The Hurricanes traveled to East Islip tonight and came out on top by a final score of 42-31. After a forfeit by East Islip to start the meet, WHB fell behind 10-6 after losses at 99 & 106 pounds. The Canes then got a pin at 113 pounds to take the lead 12-10 and never trailed again. Late in the meet with the Canes leading 36-22 and three matches remaining (182,195 & 220), East Islip had a team huddle behind their bench. Needing wins in all three matches and at least 15 points (tie would go to WHB), East Islip elected to forfeit at 182, giving the Hurricanes the victory, after Coach Bass sent out Junior Tom O'Shea. It appears they wanted their wrestler Garcia to get a chance to test Senior Dan McClure who was waiting to go at 195 pounds. Unfortunately the match ended just after the start. Garcia went right to an upper body move against McClure. Dan obliged, picked Garcia up, and returned him to the mat. Unfortunately, Garcia came down hard, hitting the mat on his shoulders and neck area and did not get back up. It was immediately obvious that the match would not continue and we all hoped Garcia was OK. He was taken by ambulance for x-rays as a precaution and it was later reported that he is fine and already back home this evening. Because the referee awarded a penalty point to East Islip for the hard mat return, East Islip took the 6 points for that match and added an overtime win at 220 pounds to round out the scoring at 42-31. Thanks to those who came out to support the Canes and we hope to see you Friday for our last home match of the season!

By Cailin RileyThree East End wrestlers will battle for New York State Division I championships this weekend at the Times Union Center in Albany. Here’s a look at who they’ll be facing and how they are expected to fare.




Dan McClure-Westhampton Beach

McClure, a senior, won the Suffolk County Championship at 182 pounds—his first county title—after beating Sam Schuyler of Kings Park in a 12-5 decision on February 14. He’ll be gunning for his first state title in what is his first trip to states, starting off in the first round against fourth-seed Alexander Melikian, a senior, of Lakeland Panas High School (Section I-Dutchess, Putnam, Rockland, Westchester). If McClure wins, he will face the winner of fifth-seed Tyreek Bromley of Long Beach (Section VIII-Nassau) vs. Simon Chee of Benjamin Cardozo (private school) in the quarterfinals. If McClure can get to the semis, he will likely face top seed Kevin Parker of Shenendehowa (Section II-Capital District), who won the state title last year at 170 pounds.

Suffolk County will be well represented in the bracket, with Schuyler and county runner-up Jeffrey Brown of Connetquot also earning at-large bids. Suffolk County typically receives the most at-large bids of any section in the state because it consistently wins the state tournament every year and is widely recognized as being the most competitive section in the state with the best wrestlers.

Westhampton Beach head coach Paul Bass said McClure has been working hard and is ready to go. He acknowledged that all the wrestlers in the bracket are strong, but said he believes McClure can hang with the best of them. McClure has been working for the past week with some of the best wrestlers in the state as part of the Suffolk County practices, grappling with Edwin Rubio (285) of John Glenn, Terron Robinson (220) of Walt Whitman, Christian Araneo (195) of Ward Melville, Marcus Bisono (170) of Hauppague, and Chris Mauriello (152) of Hauppauge. Those wrestlers all won county titles this year, and Rubo, Robinson and Araneo are all the top seeds in their brackets for states.




Adam Busiello-ESM

Freshman 106-pounder Adam Busiello is the favorite to win the state title, earning the top seed after cruising his way to the county title for the second straight year. Busiello won his first state championship last season at 99 pounds, and was a runner-up at states as a seventh-grader. He will start the tournament against David Traub of Tottenville (private) before taking on the winner of Zayne Benedict of Vestal (Section IV-Southern Tier) vs. Alex Samson of Victor (Section V-Genessee Valley).

Busiello became the third state champion in ESM history last season, following in the footsteps of Maverick Passaro (2012) and Travis Passaro (2014). He has a chance to become the first two-time state champ for the Sharks if he wins this year.




