The Frank (Sprig) Gardner tournament made an appearance here Saturday for the first time in three years, and, because of a new round-robin/scramble format, every wrestler from the six schools that vied was guaranteed four matches.
“We probably will go back to the traditional draws next year,” Ethan Mitchell, East Hampton High’s coach and the tournament’s director, said, “with first rounds, quarters, semis, and finals, and wrestlebacks for those who lose in the first round, but the way we did it this time was, I think, good for everyone, especially for our kids, a number of whom hadn’t wrestled in three years, or, in some cases, hadn’t ever wrestled in competition. . . . With the usual bracketing, a wrestler losing a first-round match and losing his first match in the wrestlebacks would be 0-2 and done for the day.”
Mitchell sent 18 of his 35-member squad to the mats Saturday. The last time the Sprig was held here, the squad numbered 16 in its entirety.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the way all of our kids, the ones with experience, and the ones with little or none, wrestled,” he said. “They gave it everything.”
There was competition in 13 weight classes, mostly in round-robin pools from which the top four advanced to semifinal and final rounds, though the best record in pool matches determined the winners in the four-man 110, 160, 189, and 285 divisions. East Hampton, which was heavily represented at 126 and 132 pounds, had no entries at 102, 118, 152, 160, or 172, though Mitchell said he expects that he’ll have all the weights covered this season save for 102 and 285.
Santi Maya, a senior, at 132, Jose Calderon, a junior, at 185, and Caleb Peralta, a senior, at 126, did particularly well, Maya winding up as the runner-up in his division, Calderon finishing second in his, and Peralta — a co-captain of the team with Maya — placing third in what arguably was the tourney’s toughest bracket, in which a former Division II state finalist, Max Gallagher of Bayport-Blue Point, and a former D-I county finalist, Christian Lievano of Ward Melville, contended.
Gallagher won with a takedown at the end. Peralta’s match for third was a stunner too. Down 4-1 after the first period, he came back to win 5-4, a tables-turner that had his coaches, Mitchell and his volunteer assistants, Jim Stewart and Greg Schaefer, among other Bonac fans, jumping up and down.
Because of Covid protocols, there were fewer spectators this year than in previous ones, though from the almost-constant din throughout the day, which featured matches on three mats from 9 a.m. to almost 6 p.m., you wouldn’t have known it.
Josue Elias, a freshman, at 110, Alex Hagistavrou, a junior, at 126, Isaiah Robins, a junior, at 126, Juan Roque, a freshman, at 126, and Aman Chugh, a freshman, at 215, made their competitive debuts that day, and all impressed, their coach said, as did six sophomores — Jhojairo Contreras, Ayman Arkoukou, a Ross student, Cassius Hokanson, Mason Barris, Luke Castillo, and Theo Eberle — who haven’t wrestled since their middle school days.
Among the grittiest of East Hampton’s competitors was J.P. Amaden, a junior 132-pounder who, in one of his matches, wrestled off his back for 40 seconds in the first period, and came back to win 17-13. He went 2-3 on the day, despite not having competed in 20 months, Mitchell said.
Aiden Cooper, a junior returnee, in finishing fifth at 138, just missed medaling. He, Amaden, Maya, and Peralta are bunched together weight-wise at the moment, but may spread out, either going up or down, in the near future.
As expected, Ward Melville, which has a strong program, won the tourney. Westhampton Beach, whose coach, Connor Miller, wrestled at East Hampton, was second. Bayport-Blue Point was third, Southampton was fourth, East Hampton was fifth, and Hampton Bays sixth.
The nine or so referees had nice things to say, Mitchell said, about the revival of East Hampton’s program. As for those who helped him put on the tournament (named in memory of the father of New York State wrestling), “there are almost too many to thank. . . . The parents of our wrestlers were at the front desk, the parents of the class of 2023 oversaw the food concession, Mike Buquicchio’s Key Club members helped keep the match scores . . . and the Ryans were there, John Sr. and Jr. It wouldn’t be a Sprig Gardner tournament without Big John.”
His team’s goal was not to win on Saturday, “but to set our sights on the leagues and counties,” Mitchell said.
East Hampton is in League V this winter, with Westhampton Beach, Kings Park, East Islip, Comsewogue, Eastport-South Manor, and Half Hollow Hills West. Westhampton, where Mitchell coached before coming here, “is always tough, as is Kings Park and East Islip.”
East Hampton is to open the season here tomorrow with Westhampton. Junior varsity matches are to begin at 4:30, the varsity match is set to start at 6:15.
