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Hampton Bays senior Rocco Gurrera will help lead the wrestling team this season. DREW BUDD
For the first time in years, Hampton Bays has certified dozens to compete for its varsity wrestling team. Head coach Mike Lloyd said his task will be to develop the 40-plus student-athletes, more than half of whom joined the team for the first time, and keep the numbers up as the Baymen build toward what he foresees as a successful postseason.
“This year we don’t anticipate any holes in the weight classes,” the coach said. “With a mix of seasoned wrestlers and a larger-than-usual incoming class, we’ve tried to focus on building good fundamentals both on and off the mat. The makeup of the weights this season will be represented by a greater number of younger wrestlers, so our goal is to form a strong team bond that will help us get through some of the tougher parts of the season.”
Filling the shoes of last year’s graduates Zach Bahamondes and River Gutierrez-Tyler will be senior Rocco Gurrera and juniors Kevin Saa Pacheco and Angel Valverde.
“This season we will be leaning on them for their experience,” Lloyd said. “They have shown a history of leading by example and will be setting the tone of the season and acquainting the new members of the team with the expectations of the program.”
Gurrera and sophomore Agron Bytyqi were frequent partners of Bahamondes and Gutierrez-Tyler — who wrestled at the 138- and 172-pound weight classes — and that experience, the coach said, will prove useful.
“They have shown the determination to secure their respective weight classes,” he said.
Lloyd added he’s looking forward to seeing what returning senior David Orellana (138 to 145 lbs) and junior Mike Gutierrez (285 lbs) can do.
“I’m excited to see their development,” the coach said. “Both have shown a spark that we hope to see become a translation to greater success on the mat.”
The one challenge, he said, will be the implementation of a new state rule called the weight loss descent plan, which was created in an effort to discourage weight fluctuation.
Also known as the “1.5 percent rule,” wrestlers, who will step on the scale at the start of the season and at each competition thereafter, cannot lose more than 1.5 percent of their body weight. Athletes will have their descent plan recalculated from their current weight, but if they cross that threshold, will be ineligible to compete in their weight class.
“It’s a curveball,” Lloyd said. “The concept is something that we will need to step through in competition until we get used to its impact at weigh-ins.”
Hampton Bays competes in the 45th annual Sprig Gardner Tournament at East Hampton High School on Saturday, December 2, before hosting its Doc Fallot Tournament the following Saturday, December 9. The team will travel to Islip High School on December 16 for a tournament. The Baymen’s dual-meet season opens the day prior, with Hampton Bays welcoming Elwood-John Glenn on Friday, December 15. Matches will begin at 5:15 p.m.
