Five Huntington High School wrestlers have qualified for the Section XI championships after finishing in the top four of their respective weight class at the Suffolk League IV tournament last weekend at North Babylon.
Huntington freshman Joe Petrone (second place at 99 lbs.), sophomores Billy Burton (third place at 99 lbs.), Aedan McDonald (third place at 125 lbs.) and Tazedon Smith (second place at 220 lbs.) and senior Aidan McCooey (fourth place at 170 lbs.) are all headed to the county championships this coming weekend at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood
Petrone fell in the league finals as Eastport-South Manor’s Michael Falek overwhelmed the Huntington teenager by technical fall. Smith dropped a 7-3 decision to Bellport’s Ben Greene in the championship bout.
Huntington’s Ryan Baker pinned Bellport’s Andrew Porche in 4:56 in the opening round, but dropped his quarterfinal round match and was eliminated from further competition. The Blue Devils’ young team lost several close matches last weekend.
Huntington is led by first year head coach Lou R. Giani and assistant coaches Kieran Mock, Omar Santiago and David Bergmann. The Blue Devils finished sixth in the League IV tournament team standings with 82 points, trailing Eastport-South Manor (231.5), Bellport (188.5), Half Hollow Hills West (166.5), North Babylon (164) and West Islip (90) and ahead of Deer Park (37).
The five Blue Devils who have qualified for the Section XI championships will be practicing all week in preparation for the county tournament, which is slated for Saturday and Sunday. The top finishers in the Section XI championships will advance to the state intersectional tournament at the Times Union Center in Albany on February 23-24.
