Sports
Short-Handed Syosset Wrestling Team Falls at Freeport
The Red Devils took advantage of the Braves multiple injuries Wednesday night, delivering Syosset their first conference loss.
Losses are never easy to swallow, but sometimes they are easily explained.
That was certainly the case on Tuesday night, as the Syosset wrestling team fell 52-29 at Freeport High School. The Braves were considerably short-handed when they walked onto the Freeport mats - four of Syosset's top wrestlers didn't make the trip because of illness or injury.
"It's not really fair to Syosset," Freeport coach Joe Chetti said about the match. "We know they're a great program and they work real hard."
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Although Syosset (1-2) was short-handed, they kept the match close early on. After winning two of the first three matches, Syosset held an 18-4 lead. But the large amount of absentees finally caught up with them, as they fell to Freeport in seven of the nine remaining matches.
Records: The loss evens Syosset's record to 1 -1 in Conference I-AA, while Freeport moves to 1-0.
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Hero: Nick Rondino – He got the Braves started off in the right direction with a win over Edgar O'Campo in the first match of the night. Rondino was awarded an 8-0 victory in the 96-pound weight class. The win marked the first of two matches in which Freeport would fail to score.
Turning point: Freeport took the lead for good in the seventh match, a Josire Rodriguez win over Will Handelsman in the 145 weight class. The 4-1 pinning gave the Red Devils a 25-23 lead that Syosset would never recover.
Quotable: "In my eyes, I know we won, but it wasn't their best team on the mat," Chetti said.
Bottom Line: In many ways, this kind of loss came at a good time for Syosset. It's better to get injuries and illness out of the way early in the season. Once the Braves field a full squad, they should be pretty formidable. If anything, the loss served as a way for some of the younger, more inexperienced wrestlers to get matches in. This experience, however painful at this point in the season, may prove beneficial should Syosset need extra wrestlers later in the season.
Key Stat: Syosset won four of the 12 matches.
Who's Next: Wednesday, Jan. 5 @ Sewanhaka East, 4:30pm
Weight Winner By Loser Score Team Score 96 Rondino (S) Dec O'Campo 8 - 0 S, 5 -0 103 Jobe (F) Dec Miller 13 - 3 S, 6 - 4 112 Prisina (S) Pin Tuker :14 S, 18 -7 125 Abreu (F) Def Grima 8 - 6 S, 18-13 130 Irby(F) Pinned Augustino 3:50 S, 19 - 15 135 Gold (S) Def Florez 15 - 1 S, 21- 17 145 Rodriquez (F) Pinned Handelsman 4-1 F 25- 23 152 Cruz(F) Pinned Beers 2:30 31 - 23 160 Herring (F) Pinned Bran 2:00 42 - 23 189 Gay (F) Pinned Choi 1:45 50 - 26 285 Bruce (F) Def Koziatek 6 - 0 52- 29
