Harrison Huskies Win Two Out of Three in Triple Meet

Thursday was a busy day of wrestling in the gym of Harrison High School.

The Huskies faced three opponents in Mamaroneck, Rye and the Bronx's Mount St. Michael Academy.

"We won two out of three," said Harrison Head Coach Vin Nicita who was hoping to win three out of three.

The huskies beat Mount St. Michael 39-22 after previously beating them then suffered defeat to Mamaroneck 42-27, finishing up strong by being victorious against the Rye Garnets 46-24.  

Wins against Mount St. Michael's and Rye are signs of progression for the Huskies. "It shows that the kids are improving," Nicita said.

Starting out the day with Mount St. Michael, the Huskies jumped out to a 20-7 lead on pins by Andrew Planamento, and Gavin Menchel. The Mountaineers the struck a comeback as  Gary Linares pinned Husky Dom Ricotta (135) to trail 20-13.  The Mountaineers gained another three points to trail 20-16 after beating Husky Juan Mateus. Husky Giovanni Principe pinned Mountaineer Matt Barrow to increase the point total to 29-16 after a 3 point win by Rob Carducci (145).

Brandon Rust (160) then pulled his team to within 10 beating out Husky Jordan Brunner (160) to trail 29-19. However the Huskies regained control and held it throughout the rest of the match cruising to a nice 33-22 victory despite a failed three point comeback by the Mountaineers. Husky Duke Alvora won a three point decision for his team's victory and a forfeit in the 275 weight class earning six points for the match score.

Next up were the Mamaroneck Tigers who beat the Huskies 42-27. 

"We came out with a plan and executed that plan," Tiger Head Coach Anthony Vitti whose team's plan was to win the first person and then build from there after the Tiger's 60-12 win over Rye before competition against the Huskies.

"I'm thrilled with how we came out today," Vitti said of his team's overall performance. "I'm thrilled as heck for our kids." 

The Tigers had two wrestlers in Carlos Sanchez (160) and Patrick Chamberlain (171) who lost their matches but did well. Sanchez faced a strong opponent in Jordan Brunner (160). "He fought a tough kid," said Vitti. Tiger Mynor Cornejo (189)  had a big day pinning Harrison's Rob Mulderrig.

In a back and forth match before the Tigers prevailing, Husky Robby Tiburzi (119) won a 3-0 decision against Tiger Troy Whitemore (119). Tiger Christian White (125) won his match 4-0 against Max Winkeman going ahead 4-3. Christian Hill (145) the out-wrestled Husky Rob Carducci for a 7-3 overall score. 

Harrison then went ahead 9-7 but lost the lead on a pin by the Tiger's Peter Fanelli.

Cornejo (189) and Fanelli (135) helped the  Tigers throughout the duration of the match as Cornejo pinned Mulderrig for the 36-21 overall team score. The last two classes forfeited for the 27-42 and Tiger win.

In the last match of the evening, the Huskies beat Rye High School 46-24 after the the Garnet's tied it up.

The Huskies jumped out to a 12-0 lead on pins from Matt Tivurzi (112) over the Garnet's Connor McWiltion (112) and Husky Andrew Planamento (103). The Garnet's were able to earn points however as Will Florio (125) beat Winkeman 3-0 for an overall 12-3 match score.   

It got close in the 135 weight class as Rye's Russell Hanson tied the match at 12-12 tallying points against Husky Dom Ricotta. Garnet Peter Kennedy (130) had previously earned three points against Husky Kurt Hinrichs.

Harrison then went ahead 12-16 but Rye came back to gain three points in the 145 weight class from Jesse Trumm who was victorious over Carducci. Rye was then in the lead 24-16 but fell behind again 24-22 never being able to recover after Peter Julian (171) was pinned by Harrison's Zach Guarnero putting the Huskies back up by two, 24-22 for the eventual 46-24 win.

Rye Head Coach Matt Beckley was pleased with his team's performance despite the loss. "We came out and we just wrestled," he said whose team had lost to Mamaroneck 60-12 in a match previous to Harrison's. 

Rye next wrestles in the Scarsdale Tournament on Saturday, while Harrison is at Byram Hills High School on Wednesday, and Mamaroneck is home to Yonkers High on Tuesday.