10 Photos
Ry DePalma works against a Ward Melville opponent. MARIANNE BARNETT
Hampton Bays junior Jamie DePalma blocks an incoming shot from a Sachem North opponent. MARIANNE BARNETT
Jack Debenedette placed third at 157 pounds on Saturday. MARIANNE BARNETT
A somewhat common occurrence at tournaments, when teammates collide: Nick Mora has top position on teammate Jaime DePalma. MARIANNE BARNETT
Colton Shay works against an East Hampton opponent on Saturday. MARIANNE BARNETT
Stiven Montenegro placed sixth at 285 pounds. MARIANNE BARNETT
A somewhat common occurrence at tournaments, when teammates collide: Baymen Nick Mora and Jaime DePalma shake hands prior to their match. MARIANNE BARNETT
Noah Rodriguez works on pinning his Bayport/Blue Point opponent. He went on to place fourth in his weight class. MARIANNE BARNETT
Ry DePalma was one of three finalists for the Baymen at the Sprig Gardner Tournament at East Hampton on Saturday. MARIANNE BARNETT
Anthony Perez was one of three finalists for the Baymen at the Sprig Gardner Tournament at East Hampton on Saturday. MARIANNE BARNETT
At the conclusion of last season, the Hampton Bays wrestling team saw seven of its members graduate, four of whom were All-County wrestlers: Brayden Havens, Kevin Saa Pacheco, Angel Valverde and Cyrus Gutierrez-Tyler. The latter was the program’s first county champion since Willy Kraus in 2020 and the first All-State wrestler since Dominick Mutascio in 2006.
In the recent past, it would take the Baymen some time to build themselves back up, but it seems, fortunately for them, that this season is a bit of an outlier.
Hampton Bays head coach Mike Lloyd was happy to report that 48 wrestlers were certified going into this season, and even if those numbers balance out to the high 30s throughout the season, it would still allow his team to fill every weight class, which is key for dual meets.
“It’s typically been difficult to field every weight, since, even with larger numbers, there are fewer kids who fall into the super light and heavy body types, and it often results in multiple kids at the same weights instead,” he said. “Last year, we had a similar number. However, these last two seasons have been a bit of an outlier. We’ve typically had somewhere in the mid-20s, and during the truncated COVID season we had as few as 12.”
The only All-County wrestler returning from last season is Nilson “Danny” Quesada, who placed sixth at 138 pounds. But there are a number of returning wrestlers who either just missed out on placing last season or are eyeing their first chance to do so.
Lloyd is high on a group of third-year juniors who could do just that this season: Willem Sarkis (175 pounds), Tony Haddock (150), Cristian Kearns (138), Anthony Perez (110) and Jaime (144) and John “Ry” DePalma (132).
The Baymen also got a shot in the arm when a few former wrestlers decided to return to the sport for their senior years after some time away, including Colton Shay (190), Dylan Berrocal (175), Nick Mora (144) and Josh Reyes (190). “All of whom have a degree of wrestling background and fill out our depth,” Lloyd said.
As enrollments across Suffolk County continue to dip, Division II, which encompasses the county’s small schools, is continuing to grow. Both Kings Park and Miller Place, two longtime Division I programs, are competing in Division II this season, along with Hampton Bays in League VII, making for a highly competitive conglomerate of teams that already include Elwood-John Glenn, Mount Sinai and Shoreham-Wading River.
Lloyd said he is excited to see how competitive DII is this year and beyond.
“The addition of Miller Place and Kings Park have raised the bar and level of competition,” he said. “There have been talks about more schools shifting down to DII next year based on shrinking school populations across LI, and the possibility of a reintroduction of a qualifying league tournament for DII. However, nothing would be confirmed until the planning for next year.”
Hampton Bays had its first bit of competition at the annual Sprig Gardner Tournament at East Hampton High School on Saturday. Competing in the individual style tournament were Sachem North, Mount Sinai, Ward Melville, Bayport-Blue Point and Southampton.
A dozen Baymen placed, led by three finalists, Anthony Perez (110) and John (132) and Jamie DePalma (144). Jack Debenedette (157) placed third, while Quesada and Noah Rodriguez placed fourth at 150 and 144 pounds, respectively. Haddock (150), Shay (190), Erick Munoz (165) and Tommy Malone (175) placed fifth, and Mora (144) and Stiven Montenegro (285) each placed sixth.
“For our first tournament, I’m proud of the early results and hopeful that our confidence will build and we continue to show a strong presence out on the mat,” Lloyd said.
Hampton Bays will host its annual Doc Fallot dual meet tournament this Saturday, December 13, which numerous teams from Long Island will compete in. Nearly a week later, on December 19, the Baymen will compete in their first League VII dual meet, at Miller Place at 5 p.m.
