Busy weekend on the mat for Foxes and Wolves at two giant tournaments

Maynor Argueta of Fox Lane won the 118-pound weight class title at the Hen Hud tournament. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

John Aniello advanced to the 126-pound championship bout at the Hen Hud tournament. Rob DiAntonio Photo

Carmelo Cambareri of Fox Lane scores a takedown. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

By JIM MACLEAN 

Wrestlers from Fox Lane and John Jay were busy last weekend competing at two of the largest tournaments of the year.

Some of them went upstate to test themselves at the Eastern States Classic tournament with wrestlers from six states competing, and others stayed local to compete against a field from 30 schools at the Hen Hud tournament.

At the Eastern States Classic in Clifton Park, Luke Ryan of Fox Lane had a big tournament as he placed fifth in the 165-pound weight class. He lost to the eventual champion in the semifinals and he worked his way back on to the podium in fifth place.

“Luke had a really good tournament,” Fox Lane coach Anthony Rodrigues said of Ryan. “We were hoping he could get in the top three, but he lost to the kid who won it and had some really good tough matches. He steamrolls everyone in Section 1 and he can’t do that at the state level, so it was good for him to see some good competition at that level.”

In addition to Ryan, Fox Lane had three other wrestlers compete at Eastern States as Chris Bloom, Flavio DiNicola and Piero DiNicola all made the trip north to face the best in the state and Northeast.

“Flavio had a terrible draw and two tough matches, he could have won the Hen Hud tournament, but I think it was good for him to be up there at Eastern States,” Rodrigues said. “Piero actually wrestled really well, won his first match big, lost to a very good kid in the second match, and then he was wrestling a kid who placed second in the state and he was beating him, but took a bad shot and got pinned. Bloom beat the 13th seed and lost to the kid who placed third, it was probably the best he wrestled all year.”

John Jay had a pair of wrestlers travel north for the Eastern States as David Corrales and Emerson Flamm both competed and came away with two tough losses.

“A great experience, now they know what to expect against that level of competition, they’re all good up there,” Swertfager explained. “David wrestled hard, and Emerson had two tough matches, but both looked strong. It’s all about the experience.”

At the Hen Hud tournament, Maynor Argueta was the bright spot for Fox Lane as he won the 118-pound weight class title. Argueta was seeded seventh, but he made it look easy with two quick pins to advance to the quarterfinals where he scored a 14-8 victory over the second seed. He then pinned his next two opponents to win the title.

Other Fox Lane highlights at Hen Hud included Andrew Brauning at 215 pounds as he pinned four opponents and had only one loss to the eventual champion and finished third overall. Carmelo Cambareri went 5-1 overall, and Finn Guyder was 4-2 on the day.

John Aniello had a big day for John Jay at Hen Hud as he advanced to the 126-pound title bout before falling by a 1-0 score to Kieran Harrington of Oceanside.

Other highlights for John Jay included Joe Ferrer at 215 pounds as he finished fifth, and Nick Candia placed eighth at 285 pounds as they both went 4-2 overall on the day. Joe Arefieg went 3-2 for the Wolves.

“John had a really good tournament, he lost a nail biter in the finals,” Swertfager said of Aniello. “He was sidelined with an injury, now he’s coming back and feeling really good getting ready for the second half of the year. Joe Ferrer is coming on strong and it’s really nice to see him put it together. Nick Candia is really showing progress, turning a corner. He’s one of our hardest workers and it’s paying off.”

Both Fox Lane and John Jay will compete at the Shoreline Tournament on Saturday, Jan. 17, at New Rochelle High School.