Suffolk County Wrestling Club Hosts Pennsylvania's Best

The Suffolk County Wrestling Club, one of New York's premiere offseason wrestling programs, tested their mettle Saturday afternoon against western Pennsylvania's Dark Knight Wrestling Club at Candlewood Middle School in Dix Hills.

Dark Knight, which is comprised of a number of defending state champions and nationally ranked wrestlers, travelled to Dix Hills to take on Suffolk's finest grapplers.

Sachem's own Jacob Restrepo, an incoming freshman at Sachem High School East, took part in the dual meet and has continued to benefit from the offseason training.

Restrepo, who aspires to reach the Section XI finals, and had 17 varsity wins as an eighth grader, credits the program for his advancement since the end of the regular season.

"It makes me a better wrestler," he said. "It helps because you're wrestling tough guys. You wrestle the Passaros, the Piccininnis, a lot of good wrestlers."

Head coach Mike Vetrano combined two of Suffolk's top clubs, Sayville Wrestling Club and Razor Wrestling Club, to form what he considers to be one of the most formidable organizations in New York.

"We have two teams here comprised of most of the top kids in Suffolk County," he said. "Now we feel like we probably have one of the best clubs in New York State. We did that to give the kids more training partners, additional locations rather than just the Sayville location, and we also have more coaches. Instead of two or three coaches, now we have six all with solid credentials."

The club operates out of Sayville High School, as well as another location in Commack, and has flourished in its first year.

"We feel like it’s a win-win for everybody and we’re really excited about it," said Vetrano. "We think we’re going to have north of 200 kids in our clubs once we have sign-ups, from youth level all the way to high school."

Vetrano consistently pits his wrestlers against some of the stiffest competition in the country, and Dark Knight is certainly no different.

"We’re excited to show our kids that they’re wrestling some kids in the top level either in the state or even the country," he said. "It’s good to see where they’re at versus the country. It’s a huge deal for experience."