Luca Martinis, Mount Sinai wrestling hold off Shoreham-Wading River
Mt. Sinai's Luca Martinis looks to take down Shoreham's Tristan Petretti in the 126lb weight class, Wednesday, January 8, 2020 at Shoreham Wading River HS. Credit: George A. Faella
Luca Martinis by his own admission had a mental lapse. He thought he had a two-point lead in his 126-pound bout with Shoreham-Wading River’s Tristan Petretti as the clock wound down in the third and final period.
With nine seconds left, Martinis cut Petretti loose for a one-point escape, thinking he still had a one-point lead. He didn’t – the score was tied at 4.
Martinis knew right away by the reaction of his Mount Sinai coaches something was awry.
“I cut him loose and they went wild in disbelief,” Martinis said. “I knew I blew it. And I would need to refocus on the overtime.”
Shoreham-Wading River had reeled off three straight wins and stormed back into the pivotal Suffolk League VII dual meet. The Wildcats closed a 23-point deficit to nine and Mount Sinai needed a Martinis win badly.
He gave it to them. It just took a little longer.
“Coach [Kurt] Wagner pointed to his heart and told me to go get the overtime win,” Martinis said. “I just gathered whatever I had left for the overtime.”
Martinis got in on a double leg takedown early in overtime for the 6-4 win over Petretti to give Mount Sinai a 29-18 lead in a resounding 42-27 victory on Wednesday night in Wading River.
“He’s only been back on the mat for three bouts,” Mount Sinai coach Matt Armstrong said. “He came through in a tough spot. That’s what winners do.”
Mount Sinai, the defending two-time state Division II dual meet champions, improved to 2-1 in league action and 12-3 overall. The Mustangs are in search of a third straight league crown. Shoreham which fell to 2-1 and 16-5 last won a league title in 2012.
“Mount Sinai earned the win,” Shoreham-Wading River coach Joe Condon said. “That’s why they’re the state champions. This is all a part of the journey and we’ll learn from tonight and make some adjustments. We’ll see them in the dual meet tournament in two weeks and hopefully we can turn the tables.”
Mount Sinai opened a 21-4 lead by winning four of the first five upper weights. Sophomore Alex Day capped the surge with a pin over junior Dylan Blanco in 1:23 at 285 pounds. Blanco is the top ranked wrestler at 220 and was bumped to 285.
At 99 pounds, Brayden Fahrbach extended the Mustangs' lead to 27-4 with a first-period pin over Tom Palumbo in 1:26.
“I’m new, it’s really my first varsity season and I’m on the plus side in wins,” Day said. “But maybe he thought I was a one and done bout for him. He hit me with a good headlock and I popped out of it. And then I headlocked him right to the mat for the pin. It was amazing.”
Said Martinis, “Alex had the pivotal win. It was a huge moment and gave us the big lead.”
Some would argue, his win was just as critical.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
