Hampton Bays is hoping that a strong group of upperclassmen will lead its wrestling program this winter.Seniors Zach Brochu (160 pounds), Johnny Nolan (195), Tom O’Shea (171), Joey Panetta (120) and Felipe Salazar (285), and juniors Nico Antieri (152) and Kenny Giron (182) are all returning. While Nolan and Panetta are the only returning All-County wrestlers from that group—Ayden Muhs is the only wrestler who has graduated and Brandon Soto-Araya has opted to compete in winter track this season—the Baymen are hoping that those who were close to placing last year will take the next step this season. Nolan (second at 220 pounds), Panetta (fourth at 145), Salazar (fourth at 285), Antieri (third at 152) and Giron 220 (first at 182) were all ranked in the preseason in Suffolk County Division II. Nolan is nursing an injured finger at the moment and is out indefinitely.Brochu, O’Shea and Panetta are the team’s captains this winter. O’Shea returned to Hampton Bays this school year after spending all of last year at Westhampton Beach. Hampton Bays head coach Paul Hoshyla said O’Shea was welcomed back with open arms after he performed admirably at the Division I level last season. Hoshyla said that Panetta is focused this season and should be successful at his certified weight of 120 pounds.New to varsity this season is eighth-grader Dakota Thompson (106) and freshman Willie Kraus (99).“We have some guys who can surprise some people this year,” Hoshyla said. “We’ll probably fill every weight class for the first time in a long time.”Division II was given a bit of a facelift in the offseason. Instead of all the teams being lumped in one league, teams are now split into two separate leagues, League VII and League VIII. Hampton Bays will compete in a tough League VII with powerhouse and defending state champion Mattituck, Bayport/Blue Point, which features a few returning county champions, Mount Sinai, which has dropped down from Division I due to enrollment, and cross-town rival Southampton. Babylon, Center Moriches, Port Jefferson, Smithtown Christian and Stony Brook make up League VIII.Hampton Bays begins competition on Saturday, December 10, at the North Babylon Holiday Tournament. The Baymen start their league season at home against Bayport on Thursday, December 15, at 4:30 p.m. and will host their annual Doc Fallot Memorial Tournament that weekend, Saturday, December 17.
Drew Budd, Sports Editor on Dec 5, 2016