11 Photos
The Westhampton Beach crowd is pumped up after Dom Jurgel won the league title at 172 pounds.
The Westhampton Beach crowd is pumped up after Dom Jurgel won the league title at 172 pounds.
The Westhampton Beach crowd is pumped up after Dom Jurgel won the league title at 172 pounds.
The Westhampton Beach crowd is pumped up after Dom Jurgel won the league title at 172 pounds.
Dom Jurgel takes down ESM's Paul Drummond and nearly pins him, taking the lead with almost a minute remaining in the match.
Dom Jurgel takes down ESM's Paul Drummond and nearly pins him, taking the lead with almost a minute remaining in the match.
Connor Gormley of Westhampton Beach works on top of Comsewogue's Kevin Radmann.
Hurricane Connor Gormley suffered a 6-0 loss to Comsewogue's Kevin Radmann in the 145-pound final at the League V Championships on Saturday.
Aidan McKeon of Westhampton Beach works against East Islip's Rob Dombrowski in the 160-pound league title bout.
Dom Jurgel of Westhampton Beach tries to block an incoming takedown from ESM's Paul Drummond.
Luke Citarelli of Westhampton Beach digs his head into the arm of East Islip's Logan Alfalla.
Trailing by as many as five points in the second period to Eastport-South Manor’s Paul Drummond in the 172-pound match for the League V title on Saturday, it seemed all Westhampton Beach senior Dom Jurgel needed was a little extra motivation — and he got it from his opponent.
With both wrestlers battling, Drummond seemed to get caught up in the heat of the moment when he pushed Jurgel into the head table, well beyond the mat. Jurgel kept his composure and went back to the mat to finish the second period.
With about a minute remaining in the match, Jurgel took down Drummond on an inside leg trip and put him on his back. Although he didn’t get the pin, Jurgel secured five points on the move to take the lead and eventual 11-7 come-from-behind victory to secure his first ever league title.
“I really wanted to say something to him,” after the quick altercation at the head table, Jurgel said after the tournament. “That’s just the competitor that I am. But I knew after he pushed me, I was in his head and I just knew it was over there and I knew that I would come back.
“Sophomore, freshman year I always lost in the first round here,” he added. “Last year, I had knee surgery, came back and I just knew I had to make something happen. It’s my senior year.”
Westhampton Beach head coach Pete DeTore said he spoke to ESM head coach Nick Garone at Sunday’s seeding meeting for the county tournament, and both agreed that one moment in the match completely shifted the momentum to Jurgel’s benefit and gave credit to his wrestler for doing so.
“That was a prime example of what we always talk about. He never stopped wrestling,” he said. “We talked about it in practice in the beginning of last week. You might get in a situation where you’re down in the third period and you might have to go big. You’re already losing, so what do you have to lose? Dom has this incredible feel for the sport, and he uses an inside leg trip to put the kid on his back and it’s the perfect example for our kids and our team that you’re never really out of it. And for it to be one of our senior guys to do it, someone who all of the kids look up to, it was something special.”
Jurgel was one of four finalists at the League V Championships, which were hosted by East Islip High School. Randy Cabrera (138 pounds), Connor Gormley (145) and Aidan McKeon (160) all reached the finals as well and will be moving on to counties, along with Luke Citarelli (126), Sal Fracapane (152) and Mike Hempfling (215), who all placed fourth.
Counties are this Saturday and Sunday at Bay Shore High School. There are a limited number of spectators allowed each day of the tournament, and all tickets are sold via an online portal. Go to sectionxi.org for more information.
DeTore said that the final results of the tournament were, more or less, what he and his coaching staff expected. He was hoping that Bobby Stabile would maybe get a better spot in the 132-pound bracket, arguably the most competitive weight class in the league. But after a first-round bye, Stabile had to face the eventual league champion, who was also named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler, in ESM’s Stephen Lukas. The loss ended the tournament and the possibility for moving on to counties for Stabile, who won 20 matches this season.
DeTore also mentioned Dylan Razzano at 138 pounds, who lost a very close and competitive 9-8 decision to ESM’s Troy Fiume.
“There is definitely a lot of good stuff that happens in leagues, but it seems like everyone switches their mentality a little bit,” DeTore said. “They’re not that nervous during a dual meet, and it’s really no different, but I know it’s easier said than done to separate emotions in a setting like leagues. Everyone wrestled tough for the most part and were doing the right thing.”
Now the Hurricanes will gear up for counties and Jurgel will get one of the better seeds being that he was a league champion from a very competitive league. He’s looking forward to the opportunity.
“I feel really good. Obviously, the goal is to be a champ. I know I’ll have to take every match serious and we’ll just see.”
