Long Beach’s Jacori Teemer wrestling at peak form
Jacori Teemer, Long Beach High School wrestling photographed at Newsday on Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. Credit: Joseph D. Sullivan
It may only be December but Jacori Teemer is already rounding into top form.
The Long Beach sophomore had a standout performance Wednesday at the Massapequa Holiday Tournament, winning the 126-pound bracket and earning most outstanding wrestler honors after an 8-2 win over Ben Tepperman of Hauppauge.
“My hard work is paying off,” Teemer said. “I’m getting back what I’m putting in.”
Teemer — a two-time state champion who won last year at 106 — is already seeing the rewards of bumping up a few weight classes.
“I’m not cutting weight this year and I’m in the wrestling room getting better and not cutting the weight,” he said. “I’m getting stronger because I’m lifting a lot and my conditioning is better.”
Although he thought he still had room to improve his conditioning, Teemer scored all of his points in the second half of each round.
“He’s ready to go,” Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. “He’s training harder than he’s ever trained.”
The Marines won the tournament with 299 points. They had three champions and 11 wrestlers finish in at least third place. Massapequa was second with 278 and Hauppauge was third with 212.50.
Joe Giorlando (170) and Elijah Rodriguez (195) captured the other titles for Long Beach.
“This was the toughest tournament we’ve been at so far with the great teams here,” Adams said. “I think we’re wrestling well for December but our ultimate goal is to peak at the end of the season.”
Ricky Stamm of Division, who won at 160 pounds, had the most pins in the least time with three in 6:13. Stamm was one of three Division winners, along with Chris Ponce at 145 and Arjuna Bello at 220.
Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.
