Adams leads Bellmore-Merrick wrestlers

After crowning a pair of qualifier tournament champions each and finishing second and third, respectively, in the eight-team event, Calhoun and Kennedy made plenty of noise at the Nassau County Division I wrestling championships last weekend at Nassau Community College.
Calhoun’s Ray Adams (118 pounds), Jordan Burr (160) and Michael Patti (189) earned All-County (top six finishers in each weight class) honors, and Adams is headed to the state championships following his runner-up finish in the county to Wantagh’s Joseph Clem.
“We finished 11th as a team,” said coach Peter Marques, who this winter guided Calhoun to its first conference title since 1991. “All in all, this group achieved so much.”
Adams won his first three bouts in the county tournament, including a 9-4 decision over MacArthur’s Jonathan Fox in the semifinals on Sunday morning. Then, in the title bout, Clem grinded out a 3-1 decision over Adams.
“I think they’re two of the top kids in the state,” Marques said of Clem and Adams. “Ray scored first and Clem came back with the one takedown we thought would decide it. They’re both really good on their feet and defensive wrestlers. The goal now for Ray is to finish All-State.”

Burr reached the semifinals as well where he lost to eventual champion Josh Gendlin of Hewlett. Burr settled for a fifth-place finish after splitting a pair of wrestlebacks. “Jordan has been a leader for us for years,” Marques said of Burr. “He lost to the No. 1 and 3 seeds at counties.”
Patti was upset in the opening round last Saturday but rallied all the way back with five straight wins and came within a few points of claiming third place and a spot in the state tournament. “He settled down and beat a lot of quality opponents,” Marques said.
In the qualifier hosted by Kennedy on Feb. 5, Burr and Patti took home titles for the Colts, while Jefferson Cruz (102) and Joshua Amiel (215) got the job done for the Cougars. Both wins by Cruz and Amiel in the finals came against Calhoun rivals, Sean Gallagher and Max Smith, respectively.
Adams and Kennedy’s Nicholas Jaramillo (138) and Brandon Goldstein (285) also reached the qualifier finals.
Cruz pinned his first two opponents at the county tournament last Saturday before he was stopped in the quarterfinals by eventual champion Dunia Sibomana of Long Beach. Amiel and Goldstein went 1-2 at counties; Jaramillo won three of five matches.
“Not having county tournament experience hurt us,” Kennedy coach Brian DeGaetano said. “It was the first time for a lot of the kids, but we have 10 qualifiers coming back next season so that’s exciting.”
Mepham was at the qualifier hosted by Plainedge that same day and saw Owen Trenkle finish second at 126. The Pirates also had solid performances from third-place finishers Nicholas Sedita (118), Devin Greene (138) and Sebastian Alvarez (160.)