O'Malley, Merante Lose in County Finals

Sean O'Malley, who shook off a tough first-round match Sunday to reach the 145-pound final, faced a familiar foe on center stage – Longwood's Nicky Hall. Just a week earlier, O'Malley had beaten him to win the League II title. This time, however, it was Hall emerging victorious, controlling the match throughout en route to a 4-0 victory.

At 171 pounds, a takedown by Chanse Menendez proved to be the difference against the Arrows' Frank Merante. The East senior suffered his only defeat of the season, trailing 1-0 after two periods and then 3-0 after Menendez took him down, Merante quickly escaped, but he was unable to seize the opportunity, even with Menendez getting ticketed for a stalling call.

"It's a very tough tournament," head coach Sean O'Hara said. "We lost some very close matches, and losses in this sports are pretty brutal. But you have to keep things in perspective. I'm very proud of the guys in the finals as well as the guys who didn't place. It's been a pleasure to have coached these guys. They showed a lot of heart and left it all out on the mat."

Sachem East finished fifth in the team standings with 85.5 points. Longwood racked up 191 points to take first place overall, ending Glenn's two-year run at the top. The Knights were second with 134, followed by Huntington (110), Connetquot (109.5) and East.

North's Sean O'Hagan placed fourth at 103, losing his consolation final bout to Eastport-South Manor's Travis Passaro, 15-0.

East's Anthony Pistone placed fifth at 140 pounds, beating Longwood's Eddie Jennings, 6-5. He lost in the second round of the big bracket and wrestled back to place.

East's Rob Seder lost his 152-pound semifinal match to Islip's Kyle Wade, 5-1. He then lost to Longwood's Rick Renck in wrestle backs, and placed fifth in the county, beating Westhampton's Matt Mazarakis, 5-0, in a consolation final.

North's Giovanni Santiago placed fifth at 189, beating Eastport-South Manor's Ryan Cutler via pin in 4:13.

North's Mike McCarthy finished sixth at 215, losing to Miller Place's Ryan Kelly via pin in 2:01.