If the Long Island high school wrestling world didn’t know who Kwasi Bonsu was before this season, it certainly does now.
A week after capturing the Nassau Qualifying Tournament with four pinfalls in a combined six minutes, the Baldwin grappler won the 189-pound weight class at the Division I championships at Nassau Community College on Feb. 13 to earn a spot in the New York State tournament in Albany last weekend.
As the No. 2 seed in Nassau, Bonsu had a bye in the first round before pinning Oceanside’s Christian Scarlata in three minutes to advance to the quarterfinals. The junior bested Nico Tsoumpatiortis of Manhasset 8-2 and advanced to the finals after Lawrence’s Yasser Jiminez defaulted due to injury before pinning top-seeded Eric Carlson of Manhasset in 2 minutes, 27 seconds.
Bonsu scored the first two points with a take down 11 seconds into the match, but Carlson tied it with a reversal 12 seconds later. The score remained the same when Carlson chose the bottom to start the second period, but Bonsu used his athleticism to pin him 27 seconds into the session.
“It was the most exhilarating thing ever,” he said. “It was electrifying because I knew all of my work paid off, all my goals paid off and I was just so excited saying I made history for my team, my school [and] my coach.”