beach were senior Zamarr Allen at 195 pounds, sophomore Alan Teemer at 106, and eighth-grader Matt Maquet at 99. Picking up third place were senior Steven Sewkumar (113), juniors Keith Wildstein (145) and Michael Alcivar (152), and eighth-grader Charlie Spada (106.) Fourth-place finishers were senior Walter Ulloa (220) and juniors Jonathan Greifenberger (126) and Jaemen Connelly (113.)

“We have a lot of potential All-County kids,” Adams said. “This team has come a long way since December.”

Sewkumar leads the Marines in wins with 30, and he’ll be out to avenge just his seventh loss of the season heading into the county tournament. He was upset by Westbury’s Raeco Jackson, 12-10 in overtime, in the semifinals of the qualifier. “Steven’s still capable of going all the way,” Adams said. “He got caught in a couple of headlocks in the qualifier.” The 113-pound bracket at the qualifier was “stacked,” Adams noted, with three All-County returnees, so securing fourth place was key for Connelly.

Allen, who is 21-9 on the season, reached the finals before falling to George Hughes of Valley Stream Central in a mild upset. Allen remains in the All-County picture, Adams said, and will have an edge in the experience department compared to most of the competition.

Maquet (21-8 record) is one of the team’s scrappy youngsters, Adams said, and held down the fort in the lightest weight class all season. He lost to David Yablans in the finals of the qualifier but could make plenty of noise in the county tournament. “He’s had an outstanding first varsity season,” Adams said of Maquet. “He has a shot to make the All-County podium.”

The same goes for Teemer (20-7 record) and Spada one weight class above Maquet. Teemer beat Spada in the semifinals in a match Adams said could’ve gone either way. “They’re both tough,” Adams said.

Wildstein has turned up his game down the stretch and enters the county tournament with a lot of confidence, Adams said. Ulloa and Greifenberger are first-time qualifiers who overcame some hurdles to get to the big stage.

The county tournament begins this Friday at 1 p.m. Semifinalists advance to Saturday, with the finals in the 15 weight classes set to get underway at 6:30 p.m.