Thursday, March 27, 2025
In the leadup to the individual county championships Freeport wrestling got some added confidence with some team history.
The Red Devils won the program's first league title in more than a decade by capturing the Conference 1A championship with a successful regular season dual meet season culminating in a 45-27 win against Syosset on Jan. 16. The accomplishment gave Freeport a chance to compete in the Nassau County Division I Dual Meet championships where it dropped a competitive match to seventh-seeded Bellmore JFK, 35-26 on Jan. 23.
“We were definitely looking forward to the dual meet season as we thought we had a pretty good lineup and we were the one seed so we knew that it was right there for us,” said fifth-year Freeport wrestling head coach Matt Cellan. “In the only championships we fell a little short, but our goal is always the end of season with the individual counties and states.”
Freeport next turns its attention to individual county qualifiers this weekend where Cellan is hoping to qualify around 15 wrestlers for the county championships at Hofstra University’s Mack Sports Complex on Feb. 15-16.
Among the Red Devil grapplers with potential for a top three county finish that would earn a trip to the state championships in Albany is freshman Christian McCravey at 116 pounds, who placed third in the counties last year as an eighth grader.
Senior Jahari Lloyd (124 pounds) is also making a push for a county title or state championship appearance after finishing third at 116 as a junior. Fellow senior Anthony Velasquez (170) is also looking to reach the podium again following a fifth place showing in the same weight class last winter.
Heavyweight wrestlers Edwin Aracena and John Saraldi will both have a chance to earn All County accolades in a deep weight class.
“They could beat anyone in the county,” said Cellan of his heavyweights. “There's like 10 guys that are pretty good and any one of them could be in the finals.”
Junior Kerry Ellis (170) is also in the midst of a big season with close to 30 wins at 138 pounds a season removed from winning the county qualifiers at 131 during his sophomore campaign. Sophomore Jason Lara (170), junior Carlos Aguilar (160) and senior Yosiah De La Rosa (215) will also be looking for deep county runs.
Cellan said county qualifiers will be the first team he has had his full lineup of wrestlers after many have missed time due to illness with a flu bug going around. While this year’s team lacks the depth of the 2023.24 squad that qualified 14 for the county championships, Cellan said the combination of veteran leaders and underclassmen positions the program well for the future.
“This year we have some individuals that are at a really high level, but we also have a lot of young guys that are unproven,” Cellan said. “We're a little thin this year, but we have a lot of really experienced guys that are coming back.”
