SWR boys wrestling takes second at state Dual Meet Championships

After the Shoreham-Wading River boys wrestling team lost in the finals of the Section XI Division II Dual Meet Championship against Miller Place, they thought their quest for a state title was over. There was a chance of an at-large bid, but head coach Joe Condon didn’t hold his breath.

“We felt like it was 50/50,” Condon said. “It’s a terrible system. There’s years we beat all the top teams and didn’t get the at-large bid to the state tournament. I thought we would have made it last year with our only loss being against the state champs, but you just never know.”

But on Jan. 26, it was announced: SWR was heading to Syracuse. And they were going to make the best of the opportunity. They made it all the way to the finals before running into Miller Place again, who hoisted the state championship crown. Second place was the best finish a Shoreham-Wading River wrestling team has ever had in the 10 years the New York State dual championships have taken place. 

“We told the boys we’re not going on vacation,” Condon said. “This is a business trip, and they all took to that mentality.”

The Wildcats opened up their tournament on Saturday at the SRC Arena and Events Center with a resounding victory over Section I Nanuet High School by the score of 55-12. SWR only dropped three matches as each wrestler dominated the mat to the victory. One of the most impressive victories was senior captain Shane Cowan’s performance. He earned a technical fall, posting a 17-0 score in just under three minutes of wrestling.

“Shane was one of our wrestlers that went a perfect 4-0 in states,” Condon said. “When you get production like that from tough weight classes, it really puts you on the road to success.”

The victory would match them up against Section VI’s Peru Senior High School to determine the winner of Division II’s Pool D. The SWR wrestlers put on a show and left pool play a perfect 2-0 into the semifinals with a 51-21 victory. They only lost four matches against Peru, with one of them being a forfeit. Thomas Matias, Shane Hall, Gavin Mangano, Jacob Conti and Leo Marcario all earned first-period pins. Penn State commit Mangano recorded his in only 25 seconds.

“When we came in with a performance like that against two very strong schools, I knew we were focused,” Condon said. “Wrestling in tough environments like this takes a lot of effort and conditioning, and I knew our coaching staff prepared our boys to prosper on the big stage.”

With a ticket punched into the semifinals, SWR was two wins away from being state champions in an event they didn’t think they would qualify for. Next on the list was Section IX’s Port Jervis Senior High School. And again, it was the Wildcat show as SWR posted 55 points in the victory while only giving up 24 as they headed to the finals.

Earning victories over Port Jervis were Andrew Dolson, Bradley Brandt, Brady Kitchen, John O’Neil, Marcario, Mangano, Conti, Matias, Cowan and Hall.

“Every one of our wrestlers were outstanding,” Condon said. “Whether they won or lost, I think this weekend was the best version of our team. Everyone competed at such a high level, and I’m so proud of them all.”

Unfortunately, SWR’s run came to an end as they ran into Miller Place — their fellow Suffolk County opponent — in the finals. Miller Place earned the victory with a 45-24 scoreline. The Wildcats simply ran out of juice. Matias, Cowan, Mangano, Conti, and O’Neil all earned victories, but it wasn’t enough to hold off Miller Place’s depth. 

Dolson, Matias, Cowan, Mangano and O’Neil all went undefeated on the weekend to give their team a chance in every matchup. Their dominance should carry over to the individual championships now, as the dual meets have concluded.

“Our kids gave it everything they had,” Condon said. “They left it on the mat. Nobody was half in. They were all bought in at the task at hand. We had so much support from our families and community, and we really wanted to take first place, but we fell just short. The boys were obviously distraught. But we were the second-place Division II team in all of New York State. Can’t be upset at that.”