Miller Place vs Sayville

• Always a pleasure watching, coaching or participating in a match that Sean Brocking referees. To see how he interacted/reacted to/ de-escalated comments coming from the crowd (Mostly from parents who admittedly knew what they were saying was being one-sided, was watching a maestro at work. There are fewer and fewer old-time refs nowadays. If you are lucky enough to get one reffing your match, be grateful. They make the event that much more pleasurable. I would watch any match that Sean or Chad are working.
• The coaching staff at Miller Place has done a fantastic job. They are a very solid team, no ultra-standout wrestlers, but are very competitive at every weight, with no holes and can and will compete with anyone in Section XI.
• In time, freshman 160 lb, Cody LoPresti from Sayville will surprise people, including himself. He doesn’t yet know how good he is or how great he can become. With productive off-seasons, he will and so will everyone else. There is something about the way he wrestles that has championships written all over it.

William Floyd Kujan Tournament

• The coaching staff at Bellport has done an outstanding job turning Bellport into a legitimate top Section XI TEAM. I say TEAM because they practice what they preach. They do the hard things that create greatness in individuals while building a team environment. They are unwilling to accept mediocrity or excuses. Creating a culture of excellence means making the right decision in a difficult circumstance. I have great admiration when values and character are prioritized especially at a great loss. I believe great coaching is the greatest asset in a young athlete’s life. The wrestlers at Bellport are blessed to have the coaches that they have.
• 106 Final – Gentzel was down 4-0 and gets a turn with two seconds left in the match to get the win over Skala (WHB) 5-4.
• 113 Final – Luke Citarelli (WHB) gets a takedown at the buzzer to get the win over Troy Gentzel 6-4.  Here it is

• 126 – Jordan Titus wins by fall over Jason Montagna (WHB) – I have thought long and hard about how to talk about this match. It is so intriguing. I have this theory that I’ve had for a long time that has been formed out of experience and has been proven to me time and time again as a phenomenon that is real and must be taken seriously. I believe that there is a natural mental letdown after big tournaments like the Eastern States. I’ve seen it happen invisibly in plain sight for years. It just so happens that the Kujan Tournament is usually the weekend after the Eastern States. In my experience, with my own kids, there is always a trap or a slight mental aberration lurking at the Kujan tournament. I have had the experience of one of my sons winning the Eastern States and then coming back the following weekend to take 4th at the Kujan tournament?!? There is something to be said about how hard it is to get up for every match for the entire season against every opponent. Jordan Titus is coming off of wins at the Ironman and at the Eastern States. We all know how unbelievably impressive those accolades are and what type of mental toughness a wrestler must have to accomplish such. With that said, Jordan Titus found himself down 4-0 as Jason Montagna got 2 and 2 within the first 10 seconds of the start of the 126 Lb. Kujan final. Impressively, Titus came back to go up 5-4 by the end of the first period and to win by fall in the 2nd.
• Here are my takeaways
  • 1. Good for Jason Montagna for wrestling without hesitation and capitalizing on an opportunity when it presented itself. That is the only way you beat elite wrestlers.
  • 2. This just goes to illuminate how hard and impressive it is to have multiple seasons and a career as an elite wrestler. To be mentally on for every second against every opponent is extremely difficult. Much more difficult than any of us can imagine.  At any second, and when you least expect it there is always someone looking to take you out.
  • 3. That 2 and 2 may have been the best thing to happen to Jordan. It is always better to have something that makes you make an adjustment in December and January rather than for it to rear its ugly head in February.
  • 4. I thought long and hard about writing about the first 10 seconds of this match because I believe at some point in an elite wrestler’s career he is expected to win. Always. He is unfairly expected to never be taken down, to never lose a scramble and to never be thrown to his back. I wrote about it because those are high expectations. And I’ve learned that it is more important on how you respond when they are not met, rather than meeting them. I wrote about this because I believe Titus’s ability to quickly fight off his back and wrestle with the poise in which he did should be complimented. Some wrestlers might have heard the ooows and aaahs of the crowd instead of their own inner belief in themselves at that moment. Jordan didn’t, he heard his belief. He wrestled through it. And he continued to wrestle with composure for the rest of the entire match. I wrote about this because Jordan has entered the phase of his career where it is more of a story if he doesn’t win than if he does, and that is a very difficult environment to be in. Only a few wrestlers have the mental toughness to endure in that environment. I believe Jordan is one. I wrote about this to bring to light the difficulty to be 100% mentally prepared for the whole season. Season after season after season after season. All wrestlers that are should be complimented. I wrote about this because it happened. And that is okay. Jordan is better for it happening. “Nobody died,” as my coach used to say, “just continue to wrestle. You’re okay.”

• 138 Finals – Cosmo Stoia (WF) 3-0 over Dakota Asuncion (HHHW) – 0-0 after the 1st, Cosmo gets an escape with :45 left in the 2nd to go up 1-0 and adds a turn in the 3rd to make it 3-0.
• 145 Finals – Andrew Dailey (SME) 9-6 over Danny Hromada (CM) – Dailey goes up 6-0 but Hromada battles back to make it 6-6. Daily wins 9-6.

• 152 Finals – Hunter Hughes (NEW) 9-0 over Beadle (BPT) – Hunter Hughes is extremely strong and powerful on top.
• 170 Finals – Hulse 4-3 over Leidig. Hulse went up 2-0 with :28 seconds left to go in the first period and adds an escape in the 2nd to make it 3-1. Leidig takes bottom on Hulse in the 3rd, which I thought would waste a lot of time (WHB Wrestlers are notorious for putting in double boots and taking a lot of time off the clock), Hulse does put in double boots but gets too high and Leidig reverses him to make it 3-3. Here are the last 27.5 seconds of the match.
  

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