Friday, March 28, 2025
Seaford eighth-grader Colden Friedman faced some adversity at the end of his first county wrestling finals match and responded under the pressure.
Friedman entered the third period leading by six against Plainedge’s Luke Worzel in the 101-pound finals before the young wrestler suddenly was placed on his back. Worzel tied the match and nearly won it in regulation, but Friedman held tough to force overtime and early in the extra session recorded a takedown with a blast double move for a dramatic 12-9 county title win.
“I thought about my whole season and I was like thinking that I worked way too hard to be caught by a move like that,” said Friedman moments after his county championship triumph at Cold Spring Harbor High School last Saturday. “When it went into overtime I said this could be the last match of my season and I need to win it so I shot and I scored.”
The dramatic win by Friedman was the first of three county champions Seaford produced at the Division II championships held before a packed crowd in the Cold Spring Harbor gymnasium. Seaford placed second in the tournament with 319.5 points behind only Plainedge (412.5) and qualified five wrestlers for the upcoming New York State Championships
The strength Friedman displayed to earn his county title earned him the tournament's Champion of Champions award.
“He was in a good position up 9-3 in the third and got put up to his back, but he showed a lot of heart to get off his back and then get that takedown,” said 12th-year Seaford coach Dave Takseraas. “We called him up as an eighth grader and weren’t really sure what we were going to get but he has had a great season and to be a county champion as an eighth grader is awesome.”
Joining Friedman at the top of the podium were sophomore Brendan Fox at 116 pounds and junior Connor Murphy at 124.
Murphy seized control of his championship bout late in the second period before recording a pin with 41 seconds left in the period against Island Trees’ John Mignanelli. It marked the second straight county title for Murphy, who last year conquered the 108-pound division.
“I do the best when I'm constantly pushing the pace and my coach just told me recently I'm the best when I'm looking to score,” said Murphy, who is now 29-12 on the season. “The whole match and the whole tournament in general I've been looking to score as many points as I could possibly get and not take my foot off the gas.”
Fox, like Friedman, also had to fight to earn his first county crown with his opponent, Nick Gerbasi of Plainedge, mounting a late comeback to cut the lead to one before the sophomore stepped up when the lights were brightest to achieve a key takedown for an 11-8 win. The win improved Fox’s record to 28-11 a season after placing third in the counties.
“It got close at the end, but credit to him for getting that takedown at the end to seal the match,” said Takseraas of Fox. “That is winning wrestling right there.”
Murphy, Friedman and Fox will now look to continue their magical seasons at the New York State Wrestling Championships scheduled for Feb. 28-March 1 at MVP Arena in Albany. Also qualifying for states were second place finishers Joel Diaz (108 pounds and Brock Conway (152 ), both freshmen. Diaz is a state qualifier for the second straight season after placing second at 101 pounds as an eighth grader.