John Busiello-ESM

The state tournament will be a family affair for the Busiellos, as Adam’s older brother, John, a senior, will compete in the 145-pound bracket. Busiello beat Shoreham’s Jack Taddeo, 3-0, to win the county title on February 14. This year has been a homecoming for Busiello—after a successful freshman year at ESM, where he finished second in the county tournament and took third in the state tournament, Busiello decided to enroll at Wyoming Seminary, a prep school in Northeastern Pennsylvania with a reputation for wrestling excellence. He spent his sophomore and junior seasons there, finishing fifth in the prep nationals, before deciding to come back to ESM for his senior year. Busiello is seeded sixth at states this year, and will open up against Tyler Brazinski, seeded sixth, of Johnson City (Section IV-Southern Tier). If Busiello wins, it could set up a rematch of the county final, as Taddeo—who received an at-large bid—would be the next opponent, should Taddeo win. Taddeo will open against Angus Johnson of Canton (Section X-St. Lawrence Area).

The tournament is set to begin on Friday, February 26, with the Parade of Champions at 9:30 a.m. Prelims will run from 10 a.m. to roughly 2 p.m., with quarterfinals running from 2 to 4 p.m. and wrestlebacks running from 4 to 8 p.m. On Saturday, semifinals and wrestlebacks will run from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with wrestlebacks and the consolation semifinals from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Consolation finals will run from 2 to 3:30 p.m. After those are over, the gates will close and then fans can return at 5 p.m., with ceremonies set to begin at 5:50 p.m. and the finals set to start at 6:30 p.m.

For the latest updates, follow sports editor Cailin Riley on Twitter @sportsgal27east.

Publication: The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press   By: Cailin Riley

Over the course of two weeks, the Westhampton Beach wrestling team took on eight of the top 10 ranked teams in Suffolk County. It was a grueling stretch, but it paid off, as evidenced by the team’s performance at the Kujan Tournament at William Floyd High School on Saturday. The Hurricanes were head and shoulders above the competition, winning the tournament with 327.5 points, well ahead of second-place Floyd (225 points). Westhampton Beach had five champions (and nine finalists), winning those matches in dominant fashion with four pins and one technical fall, and it had 30 pins over the course of the day, and a total of 15 who placed in the top six in their weight classes. Even more impressive, the Hurricanes did it without four starters—Sean Ebrus (126 pound), Thatcher Cord (140), Danny Strebel (132) and Matt Tobin (160/170)—who are out indefinitely with injuries. 

The dominant effort at the tournament came on the heels of a very respectable 44-27 League V loss at Hauppauge, the top ranked team in the county, on January 14. Westhampton Beach head coach Paul Bass said on Sunday he was extremely pleased with his team’s effort against both Hauppauge and at the Kujan tournament, after what he felt was a lackluster effort in a 49-19 League V win over a weak Comsewogue team on January 13.

“They were very flat against Comsewogue, and I lit them up afterwards,” Bass said. “They responded really well.”

Bass said that while he wasn’t necessarily surprised that his team did well and won the Kujan tournament, he didn’t necessarily expect his team to be as dominant as it was. 

“We’re a team that tries to peak at the end of the year, so I always expect to do well at this time of year,” he said. “But I’m surprised we won that much with four starters out in the last two weeks. They really wrestled for each other, which was nice to see. 

“I believe we have one of the hardest schedules in Suffolk County,” Bass continued. “So they’re used to going at that level right now. Even though there weren’t any top 10 teams in this tournament, they were all good to average teams. We were just at a whole other level.”

Tyler Skala started the Canes off with a pin of Plainedge’s Odysseus Lauca at 99 pounds in the final, before Matt Tanzman was the runner-up with an 11-0 loss to Donald Wood of Center Moriches at 106 pounds. At 113, Hurricane Dane Mendoza won by technical fall (4:32) over Tim Troeber of Newfield, and at 120, Connor Glynn was the runner-up after a hard-fought 6-4 loss to Joseph DeRosa of Half Hollow Hills West, who had dominated Glynn in a match earlier in the season. At 145, Westhampton’s Liam McIntyre took a 5-4 loss against Darrell Carson of Bellport, before the Hurricanes rattled off three straight victories by pin—Alex Kravitz (160) took out Pablo Molina of Floyd in 1:52; Billy Campbell (170) stuck Isaac Smith of Hills West in 4:45; and Dan McClure (182) beat his own teammate, Thomas O’Shea, with a pin in 4:24. Campbell was recognized as the Joe Randazzo Toughest Competitor for his performance in the tournament. In the consolation finals, Scott Rementer (152) pinned Andrew Passaro of Floyd in 3:28, while at 220, Ed Ford pinned Bellport’s George Berry in just 46 seconds. At 285, Sal DiBenedetto took fourth after getting pinned in 18 seconds by Marcus Wong of Floyd. At 99 pounds, Hurricane Jason Montagna beat teammate Cole Hempel, 11-4, in the match for fifth and sixth place, while Jack Ciolino took sixth at 132, getting pinned in 1:54 by Brian Reid of Bellport. 

