Hills East Holiday Tournament is an Overwhelming Success for HS East and West

The annual Hills East Holiday Tournament was once again a huge success, but not without a Herculean effort by many people behind the scenes.  

Every year and wrestlers forego a winter vacation to participate in the grueling two-day tournament.  This year was no exception.  

But with blizzard conditions throughout Long Island on Monday--the normal setup day--Hills East rookie head Coach Bill Davey had to scramble.   The phone lines were burning up Monday as Coach Davey was working with district personnel, from the Athletic Director, Joe Pennacchio, to the Assistant Principal Mike Bongino, to the Hills East Wrestling Booster Club, to Hills East building staff and so on.  The decision to delay the start of the tournament only three hours left the Hills East staff with only a few hours to coordinate a full day's work.

To their credit, the tournament started without a hitch.  

Nine schools participated in the two-day tourney: host Hills East, Hills West, West Hampton Beach, Commack, Mattituck, Bellmore-JFK, Kings Park, Baruch (PSAL) and Sayville.  Hundreds of wrestlers began the preliminary rounds at about noon on Tuesday and finished the quarterfinals and wrestle-backs by around 8:45 p.m., only to be back at Hills East for 7:30 a.m. weigh-ins on Wednesday morning.

While the tournament was dominated by teams like West Hampton Beach, Sayville and Kings Park, the boys from Hills East and Hills West faired extremely well.  Fourteen wrestlers placed in the tournament and six wrestlers participated in the "Parade of Champions."  The Parade of Champions is the pomp and circumstance that precedes the beginning of the finals.  After many hard-fought matches, the two finalists in their respective weight classes are introduced to the capacity crowd in the Hills East gymnasium.  

The six finalists included Zach Aal (West-112), Anthony Abidin (East-125), Ryan Carter (West-130), Tyler Grimaldi (West-145), DeShawn McNeil (East-160) and Michael Quinn (West-285).

When all was said and done, tournament championships were won by Abidin and Carter.  Anthony Abidin also won for the most pins in the fastest time frame, winning every one of his matches by a pinfall.

Zach Aal (West-112) 2nd Place
Cory Jones (East-119) 5th Place
Chris Reilly (West-119) 6th Place
Anthony Abidin (East-125) 1st Place
Ryan Carter (West-130) 1st Place
Aramis Brodus (West-130) 4th Place
Deven Williams (West-135) 5th Place
Tyler Grimaldi (West-145) 2nd Place
Alec Levine (West-152) 5th Place
DeShawn McNeil (East-160) 2nd Place
Joe Piccolo (West-160) 5th Place
Jagger Rebozo (West-171) 3rd Place
Michael Quinn (West-285) 2nd Place
Saad-el-din (East-285) 3rd Place


The Hills East Holiday Tournament was a tremendous success, showcasing the tremendous progress both programs have made in a very competitive landscape. Suffolk County is the most competitive county in all of NY state.  The boys of Half Hollow Hills should be very proud of their accomplishments.

Next up, both schools begin their respective league competitions. Hills East will face East Islip on January 7 at 6 p.m. at the HS East gym, while Hills West begins their league competitions on Wednesday, January 5 at 6 p.m. at Bellport HS.

Happy New Year!