The J. Taylor Finley Middle School wrestling team is back on the mats and getting ready for their first dual meet on February 14. The squad consists of 40 seventh and eighth graders.
The Falcons are coached by Mike Marinello and Travis Smith. The duo are longtime coaches with experience as varsity head coaches on their resumes.
Finley’s schedule consists of home meets at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School against Elwood (February 14), Hauppauge (March 4), Brentwood West (March 6), Oldfield (March 13) and Kings Park (March 20). Away meets are set with Copiague (February 26), East Northport (March 1), Smithtown-Nesaquake (March 12), Northport (March 15) and Brentwood North (March 18).
Finley’s seventh grade wrestlers include: Cristian Alfaro-Bueso, Jake Avarello, Max Casiano, Samuel Cirlincione, Jerimiah Curtis, Cristian Delgado, Jasper Elgart, Jose Flores, Gerson Granados Escobar, Jonathan Granito, Luis Hernandez-Galdamez, Theodore Leavy, Peter Leavy, Matthew Levine, Rigo Maldonado, Edwin Marroquin Chavez, Josue Martinez, Brayan Mejia, Sam Nicotra, Za’Khie Ramos, Damien Santos, Jahmien Sexton, Christian St. John, Andy Suazo Archaga, Andrew Sullivan, Jose Villatoro and Joseph Zink.
The Falcons’’ eighth grade wrestlers include: John Acompora-Miller, Christopher Acompora-Miller, Joseph Algieri, Anthony Annunziata, Brett Bender, Nicholas Cesario, Daniel Iglesias-Soriano, Michael Kline, Christopher Nicoletto, Enzo Pupillo, Joshua Redick and Nikolai Seferian.
Finley’s coaches are happy with how the team has been working in practices and expect the season to be a successful one.
Coach Michael Marinello
Michael 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.
Mr. Marinello is a CPR and First Aid trainer. He has also been a volunteer emergency medical technician.
Coach Travis Smith
Travis T. 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.
