Mixed Results For Westhampton Beach Wrestling At Host Cory Hubbard Duals

The Westhampton Beach wrestling team had mixed results on its home mats on Saturday, hosting the Cory Hubbard Duals.

The Hurricanes went 2-2 on the day to take fourth place, losing their two matches by a total of just three points. Still, head coaches Connor Miller and Andrew Petroulias said they were happy with the effort put forth by their wrestlers at the event that honors one of the program’s alums, Cory Hubbard. Hubbard was killed in 2014 at the age of 22 while he was a student at the University of Maryland after he was struck by a car. Hubbard was a standout three-sport athlete during his time at Westhampton Beach, playing football, wrestling, and lacrosse.

Five Hurricane wrestlers were undefeated over the course of the tournament, with junior Jackson Hulse soaking up most of the spotlight, going 4-0 with four pins. His 15-second pin of Roger Rodriguez-Mesa in his team’s 39-37 loss to Newfield in the final match of the afternoon was his 100th career win. Hulse, who was a county champ as a sophomore last year, is currently ranked second in the county at 170 pounds. He was chosen as his team’s Most Outstanding Wrestler for the day.

Jay Montagna (132 pounds), the team’s only senior, was also 4-0 with four pins on the day, while Gavin McIntyre, Will Zaffuto, and Grant Skala were also a perfect 4-0. McIntyre and Zaffuto had two pins, while Skala had three.

Patchogue-Medford won the tournament after a 66-17 victory over Bellport. Sayville, Newfield, Hampton Bays and East Hampton also participated in the tournament, while Patchogue-Medford also entered a ‘B’ team. The Hurricanes beat Hampton Bays (49-34) to open the tournament, and ultimately suffered a loss to Newfield in the match for third and fourth place. In between those matches, Westhampton Beach beat Patchogue/Medford’s ‘B’ team, 54-24, and lost by just one point, 37-36, to Bellport.

Coach Petroulias said that while it was disappointing to lose two matches by such a close margin, he was still happy with the performance of his team.

“Overall I think the kids wrestled pretty tough most of the day,” he said. “The only match we went out a little flat was against Hampton Bays, but after that the kids really picked up the pace.”

The Hurricanes are now 7-5 overall, but are 0-3 in League VI matches. They were slated to face a tough Kings Park team (2-2 in league) this Wednesday, hoping to get their first win in what is a very competitive league. Petroulias said several wrestlers, but not the entire squad, will travel to compete in a tournament at Copiague High School on Saturday, in an attempt to get more matches for any wrestlers who may have missed some tournaments earlier in the season, when there was overlap with the football postseason.

In their only other action over the holiday break, the Hurricanes competed in the two-day Sal DiFazio Tournament at Half Hollow Hills East on December 27 and 28. Westhampton Beach finished fourth out of 13 teams despite missing three starters (Montagna, Jack Santora and Joe D’Agostino). Hulse was champion in the 170-pound weight class, pinning all of his opponents. McIntyre finished third at 145 pounds, beating an All-County wrestler in the consolation match.