Wantagh Wrestling Slams Plainedge

Family and friends dressed in black and gold filled the gym Wednesday night to watch two rival teams face off in an end-of-the-season match up.

After a close battle at the , the Wantagh Warriors hosted the Plainedge Red Devils for one final home bout in the 2010-11 season. The Red Devils were looking to redeem themselves from past defeat but were once again overpowered by the Warriors wrestlers, losing 49-23 in a match televised by MSG Varsity.

"Plainedge beat one of our county place winners, we beat one of theirs," said Wantagh wrestling head coach James Murphy. "They're always a tough team."

Plainedge opened the night with a strong win in the 112 weight class. Connor Sullivan dominated on the mat against Wantagh's Alex Kaufman for a 11-2 defeat, but their victorious state did not last long. Wantagh's Kenny Albert pinned Chris Nigro at 3:29 to put the Warriors on the board.

The top score went back and forth, and both teams had some strong matches. Wantagh's Chris Loew pinned Andrew Jones in a short 1:47 match, bringing the final score to 23-21 still in Plainedge's favor. The Red Devils could not bounce back and were left scoreless the remainder of the night.

At 215, Tom Hall wrestled Plainedge's Henry Velasquez. Although Hall, who placed first in his weight class at the Ted Petersen tournament, had a big lead the entire match and came out with a 16-6 win, Velasquez stood strong. Hall had near pinned his opponent three times but Velasquez was able to break free and wrestle the full six minutes.

"He was holding on there, he wrestled well," said Hall of Velasquez.

Also delivering for the Warriors was Steven English in the heavyweight class. Plainedge's top wrestler, David Ng, was on the sidelines Wednesday night, and English faced off with Elias Ramirez. Ramirez struggled and was pinned at 1:56.

"I've faced Ramirez two times including tonight, and I beat him both times," English said.

"Some matches could have been better tonight but we'll work on that," English added.

Wednesday night's victory kept the Warriors on top in Conference 3A. Their last league meet of the season will be today against Division Avenue High School. If Wantagh defeats Division, it will create a three way tie for first place in Conference 3A.

"They're continuing to push forward, and hopefully things will turn out right this season," said Murphy.

        WANTAGH         vs.      PLAINEDGE (winner is in bold)

96 lbs:  Jose Rodriguez vs. FORFEIT
103: Kyle Foglietta vs. Mike Scuttelaro by pin @ 4:40
112: Alex Kaufman vs. Connor Sullivan 11-2
119: Kenny Albert vs. Chris Nigro by pin @ 3:29
125: Joe Barbato vs. FORFEIT
130: Danny McDevitt vs. Russ LaScala 6-3
135: Chris Araoz vs. Sean Peters by pin 1:15
140: Joe Ulino vs. Mike Nigro 5-4
145: Vinny Turano vs. John Peters  8-2
152: Alex Wedel vs. Danny Spurgeon 13-3
160: James Corbett vs. Dan Coder 2-1
171: Chris Loew vs. Andrew Jones by pin @ 1:47
189: Joe Kavanagh vs. FORFEIT
215: Thomas Hall vs. Henry Velasquez 16-6
285: Steven English vs. Elias Ramirez by pin @ 1 :56