All-Long Island wrestling team
LI WRESTLER
OF THE YEAR
Nigel McNeil
Huntington, 119, Sr. NASSAU
WRESTLER
OF THE YEAR
Joe Kavanagh
Wantagh, 189, Sr.
Anthony Abidin
Hills East, 125, Sr.
Abidin's only loss this season was to fellow All-Long Island selection Alex Gomez, whom he later defeated in both the Suffolk semis and state final. He won the League III title via pin and the Suffolk championship with a 10-0 decision. Abidin won his state semifinal and final matches by a combined four points, keeping his composure and emerging victorious.
Frank Abbondanza
Mount Sinai, 189, Sr.
Abbondanza had the misfortune of running into Wantagh's seemingly unbeatable Joe Kavanagh in the state final. And though pinned by Kavanagh, the UNC-bound Abbondanza was also the Suffolk runner-up, posting a 43-3 record while competing in one of the state's deeper weight classes. Both of his losses before states were to Long Island wrestlers who went on to place in Albany. Against elite competition, Abbondanza won far more than he lost.
Warren Bosch
Kings Park, 215, Sr.
Bosch ended his season in as grand a fashion as possible: winning a state title by pin, and doing it in rapid fashion. Bosch capped his senior season with a pin at 1:51 over Niagara Wheatfield's Adam Donner to win the shortest final match of the evening. Coming off an 8-2 semifinal win, Bosch established his superiority against the state's very best. With Suffolk and League V titles in addition to state hardware, Bosch proved to be a master at upping his game at the most opportune times.
Jonathan Desir
St. Anthony's, 285, Sr.
Of the nine Friars to qualify for states, Desir was the only one to make the final. The NSCHSAA champion lost a nip-and-tuck 6-4 decision to New Rochelle's Malcolm Allen but acquitted himself well on the big stage. In the state semifinals, Desir defeated then-undefeated David Ng of Plainedge in a battle of the Island's best big men. An agile heavyweight, the multitalented athlete will play football at Towson University.
Alex Gomez
Brentwood, 125, Sr.
A six-year varsity wrestler who began as a 96-pound seventh-grader, Gomez qualified for his first state final 29 pounds removed from where he started his career. And despite the state final loss to Hills East's Abidin, his runner-up finish and 42-3 season record was only part of his remarkably consistent career: four League I titles at three different weights, a two-time Suffolk runner-up and 181 career wins.
Adam Lepkowsky
Hauppauge, 140, Sr.
Up one point in the waning seconds of his state final match against LaSalle's Connor Sutton, a controversial two-point reversal call cost Lepkowsky a chance at the crown. State disappointment aside, Lepkowsky won both the Suffolk and League V titles. His 46-3 senior campaign and near-win in Albany catapulted him to elite status.Chanse Menendez
Hauppauge, 171, Sr.
At 42-5, Menendez kept an active schedule against top-flight competition that culminated in a state title. In the state final, he methodically broke down Queensbury's Matt Lashaway en route to a 9-3 decision. After the bad luck that befell teammate Lepkowsky, Menendez ensured that the Eagles returned home with one state champion.
Kyle Wade
Islip, 152, Sr.
Undefeated at 41-0, Wade followed up last year's state runner-up finish with an unscathed season that featured League V, Suffolk and state championships. At one point during the season, he won 14 straight matches via pin. Expected to win states before the season, Wade fulfilled each and every expectation.
THE
SECOND TEAM
James DeKrone
Glenn, 130, Jr.
Joe GiaramitaGlenn, 189, Sr.Nicky Hall
Longwood, 145, So.
Pat JenningsLongwood, 160, Sr.
Ken MeinsenGlenn, 135, Sr.
Seaford, 119, Sr.
Jimmy MorrisSt. Anthony's, 125, Sr.
David NgPlainedge, 285, Sr.
Dylan Palacio
Long Beach, 145, Jr.
Chris PerezMacArthur, 130, Sr. Mark Raghunandan
Long Beach, 103, Jr.
Matt RossRocky Point, 145, Sr.
