Flyers Wrestlers Win Alumni Day Meet 62-15

The Flyers varsity wrestling squad nearly tripled an initial 18 point lead Tuesday to win their Alumni Day meet 62-15 at home against the Westhill Vikings.

The Vikings forfeited matches in three weight classes, but the Flyers hardly relied on the free points, instead blowing the point spread open with dominant victories in eight of the remaining 13 matches, six of those coming by way of pins, with a seventh by technical fall.

The Flyers' victory over their out of town visitors – who made the trip to Chaminade from Stamford, CT – brought the squad's unofficial season record to 2-0 in dual meets, including a . The Flyers have only wrestled in meets outside their regular league, the Catholic High School Athletic Association, this season. With a limited number of wrestling teams in the local CHSAA, the Flyers take meets in other leagues to fill out their competition schedule.

Chaminade showed a developing repertoire of technical skills as they ran roughshod over the Vikings, building on the solid fundamentals and strong conditioning they brought to bear against Baldwin.

"We're some really good things," Flyers varsity wrestling Coach George Dlugolonski said. "What was very evident in today's match was that the things we were practicing over the last week were the things we were using. We used a lot of half nelsons, a lot of cradles. (Team members) are paying attention in practice, and they're making it work for them in the matches."

Highlights included a first period pin by 103 lbs. sophomore Austin Ward in the first match. Senior Bobby Wallace built on a single-leg takedown to score his own first-period pin in the 125 lbs. division while junior Paul Sferrazza produced the same results at 130 lbs. after sprawling off two quick takedown attempts by his opponent.

At 140 lbs. sophomore Declan Gray opened the first period by sidestepping to slip a takedown attempt before putting on a technique clinic and piling up enough points to score a technical fall in the second. A technical fall occurs when one wrestler develops a lead of more than 15 points in a match.

Senior Michael Rizzo followed at 145 lbs. by starting right from the first period whistle with a barrage of takedown attempts that didn't stop until the second period when he turned a takedown into a cradle, then into a pin. Senior Jon Faglione used good old-fashioned muscle, aggressive pressure and slick positioning to grind out a win by decision at the 152-lbs. level.

In the upper weights, senior Paul Jan imposed his will at 189 lbs. by dominating the pummeling game on his feet to set up a pair of textbook double-leg takedowns, the second of which he developed into a pin in the second period. At the 215 weight level, senior Sean Andrews took only 23 seconds to barrel through a head-and-arm takedown to floor his opponent and pin him. Meanwhile at the lighter end of the roster, sophomore Mike Maffucci turned a series of total-commitment takedowns into a third-period pin in his 96 lbs. exhibition match.

The Vikings had driven more than an hour from Connecticut to face off with the Flyers. Vikings coach Thomas Pererira – himself a Chaminade alumnus from the class of 2000 – set up the meet on the phone with Dlugolonski. Like the Flyers, the Vikings wrestle outside their league to challenge and sharpen their abilities. Pererira said he chose his alma mater knowing the meet would be worth the trip.

"I'm happy to get my guys out of the state and get them a level of competition they're not used to," Pererira said. "I reached out to (Dlugolonski), and he was more than willing to be accommodating for us."

The Flyers will face Mineola in a dual meet Jan. 8.