Against Hauppauge, a team that boasts six wrestlers ranked in the top three of their weight class in Suffolk County, the Hurricanes put in a strong effort. Kravitz had a nice showing at 160, pinning Steven Holder in 1:04 in what Bass said was a “toss-up” match, and McIntyre pinned Luke Smith in 5:20 at 145 pounds in another quality win for the Canes. Westhampton Beach only gave up three pins in the match. Skala (99), Mendoza (113), McClure (182) and Ford (220) also had wins on the day, while both Tanzman (113) and Glynn (120) avoided getting pinned against Dan Mauriello and Jake Silverstein, respectively, two of the best wrestlers in the state in their weight classes. 

Against Comsewogue, McIntyre, Skala, and Glynn won with pins. 

Westhampton Beach was scheduled to take on East Islip for a league match on January 20 and will be home to take on Rocky Point, the second-ranked team in the county, on Friday for senior night at 4:30 p.m.

Original Article

The Hurricanes defended their title at the Kujan Tournament yesterday (1/16)!!! The Canes topped a ten team field. Here are the final standings:

 1. Westhampton Beach 327.5
  2. William Floyd 225
  3. Bellport 217
  4. Half Hollow Hills West 210.5
  5. Plainedge 146.5
  6. Newfield 142.5
  7. Smithtown East 116
  8. Eastport-South Manor. 112
  9. Center Moriches 89.5
 10. Glen Cove 68

The Canes had wrestlers in 8 of the 15 final matches including the all-WHB final at 182 pounds, 12 place finishers overall, and Senior Billy Campbell (170) received the "Toughest Competitor" Award for the tournament!

Here is a quick look at the place finishers:

99 pounds
1st Place - Sophomore Tyler Skala
5th Place - 8th Grader Jason Montagna
6th Place - Freshman Cole Hempel

106 Pounds
2nd Place - Senior Matt Tanzman

113 Pounds
1st Place - Junior Dane Mendoza

120 Pounds
2nd Place - Senior Connor Glynn


132
6th Place - Junior Jack Ciolino

145 Pounds
2nd Place - FreshmanLiam McIntyre

152 Pounds
3rd Place - Junior Scott Rementer

160 Pounds
1st Place - Senior Alex Kravitz

170 Pounds
1st Place - Senior Billy Campbell

182 Pounds 
1st Place - Senior Dan McClure
2nd Place - Junior Tom O'Shea

220 Pounds
3rd Place - Senior Ed Ford

285 Pounds
4th Place - Junior Sal DiBenedetto

Congratulations to the team on a great tournament and to all the parents and Hurricane faithful that came out to make our fan section the loudest (by far) in the building!!

Westhampton-Hampton Bays Patch By: Lisa Finn

Sunday will mark two years since the Westhampton Beach community was rocked by the death of one of their own: Cory Hubbard, 22, a student at the University of Maryland, lost his life after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver.

But in the months since, his parents, Ralph and Holly Hubbard, as well as his brother Kyle, have been the center of an outpouring of love and support — and a collective vow by all who loved Cory that his memory will live forever.

To that end, a the Live Your Cor Foundation was formed, hosting fundraisers in Cory’s memory, with proceeds used to create scholarships in his hame.

Last weekend, the Westhampton Beach High School athletic department, under the leadership of wrestling Coach Paul Bass, hosted the Second Annual Cory Hubbard Duals.

“It was heartwarming to see so many people wearing his name on their back,” Cory’s father Ralph Hubbard said this week, thanking Bass and Westhampton Beach’s Athletics Director Kathy Masterson.

Westhampton, Hubbard said, has hosted a Dual Meet wrestling tournament for the past several years. “Cory wrestled in the tournament for five consecutive years, from eighth grade through his senior year in high school,” Hubbard said.

