McNeil and McQueen are
All-Americans
A set of dazzling performances resulted in Huntington’s Nigel McNeil and Damon McQueen winning All-American honors at the National High School Coaches Association Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach, VA.
The Blue Devil teammates are coming off sensational scholastic seasons. Both won New York State crowns, with McNeil compiling a 38-0 mark and McQueen going 42-1 and setting a new single season record for victories by a Huntington wrestler.
In the junior (11th grade) division of the national tournament, McNeil won his first five matches at 112 lbs. The Huntington star turned back John Costa of Massachusetts, 6-0, bested Stuart Hope of South Carolina by technical fall, 17-2, stormed past Will Montgomery of New York via a second tech fall, 19-2, edged Earl Hall of Florida, 5-3 and beat Nathan Giorgio of Pennsylvania, 7-3.
McNeil’s only loss in the competition came in the finals when he fell to Sean McCormick of New York, 4-2. The runner-up finish has put the Blue Devil great on the radar of college recruiters.
McQueen won six-of-seven matches in the senior (12th grade) division to finish third in the 119 lb. weight class. He defeated Jacob Purdy of California, 12-3 and Bubba McGinley of Pennsylvania, 9-2 before losing a heart-breaking overtime decision to Joe DeAngelo of North Carolina, 12-8.
With the wrestlers tied 8-8, the referee indicated McQueen had scored the winning takedown. But, as McQueen stopped wrestling after believing he had won, the official waved off the points and DeAngelo jumped on him for a two-point takedown and two near fall points.
In the consolation bracket, McQueen battled back to top Colby Christensen of Utah, 7-6 after a long overtime, decision Scott Filbert of Arizona, 7-2, nip Joaquin Marquez of New Mexico, 4-3 and then avenge the earlier loss to DeAngelo with a 9-3 victory to take third place.
Former Huntington state champion Steven Palacios and his brother Xavier coached McNeil and McQueen in the tournament, which was held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.
“Nigel and Damon have demonstrated great improvements this year and I believe they will only progress in the sport,” Steven Palacios said. “Huntington has had many state champions over the years, but we have not reached national status that often. The tournament was a great opportunity for the boys and helps them transition to the next level of wrestling. Huntington wrestling has been a hidden treasure for many years and it’s about time that our wrestlers show the country our true value.”
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