After decades and decades of never having produced a state wrestling champion, Mattituck High School turned out two of them for the second straight year in 2018. Of course, there was a neat twist with the two most recent crowned champs: They’re twins. READ
The scenario was similar, but the result was oh so different for twin brothers Luke and Jack Bokina.
Once again the two Mattituck High School seniors had wrestled their way to state finals at Times Union Center in Albany. The difference this time — and what a big difference it was — was both Bokinas had their arms raised as state champions. READ
The Bokinas had a blast.
Twin brothers Jack and Luke Bokina both captured county crowns Sunday night in the 79th annual Dr. L. Robert Fallot Section XI Wrestling Championships. READ
This was as fine a farewell as the Bokina twins could have hoped for.
The two Mattituck High School seniors both won tournament titles in their final wrestling matches in their home gym and left with something more. Jack Bokina couldn’t have planned it any better, picking up what was announced as his 200th career win in his final. Meanwhile, Luke Bokina was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the 21st annual North Fork Invitational Saturday night. They both took titles from the tournament for the second time in three years. READ
Bittersweet is not the Bokina brothers’ favorite flavor.
Twin brothers Jack and Luke Bokina know a thing or two about bittersweet. What the two Mattituck/Greenport/Southold high school wrestlers experienced at the state meet last year was the epitome of bittersweet. They both reached state finals, only to be disappointed in the end with defeats. READ
Send eight wrestlers into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships and there’s a decent chance some good things are going to happen.
Four of the eight Mattituck/Greenport/Southold wrestlers who made it to Times Union Center in Albany on Friday secured a place in Saturday’s Division II semifinals. Then two of those four, seniors James Hoeg and Tanner Zagarino, went on to claim the first individual state championships in team history.
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Eight members of the Mattituck wrestling team will compete in Albany beginning Friday morning for a chance to become the first state champion in program history. READ
Jack Bokina of Mattituck wrestles in the quarterfinals of the state tournament Friday. (Credit: Paul Wager)
Update, 2:15 p.m.: Jack Bokina closed out his freshman season with a fourth-place finish at 99-pounds. Bokina dropped a 7-2 decision to the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Drew Shafer of Pal-Mac, in the consolation finals.
Bokina trailed 5-0 in the second period before scoring his first point on an escape in the third period. It was as close as he got in the match as Shafer controlled it throughout.
Bokina is only the second wrestler in program history to reach the podium at the state meet.
Update, 12:30 p.m.: After a hard-earned win, Jack Bokina of Mattituck advanced to the third/fourth-place consolation final. Bokina came back from a one-point hole in the third period to defeat Carson Dobozy of Peru in the consolation semifinals.
Bokina picked up his third win of the tournament.
Bokina scored with about 40 seconds left in the match to take a 4-3 lead. He was riding on top, then got hit with a stall warning with 14 seconds left. On the restart, he held Dobozy long enough to finish out the match and take the 4-3 win.
Bokina trailed 1-0 in the second period after Dobozy got an escape point. Bokina scored a takedown with 1:05 left in the second to take the lead. Then Dobozy answered with a reversal with :37 left.
Update, 11:30 a.m.: Click below to see a video of Jack Bokina’s semifinal match at the state championships.
UPDATE, 10:15 a.m.: Mattituck freshman Jack Bokina dropped a 10-5 decision in the semifinals of the Division II state tournament Saturday morning. Bokina fell to Orion Anderson of Schuylerville, dropping him into the wrestlebacks.
Bokina couldn’t get any offense going in the match. Anderson scored a pair of takedowns in the first period. Bokina escaped twice to stay within 4-2 after one.
It was a 4-3 match heading into the third period, but Anderson came back with two more takedowns to take control of the match.
Bokina will now wrestle Carson Dobozy of Peru in the next wrestleback. A win would send him into the third/fourth consolation final. A loss would send him into the fifth/sixth consolation.
Original post: Day II of the New York State Wrestling Championships kicks off Saturday morning at Times Union Center in Albany.
Mattituck freshman Jack Bokina is wrestling in the 99-pound semifinals for a chance to become the first wrestler in program history to reach the state finals.
Bokina is one of only two Section XI wrestlers from Division II to advance to the semifinals. The other is Matteo DeVincenzo of Port Jefferson at 120. DeVincenzo is a defending state champion.
Bokina will wrestle against Orion Anderson of Schuylerville.
In Division I, Section XI is in the lead going into the semifinals with 126 1/2 points. Section VIII is in second with 94. Section III is the Division II leader with 114 points.
For team scores, Hauppauge is in second place in Division I with 32 points.
Here are the brackets after one day of competition:
Mattituck/Greenport eighth-graders Luke Bokina, left, and Jack Bokina both earned All-American status. The twins competed in a national tournament in Virginia Beach, Va. (Credit: Garret Meade file)
All-American. The words seem to jump off the page and grab a reader’s attention the way a wrestler grabs hold of an opponent.
Those two words now apply to a pair of Mattituck/Greenport high school wrestlers.
Twin brothers Luke and Jack Bokina both earned All-American status by virtue of their performances in the recent National High School Coaches Association Wrestling Championships. Luke took second place in the middle school tournament at 85 pounds while Jack finished fifth at 90. All-American honors went to the top eight wrestlers in each weight class. (more…)