The entire community mourned Cory’s loss; hearts were broken and students took to the field on a frigid, snowy winter day to honor him, standing in the formation of his team number, after his death. Long lines of visitors stood for hours, waiting to pay their last respects to a young man whose bright smile and warm heart will never be forgotten.

Cory left a long legacy at Westhampton Beach High School: The fitness room has a wall dedicated to Cory, designed by Katie Parry. “It will hopefully inspire young athletes to strive for leadership, character and maintain a team-first attitude,” Hubbard said.

The two years since they lost their son have not been easy for the Hubbards.

“Since Cory was hit and killed by a drunk driver, we have met many parents who have lost children through our involvement with The Compassionate Friends,” Hubbard said. “We have come to realize that the loss of a child is unlike other losses. We know people who are grieving the loss of their child for over 20 years. When you lose a child or sibling or even a grandchild you lose a future and the milestones of their friends and contemporaries are constant reminders of the loss.”

That’s why events such as the wrestling tournament touch a chord so deep, he said. “The tributes to Cory are heartwarming reminders that he had an impact on so many people in his 22 years. We are fortunate to have so many people willing to keep his memory alive and use his example to help inspire young people in our community.”

He added, “There is a saying in the Compassionate Friends that says, ‘If you say my child’s name it may bring a tear to my eye, but if you don’t mention them it breaks my heart.’ That sums up what we feel about the scholarships and dedications created in Cory’s memory. We will never get over our loss but we are blessed that our friends and family are comfortable remembering him and bring him up often.”

After they heard the most heartbreaking news any parent could ever have to bear, Cory Hubbard’s mother and father reflected on his beautiful life.

“He was a very special boy,” his mother, Holly Hubbard said in 2014. “He was fun, easygoing, the life of the party. He always seemed to have a smile, and was always joking.”

According to the Prince George’s County Police Department, Hubbard was killed while trying to cross Baltimore Avenue at Knox Road in College Park.

Last year, Liam Adepo, 30, of Maryland was sentenced to two years in jail for the the hit and run accident; he then fled the scene.

But rather than anger, his parents, who collected heartfelt impact statements from friends and loved ones to read in the courtroom, have chosen to focus on forgiveness — and on keeping the memory of their son’s beautiful life alive through good works and positivity.

“He was put here to make people’s lives better, to give love and take love. That was his role, God’s mission for him. And we’re so lucky to have had him,” Hubbard said.

Their son, Hubbard said, loved to travel and enjoyed family trips to national parks across the country, including Zion and Bryce National Parks, the Rocky Mountains and the Bandelier Monument in New Mexico, exploring the mesas where pueblo cliff dwellers once lived.

“We were touring these ancient civilizations in the United States and he was this little kid, climbing on rocks,” his dad remembered.

The young man took his penchant for travel and pursued it as a young college student, seeing Alaska, and spending a semester in Australia and traveling to New Zealand, his father said.

“He said it was the trip of a lifetime,” Hubbard remembered, his voice breaking with grief. “He was his inquisitive self. He always loved to travel.”

Scores of friends shared their memories of their son, an athlete, a scholar, and a kind-hearted young man who touched the lives of so many.

“His college roommates were interviewed and said he was a peacekeeper,” Holly Hubbard said. “He was the one always keeping everyone in check, as a lacrosse goalie, the one that gave everyone support on the field.”

Even through their tears, the Hubbards were able to smile at a photo of a Halloween costume their son wore, as a “tourist,” dressed to resemble his dad on their many adventures.

Through sports, including lacrosse, football and wrestling, and through REACH, a program he pursued with the Westhampton Presbyterian Church, the young man “was quick to make friends,” Hubbard said. “One girl told us that even though she’d only met him once, she’d never forget him.”

Cory, a 2010 graduate of Westhampton Beach High School, was a senior at Maryland University studying Kinesiology.

Friends were heartbroken at the tragic news. “Cory was always full of a never-ending energy,” said Joanna DeLeon. “He was blessed with a light that could shine for eternity. His smile made you smile and his laugh made you laugh. He brought joy to people’s lives and I will always remember him that way.”

The Hurricanes hosted Comsewogue yesterday and were too much for the undermanned Warriors. WHB aided by forfeits at 106, 113 & 170 pounds, cruised to the victory improving their league record to 3-1 and dropping Comsewogue to 0-4.

Things were not looking good for the Westhampton Beach wrestling team on Friday night.

