Sachem East Wrestling
“2005 - A successful and memorable season - 2006”
HIGH EXPECTATIONS:
As the 2005-2006 wrestling season got under way the expectations for the Sachem East Team were very high. The team returned almost all of the varsity line-up from the previous season. With this group of returning more experienced grapplers and some talented newcomers the team’s goals were very high. While every wrestling season has its ups and downs, this season was mostly up as the team came through with some memorable performances.
THE REGULAR SEASON:
The team kicked off the ’05-’06 campaign on December 10th at the Walt Whitman Tournament. Sachem East had four champions with Tony Tymvios, Vin Merante, Frank Sciacca, and Matt Ferber all winning their weight classes. Merante, Sciacca, and Ferber dominated the field by pinning all of there opponents. Dan O’Malley, Pat O’Donnell, Al Martino, and Joe Ferber all finished second in their weight classes. Next the team traveled to the Kings Park Classic dual meet tournament. The Arrows steam rolled the competition as they defeated Newfield, John Glenn, Kings Park and Mt. Sinai on there way to winning the team title. Sachem East opened the home portion of there season on Dec. 22nd, with a 49-20 victory over the Deer Park Falcons.
The holiday recess was an exciting one for the team, as they traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete in the KSA National Duals! Twenty-four wrestlers, four managers, four coaches, and about two dozen family members left New York on December 26th for the three day tournament in Orlando. The Red and Gold had an impressive performance in Orlando as they finished second by winning 6 meets before losing in the finals to McDonough HS the #1 ranked team from the state of Maryland. In addition to competing against the team from Maryland Sachem also wrestled squads from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and host state Florida.
The team returned home with the tough League 1 dual meet season waiting. Unfortunately, the team was down two starters as Pat O’Donnell and Tony Tymvios suffered injuries in the last meet in Florida. Despite not being at full strength the team was able to dominate Patchogue Medford 47-18, William Floyd 48-25, and Lindenhurst 52-15. The teams’ fortunes turned when they dropped a 29-28 decision to Longwood, and a 38-25 decision to Brentwood. The Red and gold closed out the Dual meet season with a 53-12 victory over Ward Melville. The victory over Ward Melville lifted East’s dual meet record to 16-3
The Arrows also competed in two individual tournaments in January and February. At the Sachem North Invitational the grapplers from East were up against some of Suffolk’s premier teams. Despite the fierce competition John Perez, Frank Sciacca, and Matt Ferber all won titles, while Dan O’Malley and Vin Merante both earned runner-up honors. On February 4th the team wrapped up the regular season in impressive fashion by dominating the 2nd annual Sachem East Tournament. Seven East wrestlers won their weight class; Steve Nguyen, Brett Cataldi, John Perez, Joe Solomito, Vin Merante, Frank Sciacca, and Matt Ferber all took home the gold. Once again the trio of Merante, Sciacca, and Ferber pinned all their opponents.
THE POST SEASON:
In wrestling as with all sports the most important part of the season is the end. All season long the wrestlers are really preparing for the post season tournaments where All-League, All-County, and All-State honors are up for grabs. The wrestling post season consists of three tournaments. The first is the League Championship, a tournament with wrestlers from each of the seven teams in the league. Each team can enter two wrestlers per weight-class, those who place in the top four in each weight earn All-League honors, but only the top three place winners advance to the county championships. Wrestlers who place also earn points for their team, the higher you place the more points your team gets, and these points determine the team championship. Those wrestlers who advance to the counties get to compete for All-County Honors, and once again can score team points by placing in the tournament. Advancing to the state championships is a daunting task as only those wrestlers who win the county tournament qualify for the New York State Championships.
LEAGUE 1 CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The Arrows knew they would need to be at their best for the League 1 Tournament if they wanted to prevail over powerful teams from Brentwood and Longwood to take home the team title. As the tournament got underway it was clear Sachem was up for the challenge. In perhaps their finest performance of the season the Arrows crowned 6 League Champions: John Perez, Vin Merante, Joe Ferber, Frank Sciaaca, Matt Ferber, and Jesse Brawley. In all 12 wrestlers earned All-League Honors, 11 of whom qualified for the counties. This outstanding effort was enough to earn Sachem East it’s first ever League 1 wrestling title.
SUFFOLK COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS:
The competition stiffens at the county tournament as the top three wrestlers from each of the six leagues come together to battle it out over two days for All-County Honors. The arrows seemed to carry some momentum from the leagues into day one of the tournament as six Sachem East wrestlers won their day one matches to advance to the semi-finals and ensure their status as all county. Their success put the Red in Gold in second place out of over forty teams at the conclusion of day one. The opening round of day two was a little tougher as only Matt Ferber won his semi-final match two advance to the finals. In the finals Matt pinned his opponent in the first period to win his second Suffolk County title and earn his second trip to the state championships. When the tournament ended; Tony Tymvios, John Perez, Vin Merante, Joe Ferber, Frank Sciacca, and Matt Ferber had all earned All-County Honors, and the team finished 3rd in the team race.
NEW YORK STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS:
After finishing second in the 2005 state championships Matt Ferber came into the 2006 tournament with some unfinished business. Matt proved he was the best in the state as cruised to the title with his closest match being a 7-1 victory in the finals before over 10,000 fans at the Nassau Coliseum. Matt became Sachem East’s first New York State Wrestling Champion.
Sachem East’s All League, All-County, and All-State wrestlers:
Name Weight Leagues Counties State - s
Dan O’Malley 96 lbs. 2nd
Brett Cataldi 125 lbs. 2nd
Tony Tymvios 130 lbs. 2nd 4th
John Perez 135 lbs. Champ 3rd
Joe Solomito 140 lbs. 4th
Al Martino 145 lbs. 3rd
Vin Merante 152 lbs. Champ 4th
Joe Ferber 160 lbs. Champ 6th
Frank Sciacca 189 lbs. Champ 3rd
Nore Habib 189 lbs. 3rd
Matt Ferber 215 lbs Champ Champ Champ
Jesse Brawley 275 lbs Champ