Suffolk wins team title again

ALBANY - Huntington's Nigel McNeil won the 119-pound title, to earn his second state championship and lead another stampede of excellent grapplers from Suffolk County (Section XI) to the state wrestling tournament at the Times Union Center. Anthony Abidin of Half Hollow Hills East followed McNeil's title-winning performance by capturing the 125-pound state crown with a 4-2 win over Brentwood's Alex Gomez.

Suffolk scored 269.5 points to win the state team title for the third straight year and a record 19th overall in 41 years. The section crowned a total of five champions.

Islip's Kyle Wade joined the title-winners with a hard-fought 5-3 victory over Irvin Buck of Niagara Falls to capture the 152-pound crown. Wade used two low single leg takedowns in the final 34 seconds to overcome a 2-1 deficit to win his first title.

Wade joined his brothers Chris and Lance as state champions. They are the first family from Suffolk to crown three state champs. The only other Long Island family to boast three state champs were the DeStefanis' of Locust Valley.

"It was really important for Kyle to win because he felt he still had something to prove and it motivated him all season," Islip coach Rob Cuffie. "He had to live with a tough loss in last year's state final."

Senior Chanse Menendez of Hauppauge took the 171-pound title with a 9-3 win over Matt Lashway of Queensbury. Menendez (42-5) put on a takedown clinic with a series of late moves in the second and third periods. "It was great to do it for all my teammates," Menendez said. "First we had Nicky Mauriello go out with the illness and then I saw my teammate Adam [Lepkowsky] lose his title on a controversial call. It motivated me more when I went out there for my shot at the state crown."

Senior Warren Bosch of Kings Park, an undersized and slick heavyweight, pinned Adam Donner of Niagara-Wheatfield in 1:51. Bosch hit Donner with a beautiful lateral drop for the pin and an exciting end to the 215-pound final.

"The move was right there," Bosch said. "And once I had him I wasn't letting him go. What a great feeling."

Bosch was greeted by family and friends, including his brother Tommy, who bear hugged him after the win.