Sachem East Wins Rocky Gilmore Tournament

On Saturday the Sachem East wrestling team traveled to East Islip to compete in the Rocky Gilmore Tournament at East Islip and came home with the team title.

The Rocky Gilmore tournament has been held for more than 30 years, and Saturday was the first time Sachem East competed in the event. The Arrows were looking to bounce back after a disappointing defeat at the hands of Brentwood in their League I opener on Wednesday.

“We challenged the team to step up and compete with more intensity and to be more offensive," said head coach Sean O'Hara. "The team was up to the challenge and wrestled very aggressively to win the tournament.”

The Arrows were led by eight finalists and five individual champions. Taking home the gold in their weight class for Sachem were: Conor O’Hara (112), Anthony Pistone (140), Sean O’Malley (145), Rob Seder (152), and Frank Merante (171). At both 140 and 145 Sachem had two wrestlers in the championship finals, as Billy Merone (140), and Mark Traecy (145) finished second. Zac Nobre also earned runner up honors finishing second at 160.

Pistone turned in an impressive performance coming from the fifth seed to win the title. In the semi-finals, he defeated the No. 1 ranked 140 pounder in Suffolk, knocking off Eric Kogel of Mt. Sinai. Kogel finished second in Suffolk last season.

“Anthony is a very talented wrestler," O'Hara said. "He is at his best when he is offensive and pushes the action. He did that today and got great results.”

Sachem also got a big lift from the return of Merante, a senior captain, at 171. Merante, in his first tournament this season after coming back from a knee injury, went 3-0 to win the 171-pound title, beating returning All-County wrestler Tyler Conway of East Islip in the finals.

“Frank has shown great perseverance coming back from injury," O'Hara said. "He is still returning to form, this was a good test for him, and it is great to have him back.”

Conor O’Hara, O’Malley and Seder dominated the field in their weights to take home the gold.

Sachem East place winners

Champion:

• Conor O’Hara – 112 lbs
• Anthony Pistone – 140 lbs
• Sean O’Malley – 145 lbs
• Rob Seder – 152 lbs
• Frank Merante – 171 lbs

Second Place:

• Billy Merone – 140 lbs
• Mark Traecy – 145 lbs
• Zac Nobre – 160 lbs

Third Place:

• Anthony Messina – 19 lbs

Fourth Place:

• Jackson Mordente – 130 lbs
• AJ Solomito – 152 lbs

Fifth Place:

• Tyler Monsees – 119 lbs

Sixth Place:

• Doug Iadanza – 96 lbs
• Mike Pistone – 135 lbs

Mat notes from the weekend

• Sean O’Malley went 3-0 at the tournament and currently has 119 career wins, only two behind his brother Danny (Class 2009 – 121 wins) on the All-Time wins list He passed Chris DiIorio's (Class of 2010) total of 117.
• For the second tournament in a row a Sachem East wrestler has defeated the No. 1 ranked wrestler in his section. On Saturday Anthony Pistone defeated Erik Kogel who is ranked No. 1 in Suffolk. At the Massapequa Tournament Billy Merone defeated Nassau’s No. 1 ranked wrestler, Nick Khoury of Long Beach.
• Sachem East returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 12 when they take on Patchogue Medford in a League I dual. The meet will be senior night for the Arrows and will get under way at 6:30 pm in the Main Gym at Sachem East. 

Rocky Gilmore Tournament at East Islip

Team Scores

• 96 - Jesse Dellavecchia (East Islip) dec. Walter Ibanez (Central Islip) 3-2
• 103 - Chris Powers (Mt. Sinai) dec. Pat Skinner (Kellenberg) 5-2
• 112 - Conor O'Hara (Sachem East) md.  Mark Sanchez (Central Islip) 13-1
• 119 - Giovani Sanchez (Central Islip) dec. David Dellaveccia (East Islip) 4-2
• 125 - Zach Indovino (Kellenberg) dec. Ryan Hake (Bayport) 6-4
• 130 - Carlos Garcia (Central Islip) dec. Matt Matouzzi (Kellenberg) 2-0
• 135 - Jeff Purdy (Bayport) md.  Zach Silverstein (Valley Stream South) 13-0
• 140 - Anthony Pistone (Sachem East) dec. Billy Merone (Sachem East) 8-1
• 145 - Sean O'Malley (Sachem East) TF Mark Traecy (Sachem East) 17-1
• 152 - Rob Seder (Sachem East) md.  Joe Wittpenn (Mt. Sinai) 11-3
• 160 - Matt Bishop (Valley Stream South) dec. Zac Nobre (Sachem East) 4-3
• 171 - Frank Merante (Sachem East) dec. Tyler Conway (East Islip) 4-3
• 189 - Frank Abbondanza (Mt. Sinai) TF Dondre Bailey (Central Islip) 16-0
• 215 - Connor Stroh (Mt. Sinai) dec. James Frost (East Islip) 4-2
• 285 - David Rodriguez (Brentwood) dec. Dan Hayden (East Islip) 4-2

