Schools

DiIorio, O'Malley, Schruhl Lead Sachem East

Core wrestlers will serve as go-to guys on mat.

When you log onto the Sachem East wrestling website there are some noticeable themes. You'll see that Sachem has historically had a proud group of wrestlers, and even though East has only existed since the 2004-05 school year, it has graduated a number of talented grapplers. Also, head coach Sean O'Hara has dumped inspiring quotes all over.

Ones like, "In this world of give and take, there are very few men willing to give what it takes. Are you?," are accompanied by others like "if you want to be a warrior, you have to go to war."

Bringing an old school Sachem mindset to the table, O'Hara, who graduated from a unified Sachem in 1992 and was a Suffolk County champion at 126 pounds, knows a thing or two about selecting key leaders to captain his teams.

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It didn't take much thought to pin the captain title on Chris DiIorio, Sean O'Malley and Mike Schruhl.

Last season, DiIorio, whose brother Paul owns the East record for wins in a season (39 set in 2008), was All-County and a league champion. He is a three-time All-League selection and is an All-State freestyle and Greco wrestler. He also captained the team as a junior and was one of Sachem East football's top players.

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"He's our most accomplished wrestler," O'Hara said. "He's placed every year in league since his freshman year."

What makes DiIorio such a good wrestler?

"He has all the tools," O'Hara said. "He's a fierce competitor, who is very tough mentally. His technique is very good and it makes him tough to beat. As soon as the whistle blows he's on the attack."

He'll wrestle at 189 pounds this season.

Schruhl, a senior, is a two-time All-League selection, won 30 matches last season, and will wrestle at 145 pounds.

O'Malley, a junior, who will wrestle at 135 pounds, is a two-time league finalist and All-League selection. He was a New York State champion in cadet freestyle and Greco.

East has six other returning All-League wrestlers from last season. They include Conor O'Hara (96-pounds), Mark Florian (103), Nikhin "Mase" Kochath (119), Bill Meroni (140), Frank Merante (171) and Pat Sanlon (215).

Adding more depth to their roster the Flaming Arrows have four other seniors this season, including Nick Kiernan (119), Tommy Matthews (130), Dominic Messina (125) and Mike Merante (160).

East was ranked seventh in Suffolk County this pre-season, behind Longwood and Brentwood, who also compete in League I.

"The county and league are very deep this year," O'Hara said. "Suffolk is also one of the toughest sections in the state, if not the best. There will be a lot of challenges ahead for us. We're ready."


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