The Hurricanes were coming off a tough 48-24 League V loss at Kings Park, and after a long bus ride home, had only five hours of sleep to look forward to before getting back on a bus again for the Commack Duals, one of the toughest tournaments of the season in Suffolk County, where they’d be attempting to defend their title from last year.

But as the Canes have shown in recent seasons, coming up big when the chips are down seems to be their specialty.

Against five quality teams, the Hurricanes went 4-1 at the Commack Duals, their only loss coming to North Babylon, the third-ranked team in Suffolk County. While they did not defend their title, the Hurricanes made head coach Paul Bass extremely proud, and he was not disappointed with the loss to North Babylon, a talented team that was not in the tournament last year.

“The kids were really down after [the loss to Kings Park],” Bass said, pointing out that while Kings Park is ranked seventh in Suffolk County, his team still felt it had a chance to win. “We feel we have a shot against anybody. But I wanted to see how they responded after that. This was the toughest Commack Duals we’ve ever been to; there were no weak teams. So I was extremely happy with how they rebounded from a not-so-great week. They wrestled their [butts] off. It was really awesome.”

The Hurricanes moved to 15-5 on the season in dual meets, and they are 2-1 in League V. Before the loss to Kings Park, they beat rival Eastport South Manor, 39-36, at home on January 6 in a League V showdown.

The Canes kicked off the tournament against Trumbull High School, the third-ranked team in Connecticut, which boasts five All-State wrestlers. Westhampton Beach came away with a 42-33 win, which was the only loss of the day for Trumbull. After that, the Canes rallied in the last three matches to beat Freeport—the ninth-ranked team in Nassau County—39-24, and went on to beat another Nassau team, Mepham, 52-19. Westhampton Beach then beat host Commack, 42-27, before finishing with a 45-25 loss to North Babylon.

Over the course of the day, Westhampton Beach wrestled in 14 bouts against state or county-ranked wrestlers, and gave up only three pins and one technical fall in those matches, while also scoring an upset win in one of them, when Matt Tanzman (106 pounds) upset Mepham’s Kyle Althenn in a 10-2 major decision.

Westhampton Beach’s Dan McClure (182 and 195) went 5-0 on the day, scoring 24 team points, while Connor Glynn (120) went 4-1, scoring 18 team points. His only loss came to North Babylon’s Anthony Sparacio, a returning All-State wrestler who is currently ranked second in the county in his weight class.

By the end of this week, Westhampton Beach will have taken on eight of the top 10 ranked teams in Suffolk County, including the top three. All five of their losses thus far have come against county-ranked teams. The Hurricanes were scheduled to host Comsewogue for a league match on January 13 and will visit Hauppauge, the top-ranked team in the county, for another league match the following day before competing in the Kujan Tournament at Floyd on Saturday.

In the win over ESM, Bass said he was happy with how Tanzman wrestled in a loss to defending state champion Adam Busiello, losing by technical fall in the final seconds of a match where most people expected a quick pin.

“He didn’t wrestle afraid, and he frustrated [Busiello],” Bass said.

Westhampton Beach had six pins on the day, including Billy Campbell (170); Dan McClure (182), who is currently ranked first in the county at his weight; Thomas O’Shea (195); Dane Mendoza (113), currently ranked third in the county at his weight; Connor Glynn (120); and Danny Strebel (132).

In the loss to Kings Park, Bass was happy with the effort of Liam McIntyre (145) and Scott Rementer (152). McIntyre won a 7-5 decision over Joe Broems while Rementer won a 4-2 decision over Nico Ziccardi.

Original Article Here

If you were at Commack on Saturday or on the team Twitter feed getting live updates, you knew all this information about 16 hours ago (see Twitter info below if you are interested). The Hurricanes traveled to Commack for the Annual Duals tournament on Saturday (1/9) after a very tough road match and first League V loss to King's Park the night before. It remained to be seen how the team would respond mentally to that experience.The Canes captured the title last year but were facing significantly increased competition. The most obvious change was the addition of North Babylon, a League III competitor, and currently ranked #3 in Suffolk County. There were 8 teams in attendance;  

Pool A - Westhampton Beach, Trumbull (CT), Mepham (Nassau), & Freeport (Nassau). 
Pool B - North Babylon, Commack, Hills West, & Harborfields.

