Sports

SWR Wildcats wrestling team misses out on state tourney

The Shoreham-Wading River boys wrestling team came into the season unranked in the state. They arrived at the Suffolk County Division II dual meet championship on Saturday ranked 7th. John Glenn, the only division opponent that defeated them this season, stood in their way in a bid to make the state championships.

SWR’s head coach, Joe Condon, did everything he could to get them to this place. He flooded the schedule with tournaments and meets against some of the best schools in the state. With virtually a brand-new team from last year and without a single senior, the team soared to a 19-5 overall record, beating two teams ranked ahead of them in New York State.

So when the Wildcats eventually lost to John Glenn, 43-29, in the Suffolk County championship at Bay Shore High School Saturday, Condon went immediately to the officials’ table hoping his team might still earn a wildcard bid based on their solid season record.

“No chance for it,” Condon said immediately after meeting with the tournament officials. “The wildcard entry is a joke. It’s only based on how many returning all-county wrestlers you have coming back. But we’re ranked 7th in the state and John Glenn is ranked second. Out of the 16 teams making it, we won’t be one of them. We beat the fourth-ranked team in the state, so head-to-head wins apparently don’t matter. The state has to change the formula and, unfortunately, they haven’t looked into doing it.”

The Wildcats had no chance because they mostly have first-year varsity wrestlers this year — aside from reigning New York State champion Gavin Mangano — as most of last year’s starting lineup graduated. They didn’t have enough all-county wrestlers because most of them were on JV last year. The only way SWR could make it to states as a team was to beat John Glenn — and they fought to do it.

After losing to John Glenn, 46-19, during the regular season, Condon moved some wrestlers around, having a few guys compete at a higher weight class to give them a better chance at winning the overall match. Mangano, Thomas Matias and Shane Cowan were among those to move up a weight class. 

Mangano wrestled at 145-pounds and still won handily with a pin in the first period. Matias, at 108 pounds, defeated his opponent by technical fall, 18-1. Cowan had the job of going against all-state John Glenn wrestler Tommy Aiello and got pinned but went down fighting. 

“Any of these guys will do what is best for the team,” Condon said. “They’ll wrestle anyone and that’s why I have such a great group of kids. They want what’s best for the team.”

This match was much closer than the first time around and, had a few bouts gone the other way, the result could have been much different. One of the closest matches of the night featured SWR’s Jer’Shawn Coffey and John Glenn’s David Rafiq in the 190-pound division. The score was tied 1-1 until literally the final second in the third period before Rafiq earned a takedown and the victory. There was some controversy about whether he got the takedown in time but after officials discussed it, the result stood. 

“I’m super proud of this team,” Condon said. “We’re just scratching the surface of what we’re going to be. Most of the guys out there were freshman and sophomores. They’re battling it out on the big stage against seasoned varsity senior wrestlers. Yes, we’re disappointed that we lost but this entire team returns next year. We’re only going to get better.”