Casiano and St. John Win Mat Titles at New Rochelle

Huntington High School seniors Christian St. John and Max Casiano swept through their respective weight classes, winning four matches each en route to first place finishes at last weekend’s Murphy-Guccione Shoreline Classic at New Rochelle.

The Blue Devils took third place in the team standing with 131.5 points, trailing only Levittown MacArthur (172.5) and Sleepy Hollow (138.5). Huntington outdistanced a dozen other teams, including North Rockland, Commack, New Rochelle, Byram Hills, Fox Lane, Brewster, Mahopac, Edgemont, Port Chester, Iona Prep, Fordham Prep and Harrison.

St. John pinned Sleepy Hollow’s Rafael Rodriguez in 30 seconds in the finals at 152 lbs. The Blue Devil earlier pinned two foes and captured a technical fall in the semifinal round.

Casiano remained undefeated with a pair of pins and a 10-0 semifinal decision before topping Mahopac’s Nick Greco in the 160 lb. finals, 11-4.

Huntington’s Jon Granito won three matches before falling in the 138 lb. finals to Mahopac’s Robert DeMauro, 6-4.

Thomas Smith placed third at 170 lbs. and Brandon Fucci finished fifth at 145 lbs. Eighth grader Christopher Granito won a pair of matches, but failed to place at 101 lbs.

Huntington travels to East Hampton on Wednesday for a dual meet before hosting Bay Shore on Friday for another dual meet. The Blue Devil will trek to Suffern High School in Rockland County on Saturday for the Kohl Tournament.