Mattituck's Heaney fails to impress in victory

Sean Heaney was tired of being stagnant, but too excitable to be aggressive.

The Mattituck 189-pounder performed methodically in his 6-0 victory over John Proios of Port Jefferson in the Suffolk Division II final Saturday at Stony Brook. But he showed flashes of why he is the lone Division II wrestler remaining with an undefeated record (33-0 with 21 pins).

With his coach Cory Dolson's command - "Shoot!" - Heaney buried his head in Proios' chest, took both his legs out from under him and tackled him to the mat.

Those spurts of rage were few and far between for a wrestler who is believed to be one of the few Division II wrestlers from Section XI capable of placing at the state tournament in Albany in two weeks.

Heaney had takedowns in the first and third periods and a reversal in the second to account for his scoring. His pinning combinations - mainly a bar arm and a near-side cradle - weren't working against the defensive Proios.

"I just kind of felt weak," Heaney said. "I should have tried to be aggressive right from the beginning, but I played it safe. I just didn't want to do anything stupid."

Heaney's timid approach allowed Proios, whom Heaney pinned in 3:38 on Jan. 12, to hang in the match longer than expected.

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"Everyone knows who Sean is in this division," Dolson said. "The kid thought if he kept it close, maybe he could squeak it out in the end."

The Division II title is Heaney's second, as he won at 160 pounds as a freshman. He was a two-time League VI place-winner the past two seasons, and last year's champ, when Mattituck was in Division I.

But Dolson believes Heaney must improve on Saturday's performance if he wants to place at states.

"He's had a great year, but on this big stage, you should want to show people what you've got," he said. "If he wrestles like he did today upstate, he's going to lose."