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Sports

Hills West Wrestling Pins Hills East

Colts manhandle T-Birds in non-league matchup.

What was the most anticipated wrestling matchup of the young season for both teams turned into a huge mismatch as Hills West easily defeated Hills East.

T-Bird rookie head coach Bill Davey started off with a huge disadvantage as three of his starters, DeShawn McNeil (152), Anthony Abidin (125) and Cory Jones (119) missed the match for various reasons.  Colts head coach Mike Patrovich, however, was prepared, shuffling his lineup in anticipation of a battle of their powerhouses.

West's sophomore captain Tyler Grimaldi (ranked 5th in Suffolk County) bumped up from his normal 145-pound weight class in hopes of matching up with the T-Birds senior DeShawn McNeil (ranked 6th in the county).  However, with McNeil out, the match did not happen.  

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The Colts would not be outworked on this night, winning 13 of 15 matches, including six pins, two technical falls and  one major decision.  

Turning Point:  The turning point for this match occurred before the match even began, at the pre-match weigh-in, when McNeil, Abidin and Jones were scratched from the Hills East lineup.

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Hero: The match of the night was in the 160-pound weight class.  The Colts sophomore Joe Piccolo and T-Birds senior Tommy Shair competed in what would be a  true brawl.  Shair took an early lead with a takedown.  Then, as time was about to run out in the first period, Piccolo escaped for a point. After exchanging takedowns in the second period, the score was 4-3 with Shair in the lead.  Once again, the Colts would not be outworked. With the crowd on both sides of the bleachers on their feet and the Hills East student body chanting for their man Shair, Piccolo scored a takedown late in the third period and held on to win 5-4.  It was truly an outstanding match with two tremendous competitors, one where you hate to see anyone lose.

The Quote:  West Assistant Principal Frank Pugliese said, "The boys did great today, really worked hard."  Coach Patrovich added, "It was a nice job, a building block for the rest of the season. We still have a lot of work to do."

Bottom Line:  Hills West, at least for one night, was the dominant team.  With three freshmen and five sophomores in the starting lineup, it looks like the only place to go is up. It should be interesting to see how father and son coaches Patrovich and Lupa work these boys into a perennial power in Division IV.  There is a very long way to go, but they seem to be on the right track.

Who's Next:  After the Christmas holiday, both teams will once again lace up the wrestling shoes at , this time for the Annual Hills East Holiday Tournament.  This two-day event (Tuesday and Wednesday, December 28th and 29th beginning at 9 a.m.) is an individual tournament, where the wrestlers who are entered will compete for individual titles and combined team scores. Returning "Holiday Tournament Champions" DeShawn McNeil and Tyler Grimaldi will defend their titles.


Half Hollow Hills West 68 defeats Half Hollow Hills East 9

96 Francois (W) MD  Martinez (E) 9-1
103 Rutella (W) pinned Longo (E)
112 Aal (W) pinned Sycoff (E)
119 Reilly (W) TF Macchia (E) 18-3
125 Touhany (E) pinned Flett (W)
130 Carter (W) TF Terzi (E) 15-0
135 Williams (W) dec. Haenal (E) 4-1
140 N. Terzi (E) dec. Bholan (W) 9-4
145 Riscica (W) pinned Diamandis (E)
152 Grimaldi (W) pinned Morris (E)
160 Piccolo (W) dec. Shair (E) 5-4
171 Rebozo (W) pinned J. Longo (E)
189 Golinowski (W) Forfeit (E)
215 Barrett (W) Forfeit (E)
285 Quinn (W) pinned Saad-el-din (E)

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