The County Section XI Tournament took place Saturday & Sunday (2/11 & 2/12) at the Brentwood campus of Suffolk Community College. Approximately 360 wrestlers (24 at each of the 15 weight classes) began wrestling on Saturday with the hopes of becoming a Section XI County Champion. The harsh reality though is that 23 of the 24 would fall short, 16 of them would be eliminated on the first day and 2 of the last 8 remaining would see their dreams die in the first match on Sunday. The County XI Tournament is physically and almost more important mentally exhausting for both the participants and coaches. The Hurricanes entered Saturday with 6 wrestlers and left that night with only 2 still remaining. Ending their season and in one case their wrestling career on Saturday were:
Freshman Jason Montagna (106)
Junior Tyler Skala (113)
8th Grader Jackson Hulse (126)
Senior David Cable (138)
Thankfully, 3 of the 4 eliminated Hurricanes will have a chance to scale the Section XI mountain again at least once more.
Junior Tyler Skala (113) - (2-2 tournament record)
The only Hurricane eliminated on Saturday to get a win was Junior Tyler Skala. Tyler faced Anthony Constantino from Walt Whitman in the pigtail round and was able to get a pin and advance. In the first round, Tyler faced #4 seed, and eventual 6th place finisher Matt Campisi from William Floyd. Campisi defeated Tyler in the finals at the Kujan tournament by a single point and squeaked by Tyler again by the thinnest of 5-4 margins. In the wrestle-backs, Tyler got a pin against Billy Nicholson from West islip in his first match. Needing a win to make it to Sunday and the blood round, Tyler ran into the eventual 4th Place finisher Denis Velasquez from Brentwood. A very tough Velasquez ended Tyler's all-county hopes with an 8-2 win. Tyler will be back to make some noise next year as a senior!
Sophomore Liam McIntyre (160) & Senior Scott Rementer (170) were both still alive facing a must win on Sunday in the "blood round" to become all-county wrestlers. The blood round is the potential dream killing first round on Sunday. If you win, you are one of the final six remaining wrestlers at your weight. If you lose, you one of the last two wrestlers eliminated, finishing in 7th or 8th place on a podium with only 6 spots. Your season and perhaps career end there. Here is a recap of how Liam and Scott's Section XI Tournament journey ended:
Sophomore Liam McIntyre (160) - (4-2 tournament record - 5th Place)
Liam entered the tournament unseeded after finishing 2nd in the League VI Championship behind #3 seed Joseph Bartolotto from Miller Place. He did, however, get a bye in the pigtail round. He defeated Alezandro Aponte from Sachem North before running into #1 seed and longtime nemesis Nick Munsch from Commack. Liam lost the 7-2 decision and was sent to the wrestle-backs. Liam needed 2 consecutive wins to guarantee himself a spot on the podium. He got the first one on Saturday with a 7-0 win over Andrew Passaro from William Floyd. That earned him a spot in the blood round on Sunday. Win and you are all county, lose and you are done. McIntyre faced Edwin Yanes from Copiague and achieved all-county status with a 5-0 victory! Liam then squared off against #5 seed Dylan Zabarra from Rocky Point. The winner would wrestle for 3rd, and the loser would wrestle for 5th. Liam fought hard but came up just short in the 7-5 decision which moved him into the 5th place match against JC Broems from Kings Park. Broems earlier knocked out the #4. Never in question, Liam dominated in the 10-0 victory, adding 5th place in the Section XI Tournament to his all-county status. All this as a Sophomore! With two years remaining in his career, we look forward to hearing much more about this talented young Hurricane in the upcoming years!
Freshman Jason Montagna (106)
Junior Tyler Skala (113)
8th Grader Jackson Hulse (126)
Senior David Cable (138)
Thankfully, 3 of the 4 eliminated Hurricanes will have a chance to scale the Section XI mountain again at least once more.
Junior Tyler Skala (113) - (2-2 tournament record)
The only Hurricane eliminated on Saturday to get a win was Junior Tyler Skala. Tyler faced Anthony Constantino from Walt Whitman in the pigtail round and was able to get a pin and advance. In the first round, Tyler faced #4 seed, and eventual 6th place finisher Matt Campisi from William Floyd. Campisi defeated Tyler in the finals at the Kujan tournament by a single point and squeaked by Tyler again by the thinnest of 5-4 margins. In the wrestle-backs, Tyler got a pin against Billy Nicholson from West islip in his first match. Needing a win to make it to Sunday and the blood round, Tyler ran into the eventual 4th Place finisher Denis Velasquez from Brentwood. A very tough Velasquez ended Tyler's all-county hopes with an 8-2 win. Tyler will be back to make some noise next year as a senior!
