Future Chaminade Wrestlers Compete and Learn at Takedown Tournament

Under the international flags and bright lights of the giant gymnasium at Kellenberg Memorial High School in Uniondale, where six teams clashed at the fourth annual Catholic High School Athletic Association Takedown tournament Thursday, the Flyers novice wrestling squad got a taste of the big time.

Two regulation mats were flanked on both sides by wooden bleachers, with a third mat running in a separate room. Match managers worked lighted timers at scoring tables. An announcer called names over the loudspeaker. Refs tweeted whistles and shouted out points. Fans cheered, and cameras flashed. All the pressures, excitement, and distractions novice wrestlers will face as they progress through their careers were in full effect.

"They're learning what a real match is like, with all the intensity and aggression, and they're learning how to focus," Flyers novice wrestling coach Gregory Saporita said. "Today they're learning how to wrestle.

The Chaminade novice squad consists of freshmen and sophomores only, some of whom also compete for spots on the Chaminade junior varsity squad. For many of them Thursday's tournament was the first foray into live wrestling competition.

The round-robin format often pitted wrestlers against their own teammates. Four wrestlers were matched in each weight class, with each one grappling the other three in the group. The entire Flyers novice squad competed – about 40 wrestlers in all – going head-to-head.

While the overall structure was somewhat relaxed – a wrestler's effort was considered far more important than his record – as each victory was sweet, each loss tough to bear, if only momentarily. It was the learning that was meant to be permanent.

Chad Allen watched from the stands as his son, Jack, a Chaminade freshman, scored a victory at 112 lbs. over classmate Joe DiCanio. The two wrestlers kept up a blazing pace for the two-minute match, but immediately after the final buzzer, they shook hands in respectful recognition of each other's performance.

"That's the nature of the tournament. It's for the kids to have fun and learn the sport. It's good to see him out there doing this," Allen said of his son after the match.

In Thursday's tournament, only takedowns and near falls counted. A near fall is scored when a wrestler is able to hold the back of his opponent's shoulders close to the mat, but not close enough for a pin. Each match consisted of a single two-minute period, during which the clock didn't stop even between takedowns or when the wrestlers went out of bounds.

The fast-paced competition format forced wrestlers to go for chancy takedowns and quick points, rather than engaging in some of the more calculated, drawn-out brinksmanship characteristic of standard tournaments.

About halfway through the event, Flyers head Varsity coach George Dlugolonski arrived to lend support and survey the field. After passing his experienced eyes over several of the matches, Dlugolonski registered his approval.

"This and the novice tournament at the end of the year are two of the best things we do in the league," Dlugolonski said, looking at the future of his sport – the throngs of new wrestlers in singlets and headgear that sometimes seemed a little too big for their frames, some even wearing old basketball shoes with the laces taped down.

"This is the purest part of wrestling," Dlugolonski said. "Look at these kids. Some of them are going to completely transform their bodies over the course of four years."