Speaking with Coach Bass, he felt that the Canes responded admirably to the pressure especially after a tough loss at King's Park the night before. At the tournament, the Hurricanes faced three ranked teams and 14 wrestlers ranked at state or county level. During those matches, the Canes gave up only 3 pins and an average of 3.6 points. "That's how you win dual meets" the coach said. 

A special thank you to all the parents and Hurricane supporters who came out to support the team. It was a great day for the team!


                                                              RECAP
TRUMBULL (CT) - 46-34 (W - 1-0) 
The Hurricanes first faced Trumbull (CT) which is ranked #3 in the state of Connecticut and came into the day undefeated at 11-0 just off a victory over the #1 ranked Danbury on Wednesday night.
The Canes gave Trumbull a friendly welcome to Section Xi wrestling.

FREEPORT (Nassau) - 39-24 (W - 2-0)
Next up for the Canes was Freeport who is currently ranked #9 in Nassau county. The Red Devils came into the match sporting 4 Section VIII ranked wrestlers.

MEPHAM (Nassau) - 52-19 (W - 3-0)
WHB needed one more victory to win their pool and move on to the 1st-4th playoff matches. Up next was Mepham High School who had a pair of Senction VIII ranked wrestlers. The victory gave the Hurricanes the #1 seed for Pool A.

Pool A                                       Pool B
Westhampton Beach #1           North Babylon #1
Trumbull #2                               Commack #2

The #1 of each Pool faced the #2 of the opposite pool. 

COMMACK - 44-27 (W - 4-0)
In the semi-final match, the Hurricanes faced a League I opponent in Commack. The winner would face the winner of the other semi-final matchup (North Babylon) for the title.The Cougars, a League I team had some excellent wrestlers, but the Canes appeared the better overall team. The victory set up the final pairing.

NORTH BABYLON - 45-25 (L - 4-1)
The Canes then ran headlong into North Babylon, a League III competitor ranked #3 in Suffolk County. The Hurricanes gave the very deep and talented Bulldogs all they could handle, but in the end could not quite get the victory.

Westhampton Beach dropped their first League V match of the season tonight at King's Park by the final score of 48-24. The Kingsmen feature the #7 ranked dual meet team in Suffolk County and displayed a lot of talent on the mat. The Hurricanes added another teammate to the injury list as Junior Danny Strebel (132) was unable to wrestle tonight. We hope he will be back very soon! 

                           RECAP
The Hurricanes jumped to the early 6-0 lead after Junior Dane Mendoza (113) started off with a pin. The Canes lost by decision at 120 & 132 and suffered pins at 126 & 138. So after 5 matches the score was 18-6 in favor of King's Park. Freshman Liam McCintyre (145) righted the ship with a 7-5 decision and Junior Scott Rementer (152) followed with a 4-2 decision closing the gap to 18-12 still in King Park's favor. The pivotal match was a 160 pounds. Senior Alex Kravitz (160) battled extremely hard with Doyle of King's Park and the score was tied 6-6 with about 30 seconds left when Kravitz got taken down and pinned. I'm not sure what happened exactly, but the Canes went from a potential 3 point deficit to a 12 point deficit in the blink of an eye. Instead of 18-15, the Canes found themselves down 24-12 with 8 matches gone. A King's Park pin at 170 and the score was 30-12. King's Park forfeited at both 182 & 195 to give the Canes a glimmer of hope at 30-24, but the Hurricanes would not win another match. A pin at 220 and major decisions at 285, 99, & 106 sealed the deal for the final score of 48-24. This was the short end of a difficult score, but the Hurricanes didn't give up, not in one match and not for a second. I was proud to be out there cheering for a tough group of young men who left everything out there on the mat. 


The Hurricanes head to Commack tomororow morning (1/9) for the Commack Duals in an attempt to defend last years title at the event! See you in Commack! Go Canes!

Publication: The East Hampton Press & The Southampton Press  By: Kerry Monaco

It was a day to honor a “family” member, and the Westhampton Beach wrestling team did it in a big way, sweeping the competition to win the annual Cory Hubbard Dual Meet Tournament on January 2 on the Hurricanes’ home mats.

