Sachem Represented by 20 Wrestlers at County Tournament

UPDATE: After one day of wrestling at the Doc Fallot Suffolk County Wrestling Tournament, Sachem East sits in third place overall behind Brentwood and Connetquot.

East has 69 points, while Brentwood has a commanding lead with 96 total points and Connetquot has 74. Sachem North sits in ninth place with 39 points.

"We fought hard," Sachem East coach Sean O'Hara said. "That’s what we ask all the time. Tomorrow is a big day for us. We try and get a little better every time we step on the mat. Our focus now is each of our guys’ next match."  

A handful of Sachem grapplers will wrestle on Saturday in the semifinals and wrestle-back brackets with a chance to place.

There is a chance that the 145-pound final cound be an all Sachem East battle between senior captains Billy Merone and Anthony Pistone. They both made it through the winner's bracket and find themselves in the semifinals, which will take place starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Merone is wrestling Corey Rasheed from Longwood, while Pistone has Sam Rachman from John Glenn.

For Sachem North, Gio Santiago will wrestle in the 182-pound semifinal against Andrew Ventura from Kings Park. Santiago is 34-2 this season and Ventura is undefeated.

Sachem East's Christian Nunez has a spot in the 195-pound semifinal against Zac Conner from Islip.

"He did a nice job today, was very offensive, very aggressive," said O'Hara. "He’s wrestling real well. That’s all we ask, do your best and see what happens."

Sachem North's Steve Mills will wrestle Connetquot's Kenny Drew in the 220-pound semifinal. Mills lost to Drew 6-2 earlier in the season.

Anthony Confessore, from Sachem North, who hoped to go the distance this year, lost a hard fought bout to Nick Weber from Kings Park, 5-4, in double overtime. Confessore won his lower bracket match against Adam Doherty from Walt Whitman by forfeit and will face Jason Conley from Bellport on Saturday with a chance to place as high as third.

In his loss, Confessore took his second injury time out in the third period, allowing Weber to choose a starting position. Weber chose the bottom, escaped for two points to tie the score at 4 and Confessore eventually lost in double overtime.

Wrestling at 120, Sachem East's Michael Rothbaum, who was able to wrestle because his teammate Jakob Restrepo did not make weight, has a chance to place in the tournament now. He pinned Longwood's Julius Wallace in 3:26 in his final match on Friday in the lower bracket. Rothbaum will wrestle Mark Sanchez from Central Islip.

At 126, Conor O'Hara lost his second round match to Maverick Passaro from Eastport-South Manor, 15-4, but he battled back in the lower bracket with an 11-0 major decision over James Punzone from Smithtown West. O'Hara will wrestle Connetquot's Brendan Dent and has a chance to place as high as third.

Sachem North's Frank Napoli, who lost his first round match to Miller Place's John Steiger, will wrestle Armani Hendrickson from Pat-Med with a chance to place in the lower bracket at 126.

Jackson Mordente beat Lucas Ciancimino from Sayville in the first round, but lost to Sam Schwartzapfel in his next match at 138. He bounched back with a win in the lower bracket against James Ianaconi, 7-0, from Islip and will wrestle Cory Aschauer from Miller Place with a chance to place.

At 152, Sachem East's Mark Tracy will wrestle in the lower bracket with a chance to place. He has Nick Lomenzo from William Floyd on tap. 

"To make this tournament is a big deal," said Sachem North coach Ray Pickersgill. "It’s a very difficult tournament where you’re wrestling the best kids in Suffolk County, which is the best section in New York State. We have some tough matches tomorrow, but I think we can handle them." 

Top 10 in Division I

• Brentwood, 96
• Connetquot, 74
• Sachem East, 69
• Longwood, 67.5
• John Glenn, 61.5
• Kings Park, 54
• Hauppauge, 53
• Eastport-South Manor, 47
• Sachem North, 39
• Shoreham-Wading River, 38
• Islip, 37

ORIGINAL: Sachem East and North are competing in the Doc Fallot Memorial Suffolk County Wrestling Tournament Friday and Saturday at Stony Brook University. Between both schools, East (14) and North (6), there are 20 grapplers from Sachem.

Here's a look at who made the county tournament from Sachem:

Sachem East

• 99: Doug Iadanza
• 106: Michael Abbondanza
• 120: Mike Rothbaum
• 126: Conor O'Hara
• 138: Jackson Mordente
• 145: Anthony Pistone
• 145: Billy Merone
• 152: Mark Tracy
• 152: Michael Pistone
• 170: Zac Nobre
• 182: Connor Farrell
• 195: John Vigh
• 195: Christian Nunez
• 285: Josh Edmonson

Sachem North

• 99: Matt Stallone
• 126: Frank Napoli
• 138: Frank Blais
• 182: Gio Santiago
• 195: Anthony Confessore
• 220: Stevel Mills

Patch will have updates from the tournament via twitter @ChrisVaccaro and @SachemPatch. Also, check back later and on Saturday for more info/photos from Stony Brook.