Of the four wrestlers Rocky Point brought to the Division I Suffolk County championship, three are still alive and will wrestle Monday at Stony Brook University for a chance to place.
Eighth-grader Thomas Dutton, wrestling at 119 pounds, will compete in the semifinals against Central Islip’s Giovanni Sanchez. If he wins, he'll have to most likely face Nigel McNeil from Huntington, who has not lost a match in two years.
Dutton, the younger brother of former New York State champion Stephen Dutton, beat Brentwood’s Marc Gonzalez, 1-0, and West Babylon’s Jorge Barreiro, 6-3.
“Anytime an eighth grader gets to the semifinals at counties, you have to like his effort,” said Rocky Point head coach Darren Goldstein. “He’s a gamer. His only weakness is that he doesn’t have the ability to digest the fact that he’s not always going to be perfect.”
Matt Ross will wrestle in the 145-pound semifinal. He’s earned two 15-0 tech falls in his matches.
Nick Loscalzo lost in the second round at 130 and Zekie Yazak lost in wrestle backs at 171.
“This is the big show,” Goldstein said. “It’s what everybody trains for all year long. We brought four people here, still have three guys in. We have two in the semis. We’re proud of our guys’ efforts.”
Rocky Point has 28.5 team points.
MP’s Kelly Alive In Semis
Ryan Kelly represented Miller Place with a win at 215 pounds and will wrestle King Park's Warren Bosch in the semis. John Steiger, wrestling at 125, beat North Babylon’s Nick Dominisch, 3-1, in the wrestle back bracket. He was originally ousted in the first round. Miller Place has 16 total team points.
Notes & Quotes
-Huntington’s Nigel McNeil, wrestling at 119 pounds, has not lost in two years and advanced to the semifinals with easy wins Sunday afternoon.
-Longwood leads all teams with six wrestlers in the semis, while John Glenn has five.
-Overall point leaders Division I: Longwood (100), John Glenn (68), Sachem East (55), Connetquot (55) and Huntington (53).
-Overall point leaders Division II: Bayport (188.5), Center Moriches (117.5), Mattituck (110.5) and Port Jefferson (99).
