at the Charles Glass Tournament.

Fans sat in seats that lined the small gymnasium of the Erasmus Campus where six schools are housed in Flatbush Brooklyn, the location of our school’s co-ed developmental PSAL wrestling team’s second match.  Team members and fans traveled early to meet the Brooklyn wrestlers, including one female.

“Hip! Hip! Turn in! Half! Half! And drive the leg!”yelled coach Rosario Miano.

Teammates and fans, sitting, jumping, and yelling experienced the intensity of the first match, as sophomore Joseph Raguso used various techniques to put  his opponent on the mat.

The hip toss, arm bar, cross face, and the ankle pick are moves used in a wrestling match to bring an opponent to the mat for the required two minute pin, where the winning wrestler holds his opponent’s shoulders to the mat.

At their first match, Raguso and his other team mates used the same techniques to pin their opponents in the tournament against Port Richmond High School.

Against Port, freshman Eduardo Ramirez used these techniques to wrestle his opponent, and grabbed the win in the first few minutes of his match. Ian Urcinoli and Nicholas Martucci also claimed two more wins, putting our school in the lead with a score of 43 to 28.

At their second match, where the Dragons competed against Erasmus Hall, similar techniques were used to secure another victory.

“The arm bar is when you get your opponent’s arm in the back of their neck and turn him into a choke hold. To chokehold you must stand behind your opponent and wrap your arm around their neck, like stopping blood flow. The cross face is when you make your opponent eat his own arm. When you ankle pick your opponent, you start off using the arm bar then grab the ankle. Then you use your arms and shoulder to take your opponent to the ground,” said Raguso.

Sophomore Sher Mohammad was next up to verse Kevin Sheperd. He walked to the mat with a determined look on his face ready to win his match. Circling one another they grabbed each others heads, slapping at their ear protectors.

As they were circling, Sher  flipped Sheperd onto the mat, then flipped him onto his backside and pinned him down to the floor for three seconds. The winner, Mohammad added another victory for our team.

“My technique was first to just go back and fourth. When you’re up, it’s more of power and technique, more like a fight. That’s how I won my match in the last three seconds,” said Mohammad.

Freshman Benjamin Wasserman was up next to face his opponent,  Mohammed Callahan. They stepped onto the mat, took their positions, and began. Ben head locked his opponent, grabbed him by his stomach, pulling him onto the mat, and rolling him over so quickly that he brought down Callahan in only 56 seconds.

“First, I let him do whatever he wanted. Second, I pushed him with all of my muscle and looked for an opening. I used my shoulder and rolled him over. He made the match easier because he made a mistake by letting loose and stopped using all of his force.  That’s how I won the match,” said Wasserman.

Although the majority of the matches were between boys, wrestling isn’t just for them.  This year, due to Title 9 rules, girls are permitted to participate. Matched by weight class, boys and girls can wrestle each other.

During the first match of the season, sophomore Nick Martucci went up against two girls from Port Richmond and New Dorp High School, and won both matches.

“Versing a girl is hard because it seems messed up, kind of like a double standard because if you beat the girl people think you’re mean, and if you get beat by a girl people make fun of you. I went up against girls and won, and I felt bad because they’re girls. When you go up against a guy, it’s a friendly competition, and it’s cool to beat them because they’re harder then the girls,” said Martucci.

Despite the two recent wins, Coach Miano expects more.  At the end of the second match, he was critical of the fact that the team did not execute the moves they had recently practiced.

“I’m not completely happy with the way this match turned out, but I am happy that Ben won his match, because if he didn’t win, then we would be tied,” said Miano.

At their next match, the dragons wrestled to their third win. Sophomore Sher Mohammad versed Max Rivera, pinning him in 27 seconds. Mohammad Mousa also pinned Khalil Gibbons in another quick match. Chris Cordero won his match by a tech fall, when the wrestler wins with a 15 point lead. With the wins and five forfeits, our team took the match easily.

“I am very happy with the result of the match, but extremely happy with the amount of people that came out to support us. Our wrestlers fed off of the crowd,” said Coach Miano.

After winning on Saturday, December 19 against Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, our wrestling team currently holds 1st Place citywide for the PSAL Developmental Division.

If you haven’t been to a match yet, get to the next one on January 16 to see our undefeated team take another win.

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Three years ago the school tried to start a baseball club, but unfortunately due to the poor turnout, it was canceled.

“After the club failed the first time, it’s nice to know they are trying again, and I hope it works out this time,” said senior Christopher Gallo.

Mr. Neglia, the gym teacher at the time, began the club, and now Athletic Director and physical education teacher, Mr. Dennis Barrett, has stepped up to the plate and will be coaching the boys.

“I hope to compete as a PSAL team, and if PSAL does not approve the team, then I hope to have a successful club team,” said Mr. Barrett.

In order for a team to be approved, the coach must first send a letter to PSAL explaining why they are interested. Next, PSAL conducts a thirty minute interview with the athletic director. After that, the athletic director must make sure that there are enough students interested, the school has a regulation field, and there is a qualified coaching staff.

“I played since I was seven for SI Mudcats, New Springville little league, and SI Titans. I play outfield, shortstop, third base, or even pitcher,” said freshman Brandon O’keefe.

Along with trying to become PSAL the boys face another problem.

“The problem is finding a field that we can practice on. Drills and batting practice is limited on the turf field,” said Mr. Barrett.

Yet finding a field doesn’t seem to be stopping the boys from doing what they love.

“We practice fielding, hitting, pitching, and ground balls,” said sophomore Jonathan Wahnon.

The efforts and high hopes the club has will hopefully lead to a PSAL team.

“I played baseball for a long time, and if we get a team, I think we will be good. We have a good coach, and we will do well in the season,” said sophomore Lennie Giordano.

Though many of the twenty-six players, consisting mostly of freshmen and sophomores, have played for a long time, some are eager to start a new sport.

“I never really played before and I hope to learn how to pitch and just become a good player,” said freshman Joseph Ojo.

Anyone is welcome to join the team. Stop by Mr. Barrett’s office in room 152 after school for more information on practices, which will be held every Wednesday and Friday for 2 hours.

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