Wrestling: Tuckers retain tourney title with only one champion
The fact that the Mattituck/Greenport/Southold high school wrestling team produced only one individual champion in the 20th annual North Fork Invitational on Saturday said a lot about the caliber of competition the Tuckers faced. The fact that the Tuckers still found a way to retain their team title said a lot about them.
In an oddity, Mattituck won its own tournament in its own gym for the second year in a row despite having only one of its wrestlers awarded a champion’s medal. Last year Mattituck sent six wrestlers into the tournament finals and all six of them emerged as champions. On Saturday, five Tuckers advanced to the finals. Mattituck’s all-time winningest wrestler, James Hoeg, watched as four of his teammates went down in defeat before winning the tournament title for the third time.
Hoeg (40-2), a senior with 196 career wins over six seasons, not only triumphed, but was presented with the tournament’s Champion of Champions award in recognition of his dominant run. His strength showed as he beat Freeport’s Ikce Quiles in the final at 182 pounds by technical fall, 16-0. The bout ended in the second period.
None of Hoeg’s first three matches lasted beyond the first period. He pinned Rocky Point’s Oscar Castro in 35 seconds, pinned Connetquot’s Kyle Patillio in 21 seconds, and defeated Rocky Point’s Dan Guerrisi by technical fall, 15-0, in the semifinals.
Mattituck’s Luke Bokina, his twin brother Jack, T.J. Beebe and Carmine Vergari all reached finals, only to come away disappointed.
Perhaps no one was more disappointed than Jack Bokina. The junior held leads of 4-1 and 5-3 in the third period of the 126-pound final. After the third period ended, a referee awarded Connetquot’s Paul North two points for a takedown, tying the score at 5-5 and forcing overtime. Mattituck coach Cory Dolson, who looked irate over the call, then watched as North took down Bokina for a 7-5 triumph.
Luke Bokina, wrestling at 120 pounds, also faced a Connetquot finalist in Danny Colondona. Colondona was in control throughout the match and won, 15-6.
In other finals: Three second-period points by Miller Place’s Eric Schreck stood up for his victory over Beebe at 138 pounds.
Half Hollow Hills East’s Philip Spadafora pinned Vergari in 2:16 at 145.
Mattituck finished atop the 11-team field with 212 points, holding off second-place Rocky Point (204 1/2) for its third tournament championship this season. The Tuckers had 12 top-six finishers, tying them with Miller Place for the most. Mattituck had the most individual wins, going 42-42 with 17 pins.
Among those top-six finishers for Mattituck were third-place Thomas Hoeg (152) and Chance Anderson (295) and fourth-place Ben Schmidt (170). Two Tuckers, Colby Suglia and Jake Skrezec, were fifth and sixth, respectively, at 160. Mattituck’s Dan Harkin was fifth at 145 and teammate Sean Feeney was sixth at 99.
Photo caption: Mattituck/Greenport/Southold’s all-time winningest wrestler, James Hoeg, was dominant in his 16-0 win by technical fall over Freeport’s Ikce Quiles in the 182-pound final. (Credit: Garret Meade)
