Last year’s J. Taylor Finley Middle School wrestling team was one of the strongest in recent memory. Can the Falcons duplicate that same success again this winter?
Coached by Michael Marinello and Travis Smith, the Finley roster is comprised of more than three dozen highly motivated seventh and eighth graders. The Falcons will wrestle a 10 meet schedule.
Finley compiled an 8-1 mark last winter. The Falcons are confident they will once again be competitive against a cross-section of strong Suffolk teams. Marinello and Smith are both very experienced at their craft with both serving in the past as varsity assistant and head coaches. It’s unlikely that any other middle school team in the state can duplicate such a staff.
Finley wrestling team head coach Michael Marinello.
Finley’s roster includes seventh graders John Acompora-Miller, Christopher Acompora-Miller, Leonel Alfaro-Andrade, Joseph Algieri, Anthony Annunziata, Sammy Mac Arner, Brett Bender, Roman Borovica, Aidan Carrello, Nicholas Cesario, John Crousillat, Ahmari Gordon, Tyler Johnson, Michael Kline, Louis Lopez, Enzo Pupillo, Joshua Redick, Nicolai Seferian, Jahshawn Strickland, Isaiah Thomas, Silvio Torres, Jack Uvena and Zachary Zboray.
The Falcons’ eighth grade wrestlers include Pablo Aparicio-Ruiz, Raseac Caleb, Walter Campos-Saravia Jr., Lucas Cirlincione, Tylill Evans, Sean Hassett, Matthew Lange, Emanuel Mejia, Jonathan Oliva-Hernandez, Lucas Petrizzi, Ryan Porzio, Kaleef Riley, Joseph Rodriquez-Valdez, Brian Sosnowski and Richard Zboray.
Coach Marinello has been a Huntington physical education teacher since September 1995. He earlier taught at Western Suffolk BOCES for five years. A graduate of Sachem High School, he earned an undergraduate degree at Springfield College in physical education and a master’s degree at Stony Brook University in liberal studies with a concentration in health science. He has coached high school golf, high school and middle school wrestling, JV tennis and middle school baseball and boys’ track and field. He is also a CPR and First Aid trainer and has been a volunteer emergency medical technician.
Coach Smith has been a Huntington physical education teacher since September 1998. A member of Huntington High School’s Class of 1992, he obtained a bachelor’s degree at SUNY Brockport and a masters’ degree at Stony Brook University. He has coached wrestling on both the middle school and high school levels and earned many awards, including national varsity assistant coach of the year in 2004. He has also coached boys’ soccer and lacrosse on the middle school level.