Ryan Arbeit, Ariel Waldman, Brandon Herrera-Calle advance to semifinals at Nassau wrestling tournament
Ryan Arbeit of Wantagh, top, battles Santiago Pelaez of Division at 126 pounds during the Nassau Division I wrestling quarterfinals at Nassau Community College on Saturday. Credit: James Escher
When the 126-pound weight class at the Nassau Division I wrestling championships at Nassau Community College was thrown into disarray by an early injury and subsequent upset, it also opened up opportunities for other experienced wrestlers looking to capture a county title.
South Side/East Rockaway's Lucas Cortazar won a 5-4 decision over Wyatt Parker of Long Beach, the top seed, after Parker was injured but able to finish the bout. Unfortunately the injury prevented Parker from competing in any wrestle backs.
Cortazar’s run ended in the quarterfinals, falling to Plainedge’s eighth-seeded Brandon Herrera-Calle, 10-4.
Herrera-Calle will be wrestling the 4 seed Ariel Waldman of Hewlett in the semifinals on Sunday. Waldman finished second in his weight class in 2020 and is relishing the opportunity to capture that elusive title.
"100 percent I felt like it really opened up a path," Waldman said. "I wrestled Parker about two weeks ago and he beat me 8-0. And earlier in the season I beat him so we were 1-1. It would have been exciting to wrestle him again but who knows what could have happened."
Waldman defeated fifth-seeded Michael Berube of Long Beach in a hard-fought 8-6 decision to advance to the semis against Herrera-Calle.
"I think I definitely have a great opportunity," Waldman said. "This year the weight class was much harder but I also think I’ve worked harder and I really want to win it."
On the other side of the bracket, third-seeded Nick Chimienti of East Meadow was beaten by Luke Nieto, the 6 seed from Plainedge, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
Nieto will be wrestling Ryan Arbeit of Wantagh, the 2 seed, for a chance to move on to the finals.
"The 1 seed losing means absolutely nothing to me," Arbeit said. "I’m just worried about winning each match. I can’t look ahead to tomorrow if I don’t win today.
Arbeit beat Division’s Santiago Pelaez 8-6 in the quarterfinals after trailing early in the match.
"I knew I had to keep my head cool and stick to our game plan," Arbeit said. "No matter what happens you just wrestle, that’s all you can do."
There was no need for a comeback for MacArthur’s top-seeded Killian Foy at 138. The senior placed fourth in the state in 2020 but has never captured a county title, finishing second twice. He secured pins in his first two matches and won 11-2 over Steven Silipo of Syosset to advance to the semifinals.
"Last year I felt like I could have had it but there was no season," Foy said. "This is my last chance to get it and I’m going to do that this year.
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.
