Huntington Wrestling Trio Covers Themselves in Glory
While they weren’t able to capture the championships they so craved, Huntington wrestlers Damon McQueen, Jose Vasquez and Dashaun Thomas returned from the state tournament last Sunday with some serious hardware around their necks. The trio battled their way to all-state honors in two days of grueling competition at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester.
McQueen, a talented sophomore, took third place and Vasquez and Thomas, both seniors, finished fifth in their respective weight classes. “We’re happy with how all of them did,” assistant coach Travis T. Smith said. “Of course, we would have liked all of them to win, but, overall, they did a great job.”
The trio were perfect in the first day of the tournament, winning two matches apiece to advance to the semifinals. No other Long Island high school pushed as many wrestlers into the semifinal round. But, the second day proved much more difficult, although it ended with each of the Blue Devils on the awards platform late Sunday night before a crowd of about 5,000.
On the first day of the tournament, McQueen (32-2) came out on fire, pinning Nick Kelley of Shenendehowa in 1:12 and then shutting out Jeff King of Averill Park, 7-0. The magical ride ended in the semifinals Saturday morning when he was pinned by Bob Dierna of Wayne in 1:23. But, McQueen came back to finish up with two more victories, first coasting past Tim Schaefer of Lancaster, 12-1 and then defeating Brian Realbuto of Somers in an exciting match for third place, 10-8.
Vasquez, (103 lbs.) who was making his second trip to the state championships in as many years, advanced to the semifinals after defeating Niagara Wheatfield freshman Joey Malvestuto, 9-0 and then pinning Kevin Pembridge of Union-Endicott in 5:12. The pair of victories set up a rematch with Hauppauge’s Ken Collado, who upset Vasquez (40-4) in the Suffolk semifinals.
It may have been a new day and a new city for the pair, but the result was the same as three weeks earlier as Collado turned back the Huntington senior, 4-1. In the consolation bracket, the Blue Devil star fell again, this time to Baldwin junior Vincent Pecora, 11-6, before edging Pittsford sophomore C.J. Howard 7-5 in overtime for fifth place.
Thomas (285 lbs.) also wrestled five matches in the state tournament and all five resulted in decisions. The senior opened with a pair of close victories, nipping Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake sophomore Zeal McGrew, 1-0 on an escape and then toppling Brighton senior Matt Mahon, 3-2.
In the semifinals, the Huntington coaching staff wasn’t pleased at all when Thomas (40-5) was called for stalling and ended up losing to Kingston senior Casey James, 2-1. In the consolation bracket, Thomas lost a 3-1 decision to Port Jervis senior Joe Zitone before turning back Mahon of Brighton for fifth place in a rematch, 5-1.
“Dashaun had a great tournament,” Smith said. “Of course, we wish the stalling call hadn’t gone against him, but he won three tough matches. All three wrestlers won their last match. That’s a great way to end the season.”
Blue Devil Notes: Next year’s state tournament is scheduled for the Times Union Center in Albany . . . Giani has now coached 53 all-state wrestlers, more than any other New York coach in history . . . Giani’s total of 23 state champions is also a state record . . . Neither Vasquez nor Thomas has divulged their plans for college yet.
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