Baymen Wrestling Team Beaten but Not Broken

The Hampton Bays varsity wrestling team traveled to Shoreham/Wading River for a non-league match last Thursday. The end result wasn't pretty.

With only four seniors, the Baymen's young and inexperienced team lost 74-12.  They fought hard but it was to no avail. The Baymen seemed out matched by a more mature and experienced Shoreham team.

"We are a very young team, we lost some seniors and some guys just didn't come out for the team this year" said coach Rafael Lievano. "The main thing we don't have is experience, if we get some matches under our belts, we will be just fine."

Accounting for the Baymen's 12 points were juniors Aaron Perkins and senior Dylan Flynn. They notched an 8-2 decision and second period pin respectively.

All in all, there was a lone stand out for the Baymen. Dylan Flynn, a four-year member of the varsity team, was able to get the first take down. He never looked back. Combining strength, endurance and skill, Flynn dominated his opponent in route to an easy victory in the second period.

On the other hand, the rest of the Baymen team lost in a total of eight pin-falls (103, 112, 130, 135, 140, 145, 189, 215), two technical falls (119, 152) and three forfeit's (96, 171, 285).

The Baymen were on their way to a result they certainly were not looking for; Shoreham proved to be too much for the Baymen to handle in their first match.

"We have some freshman out there wrestling varsity. That is tough for even the best kids. If they can get their feet wet now, it will show later in the season," said Lievano  "You have to build with what you have. We have a young team but we will try to build every day in practice and get better."

The Baymen will travel to Smithtown Chrisian on January 4. Hoping for a better result, the Baymen will have to put Shoreham in the rear view mirror.