Syosset Wrestling Drops Opener At Sachem East

Some lessons the young Syosset wrestling team has already learned over umpteen hours in the weight room, wrestling room, scrimmages and off-season tournaments; others it will discover as it navigates its way through its difficult dual meet schedule.

On Wednesday the Braves took on Sachem East, which finished seventh in a stacked Suffolk County last winter. Its' lineup didn't feature county champions Nick Arujau and Dan Gewolb, or four other All-County wrestlers from a year ago - Instead, Syosset fielded several competitors making their varsity debuts. The Braves, who placed third at last year's counties, had a lead midway through the mid-week showdown, but the Arrows ran off seven straight victories to post a 49-25 victory.

"We're going to win some and we're going to lose some," head coach Mike Murtha said. "We're never satisfied until we obtain perfection. We want to learn from our mistakes. That's our goal all the time. As long as our best wrestling is in February."

Syosset had erased an early 10-0 deficit in team points and ultimately had a 25-16 advantage. Evan Kappatos, who took fifth at 285 at last year's county championships, started off his senior season with a resounding win. He made quick work of East's Chris Estevez, registering a pin at 1:11 of the first period.

Nick Rondino kept the momentum going in the visitors' favor, also not allowing his opponent to see a second round. Rondino lunged and snared Doug Iadanza's right leg and logged an early takedown. The official slapped the mat just 35 seconds into the match, awarding six more points to Syosset.

The Braves scored six more when Jake Miller won by forfeit at 103, but that's when the tides turned. At 112, Sachem's Conor O'Hara eked out a 4-3 victory over Eric Faimon. The Braves junior scored the early takedown, but O'Hara stormed back to take a 3-2 lead after one period. They were even through two, and Faimon chose a neutral start to begin the third, thinking his stand-up could yield a takedown in the final two minutes. O'Hara denied him that opportunity.

It ended up being the first of seven straight wins for East. The closest duels came at 130, where Chris Conte was outlasted by the Arrows' Jackson Mordente, 5-1, and at 140, where Jared Pelin was in a tight battle with Billy Merone, trailing 6-3 after two rounds, but he eventually fell, 11-6.

East had won the opening two matches, but Syosset answered with authority. Its' 171-pounder, Tom Anderson, surrendered an early takedown but controlled the action from there. He led 3-2 after one period and 9-2 after two following a near-fall at the buzzer, and he cruised to an 11-3 major decision.

At 189, Nick Bilianis was locked in a 2-2 tussle with Steve Casali of East through the first four minutes. From the bottom position, Casali scored a nice reversal early in the third round to go up 4-2, but Bilianis answered with a one-point escape. That's when Casali's inexperience showed up as he ticketed twice for stalling, giving Bilianis a 5-4 lead. Knowing not to suffer the same fate, Bilianis took down Casali for two insurance points and he ultimately posted a big 7-5 win.

"Our upper weights wrestled well overall," Murtha said. "[Tom] set the tempo and [Nick] came back and had a nice win there."

Dan Choi hoped to keep the momentum going at 215. He dominated the Arrows' Christian Nunez, taking a 9-3 lead, but was caught and taken down early in the third. Nunez finished him off with a pin at the 4:25 mark, not only taking

"[Dan] is a first-year wrestler giving up 30 pounds to his opponent," Murtha said. "He'll learn when to back off and get the win. He's just a sophomore so he'll be fine."

Syosset heads upstate for the Colonie Duals, which traditionally features some of Section II's strongest squads. The Braves then make their home debut on December 15 when they face Bethpage.