McNeil Wins State Crown to Join
Blue Devil Immortals
| Nigel McNeil (Huntington, Section - XI) decisioned Danny Ventura (Fox Lane, Section I) 8-3 to win the NYS Division I Wrestling Championship at 119 lbs. |
Nigel McNeil capped off one of the greatest seasons in Huntington wrestling history by capturing his second consecutive state crown to join the ranks of Blue Devil mat immortals.
McNeil was perfect last weekend at the Times Union Center in Albany, sweeping past four opponents en route to the 119 lb. state title. The Huntington senior topped Massena sophomore Isaiah Perry, 14-3, bested Seaford senior Will Montgomery, 7-2, outwrestled John Glenn senior Vinny Punzone, 13-1 and locked up his second New York championship with an 8-3 decision over Fox Lane junior Danny Ventura.
"Nigel accomplished all of his goals this year," said Kieran Mock, Huntington's head coach. "He's had fire in his eyes all season and he worked hard to get the job done. We're very proud of him."
| Nigel McNeil (Huntington, Section - XI) steamrolled into the finals 13-1, over Vinny Punzone (John Glenn, Section - XI) |
McNeil now joins the ranks of Jeff Thomas (1974-'75), Paul Widerman (1977-'78), Gene McNeil (1984, '86) and Pat Flynn (2000, '02) as the only two-time state champions in Blue Devil wrestling history.
"There isn't any question that Nigel is one of our best wrestlers ever," Mock said. "That's not just my opinion. It's fact. He's proved it on the mat. He doesn't play games out there. He's all business."
McNeil's title marks the 26th time a Huntington wrestler has won a state championship. The teenager finished the season with a 40-0 record, which ran his consecutive victory streak to 79. The senior went 38-0 as a junior after winning the final of his sophomore season.
"We are really happy with how Nigel wrestled in the state tournament," Mock said. "He ignored all the distractions and just poured it on. He was on a mission and didn't let anyone stand in his way."
| Nigel McNeil (Huntington, Section - XI) defeated Will Montgomery (Seaford, Section - VIII) 7-2 in the quarterfinals to advance to the Saturday Morning Semifinals |
McNeil outscored his four state tournament opponents, 42-9 and was never seriously threatened. "We develop a plan for each match," Mock explained. "We scout out everyone and go over every scenario from every position. Nigel always executes the plan perfectly."
Huntington finished in 22nd place in Division I with 24 points. Section XI-Suffolk ran away with the sectional team title, rolling up 269.5 points to outdistance runner-up Section I-Westchester by 70 points and leave the other ten sections in the dust.
New York State Champions from Huntington:
1973: Lou Giani, Jr., Charles Gadson 1974: Jeff Thomas 1975: Jeff Thomas 1976: Mike Rosenbauer 1977: Paul Widerman 1978: Mike Thomas, Paul Widerman 1980: Bill Gaffney (MOW), 1982: Kieran Mock 1984: Gene McNeil 1985: Mark Billups 1986: Gene McNeil, Drew Jackson 1992: Brian Fischenich 1994: Jim Amira 1998: Dawid Rechul 2000: Pat Flynn, Jack Piana 2002: Pat Flynn, Steven Palacios, Stephon Sair 2004: Shawn Riley 2010: Damon McQueen, Nigel McNeil 2011: Nigel McNeil.