Huntington Wrestling Tournament Set for this Saturday
The 41st annual Huntington Holiday Wrestling Tournament is slated for this Saturday (Dec. 11) at Louis D. Giani Gymnasium. The competition will include many of the top teams and wrestlers from around the metropolitan area.
Huntington's Nigel McNeil (119 lbs.), Damon McQueen (125), Maurice Loadholt (135), Louis Puca (160) and Ryan Fox (171) were all crowned champions at last year's tournament, giving the team a perfect five-for-five showing in the finals.
Corey Jamison (3rd-96 lbs.), Kevin Mendez (4th-112), Jack Castelli (6th-130), John Mallouk (6th-140), Ken Stopoli (5th-145), T.J. Wilson (3rd-152), Luis Mendez (4th-152), Duncan Murchison (3rd-189), Nick Lupi (4th-215) and Anthony Puca (6th-215) also placed in the grueling all-day competition.
Huntington will be joined on Saturday by teams from Massapequa, Kings Park, Port Jervis, Central Islip, Northport, Center Moriches and Grand Street Campus (NYC).
The top six place finishers in each of fifteen weigh classes will be given awards. The first and second place teams will receive trophies. Awards will also be presented to the most outstanding wrestler (Ray Ferrari Award) and the wrestler with the most pins in the least amount of time (Jerry Grenier Award).
Coaches from the participating schools will meet in private for a seeding meeting on Thursday (Dec. 9) at Huntington High School at 7 p.m. to separate the top wrestlers and set-up brackets for each weight class. Schools are permitted to enter two wrestlers in each of the 15 weight classes, but only one wrestler will score toward the team standings.
The semi-finals are tentatively slated for noon and the finals are expected to start at about 5:30 p.m. An all day admission pass is $5 for adults and $3 for students.
All rounds will be wrestled on four mats except the finals, which will be held on two mats. Mock hopes the format will provide fans with a more exciting experience. There will be no breaks between rounds.
"We're excited to start the season and we are looking for a good showing by our wrestlers," Blue Devil head coach Kieran Mock said. "The tournament will provide us with some good, tough competition. That's what we need right now."
Food and refreshments will be on sale throughout the day.