Wade Cummings Sportsmanship Award: East Islip
Most Pins Least Time: Matt Bishop (Valley Stream South 160) - 3 in 6:02
Most Outstanding Wrestler: Frank Abbondanza (Mt. Sinai 189)

Consolation Finals 3rd/4th

• 96 - Danny Orlando (East Islip) dec. John Shlonsky (Mt. Sinai) 4-2 TB
• 103 - Mike Figueroa (Central Islip) md.  Kenny Risco (East Islip) 13-5
• 112 - Kevin Rivas (Brentwood) dec. Justin Underwood (Bayport) 7-4
• 119 - Anthony Messina (Sachem East) dec. Kyle McGovern (Bayport) 7-2
• 125 - Hector Rubio (Central Islip) dec. B.J. Jackson (Brentwood) 2-1
• 130 - Jay Shlimbaum (Mt. Sinai) dec. Jackson Mordente (Sachem East) 3-1
• 135 - Diego Ramirez (Brentwood) dec. James Corino (Kellenberg) 7-1
• 140 - Eric Kogel (Mt. Sinai) dec. James Sullivan (Kellenberg) 11-5
• 145 - John O'Brien (Kellenberg) pinned Matt Wilson (East Islip) 4:40
• 152 - Mike Palladino (Kellenberg) dec. AJ Solomito (Sachem East) 5-2
• 160 - Matt Mastandrea (Bayport) pinned Endy Molina (Brentwood) 5:56
• 171 - Julian Ming (Central Islip) dec. Shawn Cummings (East Islip) 7-0
• 189 - Chris Chambers (East Islip) dec. Josh Broschardt (Kellenberg) 6-0
• 215 - James Walsh (Kellenberg) dec. Mike Lombardi (Bayport) 8-6
• 285 - Harrison DeSousa (Bayport) pinned Joe Sanchez (Central Islip) 4:55

Consolation Finals 5th/6th

• 96 - Joe Palma (Bayport) dec. Doug Iadanza (Sachem East) 7-2
• 103 - Hunter Ingram (East Islip) pinned Marlin Romero (Brentwood) 3:33
• 112 - Tyler Monsees (Sachem East) pinned James Matias (Mt. Sinai) 3:49
• 119 - Chris Federlin (Kellenberg) dec. Laurence Paul (Mt. Sinai) 5-0
• 125 - Chris Sortino (East Islip) pinned Dom Resca (Kellenberg) 3:25
• 130 - Kyle Underwood (Bayport) dec. Dennis Ferro (East Islip) 4-2
• 135 - Braulio Silverio (Central Islip) dec. Michael Pistone (Sachem East) 3-1
• 140 - Brandin Thomas (Bayport) dec. Ralph Fabiani (Bayport) 8-2
• 145 - Evan Lenci (Kellenberg) pinned Jacob Axelrod (East Islip) 3:42
• 152 - Roan Allen (Central Islip) pinned Julio Moya (Brentwood) 3:41
• 160 - Anthony Hernandez (Brentwood) md.  Matt McDaniels (Kellenberg) 12-3
• 171 - Geoff Teague (Bayport) TF Ken Luca (Mt. Sinai) 17-2
• 189 - Joe Emmel (Bayport) dec. Charles Lehner (East Islip) 13-12
• 215 - Rashaad Addison (Brentwood) dec. Matt Goulbourne (Central Islip) 13-6
• 285 - Jon Reyes (Central Islip) dec. Mike Smith (Kellenberg) 7-3