Sports
Whitman Wrestlers Finish 6th at League II Championships
Two Wildcats win their weight classes at championships.
The Whitman wrestling team finished sixth at Saturday's Suffolk League II wrestling championships at Lindenhurst High School.
For Whitman, freshman Joe Calderon (96 pounds) and senior Mike Milanese (130 pounds) were winners at their weight classes. Five other wrestlers (freshman Hakmat Naemmi at 103, junior Chris Aguilar at 152, senior Jonathan Russell at 189, Luke Rise at 215, and Kamaron Turner at 285) reached the semifinal round but were unable to qualify for the County Championships, finishing in fourth.
Calderon and Milanese advance to next week's Suffolk County Championships.
Find out what's happening in Huntingtonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Heroes: At Wildcats coach Vincent Altebrando's urging, Calderon lifted up his shirt and showed off an abdomen that looked like it was straight out of a workout video. It was the result of an intense amount of discipline - three to four hours of work per day, as well as adhering to a strict diet to keep his weight at 96 pounds.
That discipline paid off for Calderon, as he finished first in the 96-pound class. Calderon's 3-0 victory in the final was extra-special to him because it came over Central Islip's Walter Ibanez, who knocked him out in the semifinals a year ago.
Find out what's happening in Huntingtonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"He's worked since last season at keeping his weight down to wrestle at 96 again," Altebrando said. "He could've went out for pizza. On birthdays. Ice cream. He doesn't eat it. He thinks 24/7 for this day, and next week."
"My dad teases me about it," added Calderon. "But I stick to my guns."
Milanese needed overtime to get through his semi-final match against Central Islip's Carlos Garcia, winning, 3-2, before beating Connetquot's Joey Gates in the final, 6-4.
"The overtime match in the semis really got me tired, and I had a tough finals match," said Milanese. "But you just have to push through it."
"Every day last week, we practiced overtime, so they'd be ready for those matches," Altebrando said. "He practiced like it was the real match, so when the match came, he'd be ready for it."
Calderon and Milanese each take 35-2 records into the County tournament next week.
Turning Point: Whitman got seven wrestlers through to the semifinals. The Wildcats went 2-5 in those semifinals. But what separated fifth-place Northport from Whitman was its performance in the third-place matches. Northport's wrestlers went 4-1, while Whitman's wrestlers were winless in their five matches.
"I thought that the seven guys that placed would place," Altebrando said. "It came up to our expectations. But when the time came to take it to the next level, we held back a little bit. I thought we’d get more guys to counties."
Quotable: Wrestling coaches frequently preach conditioning and yearly workouts for their wrestlers. But even Altebrando was surprised by how dedicated Calderon was.
"In the summer, I'd call him," Altebrando said. "He'd say, 'I just got back from running.' I'd say, 'Don't you know it's 100 degrees out?' He'd respond, 'Yeah, I was running in my sweats.' "
Who's Next: The County Championships for Suffolk Division I and II are Feb. 13-14, at Stony Brook University.
Team Results:
1. Connetquot, 250; 2. Sachem North, 243; 3. Central Islip, 152.5; 4. Lindenhurst, 129; 5. Northport, 116; 6. Whitman, 96; 7. Bay Shore, 73.
Individual Results:
96 pounds: Joe Calderon (Whitman) def. Walter Ibanez (Central Islip), 3-0; Third Place: Eddie Hart (Connetquot) pinned Matt Stallone (Sachem North).
103: Sean O'Hagan (SN) def. Mike Figueroa (CI), 7-4; Third: Kenny Gallagher (Northport) def. Hekmat Naeemi (Whit), 11-4.
112: Sean McCabe (Conn) pinned Steven Bulzomi (Conn); Third: Mark Sanchez (CI) def. Alec Ross (SN), 9-5.
119: Giovanni Sanchez (CI) def. Frank Napoli (SN), 8-3; Third: Brendan Dent (Conn) pinned Gino Titone (Conn).
125: Stephen Drew (Conn) pinned Matt Marino (SN); Third: Luke Attisani (Bay Shore) def. David Johnson (SN), 1-0.
130: Mike Milanese (Whit) def. Joey Gates (Conn), 6-4; Third: Carlos Garcia (CI) def. Franky Blais (SN), 10-3.
135: Dan Romanczyk (Npt) def. Joe Justiniano (Lindenhurst), 17-6; Third: Braulio Silverio (CI) pinned Steve Schmitt (Conn).
140: Joe Napoleon (Lind) def. Nick Ianello (SN), 3-1; Third: Vincent Sosa (Npt) def. Michael Downer (SN), 4-0.
145: Rashaad Gray (BS) pinned Mike Cella (Conn); Third: Matt Spiros (Npt) def. Andrew Aiello (Lind), 3-1.
152: Shaun Gillen (Conn) def. Keith Meisner (Lind), 5-2; Third: James Schreck (SN) def. Chris Aguilar (Whit), 4-2.
160: Nick LoBue (Conn) def. Donovan Devaney (Npt), 14-1; Third: Vincent Provenzano (SN) pinned Vin Fragale (SN).
171: John Zullo (Conn) def. Julian Ming (CI), 5-2; Third: Anthony Marino (SN) pinned Joe Klonowski (Npt).
189: Dondre Bailey (CI) def. Kevin Szczech (Lind), 4-2; Third: Gio Santiago (SN) def. Jonathan Russell (Whit), 3-2.
215: Mike McCarthy (SN) def. Shakore Philip (BS), 5-3 OT; Third: Kenny Drew (Conn) def. Luke Rise (Whit), 5-2.
285: Evan Wildeberger (Lind) def. Anthony Confessore (SN), 1-0; Third: Jake Davenport (Npt) pinned Kamaron Turner (Whit).