The tournament was the second since the team changed the name of its annual event to honor the memory of Westhampton Beach graduate Cory Hubbard. Hubbard, a three-sport athlete while he was in high school, was killed in January 2014 by a hit-and-run driver during his senior year at the University of Maryland. The driver who hit Cory was sentenced in February 2015 to two years in prison followed by three years’ probation.

“Cory is the epitome of what a high school athlete should be,” Westhampton Beach coach Paul Bass said. “We named the tournament not for just the athlete he was. But the person he was. For the way he lived his life.

He continued, “This is what athletics is all about. Using sports to create men out of boys. He was all that. He was positive. He had a blast with everything. That’s the kind of person you want to name a tournament after. He wouldn’t want us to have a moment of silence for him. He would want us to go out and wrestle like hell. Be like Cory. He always said things like spread love and good will; today is a beautiful day; let’s have at it. He was just a great kid.”

After cruising through the first three matches of the day, Westhampton Beach found a spot in the championship bout against Longwood, which emerged the victor among Bellport, Hampton Bays and Bay Shore in pool two. The Hurricanes easily beat their opponents, Newfield (63-21), Sayville (60-24) and Valley Stream North (55-24).

And after a day full of wrestling, it came down to the final bout of the match to determine the tournament’s champion with Longwood holding a 33-28 advantage—meaning nothing but a pin would do for the Hurricanes. And the squad’s lightest wrestler in the lineup came through in the biggest way possible.

Sophomore Tyler Skala pinned Zach Soriano in 2:32 at 99 pounds to earn his team six points, just enough to edge the Lions, 34-33. Skala had to pin Soriano for the win because even though a technical fall decision would earn him five team points and a tie in team score, Longwood would have taken the match because it had won eight of the 15 bouts.

“Tyler has more experience than him [Soriano], he’s a little older, so that helped,” Bass said. “His head was in the right spot. We have a very close team and winning that match for us meant a lot to him. These guys are all team oriented and Tyler knew everyone was right behind him. He had a plan and made it happen.”

And just as important as Skala’s win was to the team victory, so was Ed Ford’s loss at 220 pounds.

With three bouts to go, Westhampton Beach held a 28-24 advantage, however, the squad was giving up a definite six points at 285 with a forfeit, leaving the final spread of the match to the bouts at 220 and 99. Trailing 8-0 as the bout came to a close, Ford managed a takedown with just a single tick left on the clock to make the final score 8-2, a result that gave Longwood only three team points. Had Ford lost by an eight-point margin, the Lions would’ve received four team points and even with Skala’s pin at 99 pounds, there would have been no way for the Hurricanes to win.

“He is a great kid with a super attitude,” Bass said. “He hasn’t wrestled much but he has so much heart. Had he lost in any other way, we would’ve lost. The match would’ve been over right there. That takedown made all the difference for us.”

In addition to Skala, five other Hurricanes walked away with a sweep of victories on the day—Matt Tanzman (106), Dane Mendoza (113), Alex Kravitz (152), Billy Campbell (170) and Dan McClure (182).

While the day was full of positives for the Hurricanes, there was one negative that will impact the team for the remainder of the season as starter Matt Tobin broke his leg in his second bout of the day, sidelining the 160-pound senior for the rest of the year.

“He was one of the team leaders, second in the league last year, looking to get on the podium at Hofstra next month,” Bass said. “It’s a huge loss for the team but it’s a good reminder for the kids. Every time you step on the mat is a gift. You don’t know what tomorrow brings; you don’t know what today brings. So treasure every minute.”





Half Hollow Hills East Tournament

Prior to hosting their tournament, the Hurricanes traveled to Half Hollow Hills East’s annual holiday tournament and crowned two champions and boasted seven other place-winners.

Dan McClure won the 182-pound title and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler after he knocked off the county’s top-ranked wrestler at that weight, Half Hollow Hills East’s Griffin Arcuri.

Also taking home the top spot in his respective weight class was Dane Mendoza at 113 pounds while Matt Tobin took second at 160 pounds and Tyler Skala finished in third at 99 pounds. Finishing in fourth place were Sean Erbus (126), Connor Glynn (120) and Tom O’Shea (182) as Danny Strebel (132) and David Cable (126) both took fifth.

Westhampton Beach was scheduled to host Eastport South Manor on December 6 and will visit Kings Park for another League V match on Friday at 4:30 p.m. before competing in the Commack Duals on Saturday.