Despite Overall Outcome at Doc Fallot Duals, DeTore Sees Progress in His Young Westhampton Beach Wrestlers

Despite his team going 1-4 at the Hampton Bays Doc Fallot Wrestling Duals this past Saturday, Westhampton Beach head coach Pete DeTore said he’s proud of his young wrestlers for how hard they battled in each match.

Missing a number of wrestlers because of injuries or illnesses — another wrestler broke his nose early on Saturday — the Hurricanes had a hard time filling out multiple weight classes, which put the team in the hole to start most, if not all, of their matches. With the team being as shorthanded as it was, that led to a strong first half of the day, but as the day wore on and the young wrestlers started to lose their steam, the outcomes mirrored that.

“The way they came out, their intensity level, their competitive level was great. The second half of the day wasn’t as intense or wasn’t as high paced as I would like, but that’s the nature of the beast in this sport,” DeTore explained. “You start to get a little more fatigued, the soreness starts to build up.

“It’s still early on in the season, but it’s a good learning experience because the guys get to see who is going after those breakthrough moments to reach your goal,” he continued. “They might be a little fatigued, they might feel a little bruised up, but being able to push through those moments and to continue to perform and reach your goals is what everyone in the sport is trying to do.”

Sal Fracapane had another successful tournament after being a champion at 172 pounds at the Sprig Gardner Tournament in East Hampton a week earlier. He went 4-1 at the Doc Fallot and had one minor mistake that led to his only loss. DeTore said it was good to see that success given that he scheduled the hardest matches on the day for Fracapane.

DeTore liked what he saw once again from Nate Brandi, who was nearly pinned in his match against Islip, but battled off his back only to eventually pin his opponent.

“That’s a true sign of a champion, not to freak out. He stayed composed and it’s always something we try and teach the guys,” DeTore said. “There was no sense of panic for him. Super proud of him.”

DeTore has also been encouraged by a pair of sophomores in Max Orr (102 pounds) and Liam Anthony (145).

“Max has been battling so hard. I’m excited for him and his future. Liam Anthony also. They both battle for everything, give 110 percent, and the entire team feeds off of that. They just bring so much fire, passion and intensity. Their technique will come with more mat time, but I’m proud of them.

“I think we’ve gotten a lot better than we were last week,” DeTore added. “We still have a lot to learn as far as technique is concerned, but it’s a very coachable team, they work their butts off. And like I’ve said, it’s not how we start, it’s how we finish, and, overall, I’m very proud of all of them. We also have a lot of good leaders on this team, too, so I’ve been splitting up the team at practice, the more experienced wrestlers with the less experienced wrestlers, and that’s led to some great team bonding for us. It also helps our vets because when you get to teach things, you get to breakdown technique more, you get a better understanding of it all. And, obviously, the younger, less experienced wrestlers are still learning from them.”

The ’Canes opened up their League V dual meet season against crosstown rival Eastport-South Manor on Wednesday and are scheduled to wrestle at Comsewogue this Friday at 6 p.m. before competing at a tri-meet at Connetquot with the Thunderbirds and East Hampton/Pierson on Saturday.