Mat Stars of the Future on
Finley Squad
The Huntington wrestling program is steeped in tradition. The Blue Devils have produced more state champions than any other high school in the state. Those winning crowns are enshrined with a star on the varsity mat that is unfurled at home meets and the annual holiday tournament. Will a few more stars be appearing in coming years?
The Blue Devils have long benefitted from a pipeline that originates with the J. Taylor Finley Middle School mat program. The Falcons, coached by Mike Marinello and Lou R. Giani, went 7-3 this past winter and featured many promising wrestlers.
Will the names Mock, Dwyer, Puca, Alvarenga and Villela be framed out in stars on the Blue Devil mat one day? Only time will tell, but the quartet of rugged matmen dominated their opponents during the two-month season and showed champion potential.
Kyle Mock was untouchable in 10 matches. "He has very good technique," said Marinello. Mock's father, Kieran is Huntington's varsity coach and was a state champion in 1982 for the Blue Devils. The eighth grader has been around the sport his entire life and is a few steps ahead of most wrestlers his age.
Ethan Dwyer won 9-of-10 matches and earned a reputation as a harder worker, according to Marinello. "Ethan will run through a wall for you," the coach said. "He's a coach's dream athlete."
Joseph "JP" Puca also comes from a wrestling family. His father, Lou was a key cog in the Blue Devil machine in the mid-1970's and this year his brother Louis closed out an All-State Huntington career this season and his brother Anthony finished second in the league tournament as a freshman.
Puca went 3-0 in limited action as a seventh grader but showed enormous talent. He's already being eyed for a spot on the varsity team.
Genaro Alvarenga is another skilled eighth grader. He showed consistent improvement during a 9-1 campaign. Marinello believes that with the benefit of more experience, Alvarenga "can be a great wrestler in the future."
Eighth grader Jorge Villela, who compiled an 8-2 mark, rounds out the group of the top Falcon wrestlers. He shined as a middleweight.
Marinello said the highlights of the season came in a pair of early season dual meets "that were won because wrestlers that lost refused to get pinned. Their fight was the difference in these very close matches."
Finley topped Northport (62-19), Oldfield (35-33), Kings Park (36-27), Commack-White (56-21), West Hollow (49-28), East Northport (43-29) and Stimson (39-31). The Falcons dropped meets to Hauppauge (40-30), Commack-Gold (39-30) and Elwood (61-6).
Looking ahead to next year, Marinello sees Dwyer, Hunter Luckow, James Pugliese and Max Polster forming Finley's nucleus.
Mat Notes: Mock and Dwyer captained the team . . . A total of 42 wrestlers started the season while 32 finished it.