Sophomore Liam McIntyre (160) & Senior Scott Rementer (170) were both still alive facing a must win on Sunday in the "blood round" to become all-county wrestlers. The blood round is the potential dream killing first round on Sunday. If you win, you are one of the final six remaining wrestlers at your weight. If you lose, you one of the last two wrestlers eliminated, finishing in 7th or 8th place on a podium with only 6 spots. Your season and perhaps career end there. Here is a recap of how Liam and Scott's Section XI Tournament journey ended:
Sophomore Liam McIntyre (160) - (4-2 tournament record - 5th Place)
Liam entered the tournament unseeded after finishing 2nd in the League VI Championship behind #3 seed Joseph Bartolotto from Miller Place. He did, however, get a bye in the pigtail round. He defeated Alezandro Aponte from Sachem North before running into #1 seed and longtime nemesis Nick Munsch from Commack. Liam lost the 7-2 decision and was sent to the wrestle-backs. Liam needed 2 consecutive wins to guarantee himself a spot on the podium. He got the first one on Saturday with a 7-0 win over Andrew Passaro from William Floyd. That earned him a spot in the blood round on Sunday. Win and you are all county, lose and you are done. McIntyre faced Edwin Yanes from Copiague and achieved all-county status with a 5-0 victory! Liam then squared off against #5 seed Dylan Zabarra from Rocky Point. The winner would wrestle for 3rd, and the loser would wrestle for 5th. Liam fought hard but came up just short in the 7-5 decision which moved him into the 5th place match against JC Broems from Kings Park. Broems earlier knocked out the #4. Never in question, Liam dominated in the 10-0 victory, adding 5th place in the Section XI Tournament to his all-county status. All this as a Sophomore! With two years remaining in his career, we look forward to hearing much more about this talented young Hurricane in the upcoming years!
Senior Scott Rementer (170) - (4-3 tournament record - 6th Place)
Scott entered the tournament as one of two Senior participants. His teammate David Cable (138) was eliminated early on Saturday leaving Scott as the only remaining Senior. Though ranked 5th in Section XI, Scott was unseeded heading into the tournament after finishing 3rd in the League VI Tournament. Hurricane fans know that may have been a blessing. Scott was living "under the radar". A solid wrestler who had the potential to end some opponents all-county dreams. Scott met up in the pigtail round with Jake Ferraro from Smithtown West and advanced easily with a pin. That moved him into the first round against unseeded Gino Mitrani from Deer Park who had a pigtail bye and is probably still wondering what happened after Scott dispatched him with a convincing 17-9 decision. Scott then stepped up against #1 seed and eventual Section XI runner up Joe Eiden from Sachem East. Scott's undefeated run ended there and he was sent to wrestle-backs to fight for his wrestling life after a 13-3 defeat. Scott then had to face #6 seed Steven Holder from Hauppauge in a must win wrestle-back and advanced by pin to the blood round on Sunday with teammate Liam McIntyre. On Sunday, Scott, with his entire season and career on the line and all-county status just one win away, had to face the #4 seed Christian Moriarty from Northport. Moriarty had been knocked off 9-6 by unseeded Ivan Romero-Cisneros from Miller Place who finished 2nd in the League VI Championship and was also flying under the radar like Scott and a very good wrestler (remember his name). Scott stepped up HUGE and dispatched Moriarty in the must win match with a nail-biting a 3-2 victory. I wish I had a picture of his father in the stands during that match. It was amazing! Now an all-county wrestler, Scott then had to face eventual 3rd place finisher Alec Masiello from Commack. Masiello was all over Scott and took the 11-3 decision. Scott headed to the 5th & 6th place match and had to face fellow League VI "under the radar" wrestler Ivan Romero-Cisneros from Miller Place. Scott was leading 3-1 in a very tight match when Romero-Cisneros caught Scott using a lat drop (I hope that's right) and got a key takedown that turned into a pin. I'm sure he was disappointed, but Scott ended his career with an amazing all-county run and 6th Place finish at the Section XI tournament!
Scott entered the tournament as one of two Senior participants. His teammate David Cable (138) was eliminated early on Saturday leaving Scott as the only remaining Senior. Though ranked 5th in Section XI, Scott was unseeded heading into the tournament after finishing 3rd in the League VI Tournament. Hurricane fans know that may have been a blessing. Scott was living "under the radar". A solid wrestler who had the potential to end some opponents all-county dreams. Scott met up in the pigtail round with Jake Ferraro from Smithtown West and advanced easily with a pin. That moved him into the first round against unseeded Gino Mitrani from Deer Park who had a pigtail bye and is probably still wondering what happened after Scott dispatched him with a convincing 17-9 decision. Scott then stepped up against #1 seed and eventual Section XI runner up Joe Eiden from Sachem East. Scott's undefeated run ended there and he was sent to wrestle-backs to fight for his wrestling life after a 13-3 defeat. Scott then had to face #6 seed Steven Holder from Hauppauge in a must win wrestle-back and advanced by pin to the blood round on Sunday with teammate Liam McIntyre. On Sunday, Scott, with his entire season and career on the line and all-county status just one win away, had to face the #4 seed Christian Moriarty from Northport. Moriarty had been knocked off 9-6 by unseeded Ivan Romero-Cisneros from Miller Place who finished 2nd in the League VI Championship and was also flying under the radar like Scott and a very good wrestler (remember his name). Scott stepped up HUGE and dispatched Moriarty in the must win match with a nail-biting a 3-2 victory. I wish I had a picture of his father in the stands during that match. It was amazing! Now an all-county wrestler, Scott then had to face eventual 3rd place finisher Alec Masiello from Commack. Masiello was all over Scott and took the 11-3 decision. Scott headed to the 5th & 6th place match and had to face fellow League VI "under the radar" wrestler Ivan Romero-Cisneros from Miller Place. Scott was leading 3-1 in a very tight match when Romero-Cisneros caught Scott using a lat drop (I hope that's right) and got a key takedown that turned into a pin. I'm sure he was disappointed, but Scott ended his career with an amazing all-county run and 6th Place finish at the Section XI tournament!
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