The All-Long Island Wrestling team

By EVAN KORNevan.korn@newsday.comApril 7, 2012

L.I. WRESTLER

OF THE YEAR

JAMEL HUDSON

St. Anthony's, 132, Sr.

NASSAU WRESTLER

OF THE YEARDAN SPURGEON

Plainedge, 170, Sr.

THE ALL-LI TEAM

NICK BELLANZA

Glenn, 182, Sr.

Season Record: 43-3

Career Record: 103-22

Bellanza lost the Suffolk final via pin, so he entered the state tournament as a respected wild card rather than a serious championship contender. In the quarters, he upset second seed Matt Lashaway of Queensbury, riding a late-season revival to championship glory with a 9-6 win over Scarsdale's Jacob Berkowitz.

JAMES DeKRONEGlenn, 138, Sr.

Season Record: 45-4

Career Record: 170-15

DeKrone took third in Suffolk after losing to Brentwood's Alexis Blanco in the semis, but was not deterred. A wild card selection at states, he beat top seed Dan McDevitt of Wantagh in the semis, avenging a December loss. In the final, he earned the ultimate revenge on Blanco, winning the all-Suffolk tilt 6-1.

EVAN KAPPATOS

Syosset, 285, Sr.

Season Record: 45-1

Career Record: 120-27

Kappatos defeated the top two seeds in the state tournament, becoming the first Long Island heavyweight to win a state title since 1997. The only blemish on his record came courtesy of Uniondale's Dante Salkey, whom he lost to in the Nassau championship.

NICK MAURIELLOHauppauge, 132, Sr.

Season Record: 43-4

Career Record: 126-15

Mauriello not only recovered from his life-threatening battle with the bacterial infection MRSA and Lemierre's syndrome last year, he came back to re-establish himself as one of the Island's best wrestlers. He placed fourth at 132 pounds in the state tournament, losing to Nick Kelley (45-1) of Shenendehowa in both the quarterfinal and third-place matches.

SEAN McCABE

Connetquot, 120, Sr.

Season Record: 41-2

Career Record: 175-13

McCabe lost in the Suffolk quarters, wrestled back to take third and never looked back. With his 3-2 win in the state final, he became the first Connetquot wrestler to win states since Joe Herrmann in 1986 (145 pounds).

DYLAN PALACIO

Long Beach, 160, Sr.

Season Record: 41-0

Career Record: 205-18

Palacio won his third Nassau championship in four years, and entering the state tournament, he had built a 37-0 record with 18 pins and 11 technical falls. After a one-point win in the semis, he dominated the formidable Tyler Grimaldi of Hills West in the final, 11-4. It was a fitting end to one best careers Long Beach wrestling has seen.

MAVERICK PASSARO

Eastport-South Manor, 126

Season Record: 50-3

Career Record: 152-25

Passaro's record stood at 32-3 following a loss to Wyoming Prep's (Penn.) Dom Malone at the prestigious Eastern States meet on Jan. 13. He would not lose another match, winning 18 in a row to finish the season with 50 wins and the first state title in ESM history.

NICK PICCININNI

Ward Melville, 106, Fr.

Season Record: 45-0

Career Record: 95-5

Piccininni has the resume of a seasoned veteran, but the freshman has three more years to tack on more championships. As an eighth-grader, he won the Suffolk title at 96 pounds before placing third at states. This season, he went untouched and mostly unchallenged, his closet match a 4-2 decision over MacArthur's Justin Cooksey in the state final.

JOSE RODRIGUEZ

Wantagh, 99, Fr.

Season Record: 44-1

Career Record: 75-6

Rodriguez did nothing but outclass the light-weight competition, building a 44-0 mark before a 6-3 state title loss to Chenango Forks' defending state champion, Kyle Kelly. His consistent dominance helped propel the Warriors to a Nassau dual meet title.

PAT SKINNERKellenberg, 113, Sr.

Season Record: 43-3

Career Record: 143-27

Skinner's state championship dreams were dashed in the first round, but in one of the tournament's gustiest displays, he won five matches in the wrestle backs to take home third place. He beat Nassau champion and top seed Mark Raghunandan of Long Beach to advance to the medal round, then toppled Bellmore JFK's Robert Person to move on to the third-place match.

THE SECOND TEAMAlexis Blanco

Brentwood, 138, Sr.

Nick Casella

Locust Valley, 99, Fr.

Justin Cooksey

MacArthur, 106, So.

Nicky Hall

Longwood, 152, Jr.

Tyler Grimaldi

Half Hollow Hills West, 160, Jr.

Andrew Jones

Plainedge, 182, Sr.