Seventeenth century English essayist Joseph Addison remarked that “A statue lies hid in a block of marble; and the art of the statuary [sculptor] only clears away the superfluous matter, and removes the rubbish.”
We made the trips out to Bethpage High School last weekend where the Wrestling team was busy mixing it up with Uniondale, Massapequa, Yorktown, Farmingdale, John Glenn, Mineola, Great Neck South, Oyster Bay, Manhasset, Locust Valley and the host Eagles in Bethpage’s Annual Dad’s Club Holiday Tournament. Twenty-six Highlanders entered the competition, and 15 emerged with awards.
On Saturday four varsity Highlanders brought home silver medals; Ryan Singh (sr-125), Carlos Rodriguez (sr-135), Chris Farrell (sr-145), and Tom Gonzalez (sr-152). Gonzalez leads the team in varsity victories so far at 7-1 with Singh (6-1), Rodriguez (6-2), and Kevin Ryersen (6-3) right behind him. Ryersen (sr-160) finished the day in third place, and Andrew Farrell (so-112) and Anthony Rosa (jr-215) both had fourth place finishes in their respective weight classes. Will Dowd (jr-215) was 2-2 and fell one round short of placing.
“We’re starting to get into a good rhythm,” Coach Cliff Forziat noted. “We’ve picked up the tempo in the room, and they’re beginning to jell as a team. Our conditioning and skills are improving every day.”
Herricks second-men placed eight out of 14 on Friday with six Highlanders reaching the finals, four of them winning gold. Matt Grandelli (fr-103) won his second straight tournament and leads the second-men so far in victories at 9-0. He was joined in the winners’ circle by teammates Joe Tadros (fr-125) in his tournament debut. Tadros is now 6-0 on the young season. John Temperino (so-145) and Justin Frangione (fr-96) also brought home individual championships.
Joe DeVito (fr) was 2-1 and brought home silver at 112. Chris Woska (fr) also went 2-1 with a pin and a major decision for his silver medal at 130. Mark Holuka (fr-112) and Mike Vespe (so-135) had third place finishes in their respective weight classes. Dan Akhtar (so-125), John Dunn (fr-125), Samir Licul (fr-135), Paul Tantillo (so-145) and Jason Liarikos (fr-145) also won matches for the lads in blue and gray.
A pattern is developing here that has become all too familiar to the fans of Herricks wrestling over the decades.
The superfluous matter is beginning to fall away. As the chips hit the floor a statue will surely emerge.
How closely it will bear resemblance to the fine works of the past has yet to be fully revealed, but Forziat and his staff is confident that watching this process will be well worth the price of admission.
