Division wrestling's Ayden Delgado (103 pounds) advances to semis at Nassau Division I championships
Ayden Delgado of Division takes the back of Max Kennedy of Syosset in a 103-pound matchup during the Nassau Division I quarterfinals at Hofstra on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
The lighter weight classes on Long Island tend to be the toughest. This year is no exception.
It is anyone’s guess as to who will emerge as the Nassau Division I wrestling champion at 103 pounds. But Division freshman Ayden Delgado took a massive step toward the title on the first day of the tournament.
Delgado, the fourth seed, pinned No. 5 Max Kennedy of Syosset in 3:27 in the quarterfinals Saturday night at Hofstra.
None of the semifinalists in the weight class have won a county title before. Long Beach junior Casey Powers, who took third at 101 pounds last year, is the only one of the four semifinalists who has placed in the tournament.
Delgado will face top-seeded freshman Alexander Poh of Valley Stream North in the semifinals, set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. Delgado said he and Poh wrestle together outside of school, and the two are practice partners at their club.
“The competition in this weight class is really tough,” Delgado said. “[Poh] knows that I’m going to snap him down and do what I always do. I know that he’s going to go for the big move.”
Powers, the third seed, will face second-seeded sophomore Luis Estevez of Oceanside on the other side of the bracket.
While the group is young, its talent is unquestioned, especially when you throw in Kennedy, who is an eighth-grader.
“It’s pretty cool because I remember when I was wrestling in middle school, I used to see those guys wrestling and I was like, ‘Wow, they’re actually really good,’ ” Delgado said. “I wanted to be at their level. Now, I feel like I’m at that point.”
While Delgado likely will have a few more cracks at a county title in the coming years, he’s looking to make the most of this one.
“That’s the dream, to win the county and then win states,” Delgado said.
At 118 pounds, Manhasset top seed Will Russell has one last chance at a title. The senior has suffered two season-ending injuries in his career. A broken clavicle last January derailed his junior season.
He’s back at full strength. Russell pinned No. 8 Michael Perez Palacios of Farmingdale in 1:01 to punch his ticket to the semifinals.
“Once I got back on the mat, I was really just trying to get back to where I was before,” Russell said. “I feel like where I’m at now, I haven’t been this good. I feel like this is the best I’ve ever been.”
Russell will face MacArthur senior Vincent Orandello in the semifinals. Orandello won last year’s county title at 108 pounds.
Russell was the runner-up at 108 pounds in 2024, when he lost a 6-3 decision to Long Beach’s Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez, who is a four-time Nassau champion and a two-time state champion.
Sibomana-Rodriguez, the No. 2 seed, will face Roslyn’s Christian Morris in the semifinals. Russell has his eyes on a potential rematch with Sibomana-Rodriguez in the finals.
“He’s a great wrestler, but I’m not going to shy away from how I like to wrestle,” Russell said. “Obviously, we’ve both got to get there, but if I go out there and wrestle my best, I think I can beat anybody.”
At the end of the quarterfinals, Massapequa led the team competition with 121 points. Manhasset stood in second with 110.5 points and Bellmore JFK was third with 81.5 points.
The rise of Bellmore JFK’s program has been meteoric. The Cougars haven’t had a county champion since 2013. With four wrestlers in the semifinals, coach Brian DeGaetano likes the team’s chances of ending the drought.
Jared Eisenberg (138), Hendrick Capo (144), Harlan Chugerman (150) and Peter Mikedis (165) are each in the top three seeds in their respective weight class.
Mikedis, the top seed at 165, picked up two technical falls in 2:56 on Saturday. He’ll face Bethpage’s Matthew Casey in the semifinals.
“Peter has beaten everybody in his weight class. He just has to stay focused and wrestle the way he’s been wrestling,” DeGaetano said. “He’s really been relentless in his practices. He’s very determined.”
Mikedis is a sophomore and Eisenberg, Capo and Chugerman are all juniors.
In his 35th year coaching and 32nd at Bellmore JFK, DeGaetano is excited for this group beyond Sunday’s semifinals.
“We thought that next year would be our year, but the kids had a real great offseason and they’re very prepared and they’re showing it today,” DeGaetano said. “They’re very loose on the mat and they just love wrestling. They thrive in this environment. Win or lose, they’re going after it. When they tell me they’re going to win, I believe it. And we’ve still got another year.”
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.
