Castillo, Petersohn Lead Bonac Wrestlers at Leagues, Qualify for Counties

When it comes to dual meets and dual-meet tournaments in wrestling, a lot of the time it comes down to wrestlers competing for their teammates, for the sake of the team. But many postseason tournaments, such as league championships and the county tournament, become more individualistic and sometimes it’s hard to find motivation in that, especially for a young and inexperienced team such as East Hampton/Pierson.

The Bonackers, after finishing 3-3 and in fourth place in League IV during the regular season, competed at their League IV Championships at Bellport High School on Saturday, when their results didn’t exactly match up with their efforts from throughout the season. Head coach Ethan Mitchell said he thought he saw a much different team at the league championships than one from throughout the season, which is both good and bad.

East Hampton finished last at the tournament with 22 points, well below teams it had beaten throughout the season, such as West Babylon, Deer Park and West Islip.

“It was a tough day. I’ve been reflecting on it quite a bit … after going 3-3 during the season, it’s almost as if we showed up above our abilities when our team needed us in those dual meets,” Mitchell explained. “Whereas the guys are very much wrestling for themselves in a tournament like this and they don’t step up as much. I think that says something about our kids’ character and it is hard to do it for yourself.

“It’s certainly something that I’ve always taken from my head coach Paul Bass, good dual meet teams can make you very proud from a coaching standpoint because you are able to fire the kids up for dual meets,” he added. “You’re doing it all for the team and you’re able to celebrate that as a group. Those wins against West Bab, Deer Park, West Islip, those are a top sports memory for some of these kids.”

That’s not to say that last weekend’s tournament was a failure. While East Hampton may not have performed up to its full potential overall, it will have a pair of wrestlers at the Suffolk County Division I Championships, which are this Monday and Tuesday, February 13 and 14, at Stony Brook University.

Anthony Petersohn (110 pounds) and Luke Castillo (138), a pair of juniors, each placed fourth in their respective weight classes at leagues, earning a spot at counties. Petersohn, who reached the Catholic High School Athletic Association wrestling tournament last season attending Xavier High School in New York City, earned the top seed in his bracket based on the fact that he had 20 wins this season and one league loss. The problem being seeded that high with just seven wrestlers in the bracket, he didn’t have a match until the semifinals, in which he faced North Babylon’s Raynaldo De Jesus, who Mitchell said was a good wrestler himself, but because of an injury he dealt with for much of the season, didn’t have much of a resumé to get seeded high. De Jesus pinned Petersohn in 2:32, then pinned his finals opponent to win the league title. Petersohn then lost his consolation final in overtime/sudden victory, 6-4, to West Babylon’s Matthew Critchley, but he had already wrapped up his spot at counties by reaching that round.

Castillo, who has really turned things on in the back half of the season, pinned North Babylon’s Darrien Gittens in 2:27 in the quarterfinals, which advanced him to the semifinals against Smithtown West’s Jake DiMaggio. Castillo gave DiMaggio, seeded second in the bracket, a good battle, but ultimately lost, 10-4. He was expected to face North Babylon’s Joseph Fioravanti in the consolation finals, but having battled injuries all year and wanting to stay healthy for counties, Mitchell said it was in Castillo’s best interest to injury default and forfeit the match.

Mitchell said both Castillo and Petersohn will likely have a tough row to hoe at counties, but it will add to their experience and maturation process as both are expected to be back next season.

“We’ve been talking all season how young the team is and this is just another kind of exposure that we can use to improve,” he said. “Not just how young but how inexperienced we are. Even a lot of our juniors should be seasoned wrestlers at this point, but are a year behind because of the COVID year.”