Blue Devils to Wrestle in National Tournaments
This will be a busy week for four Blue Devil wrestlers who will travel to Ohio and Virginia for national tournaments that are expected to be heavily attended by college coaches interested in recruiting elite mat stars.
State champions Nigel McNeil and Damon McQueen are headed to the National High School Coaches Association wrestling championships at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Separate grade level tournaments will be contested on 28 mats.
According to the NHSCA website, the event has drawn 2,540 entries as of Sunday, from 47 states and two foreign countries. The field includes wrestlers who have won a combined 840 state titles, including 14 four-time, 53 three-time and 143 two-time state champions. The field has accumulated more than 1,350 state place finishes.
McNeil, a junior, is coming off a sensational 38-0 season that saw him win league, county and state titles for Huntington. He pinned 18 foes and topped another nine by technical fall when he opened a lead of at least 15 points. His career mark is 125-16 with 61 pins.
McQueen, a senior, capped off his scholastic career by going 42-1 with 17 pins and eight technical falls en route to the state crown. He finished second in the state as a junior when he lost 9-8 in the finals and third as a sophomore. He owns a lifetime mark of 123-9 with 49 pins.
Louis Puca and Ryan Fox are traveling to Ohio for the Flo Nationals. The first day of the three day tournament will be held on the Kent State University campus before the competition moves to Walsh Jesuit High School in Cuyahoga Falls, OH for the second and third days of the grueling event.
Puca, a junior, finished second in the New York State championships this past winter, going 37-5 with 22 pins and two technical falls. He won five invitational tournaments and the League V crown before finishing second in Section XI. Puca’s losses in the Suffolk and state finals both came at the hands of returning All-State wrestler Anthony Volpe of Rocky Point. The Huntington star has a lifetime record of 109-33 with 62 pins.
Fox, a senior, compiled a 37-2 mark with 14 pins and nine technical falls this year, winning the League V crown and five invitational tournaments before finishing second in the Suffolk finals. The three-time All-League wrestler has a career mark of 86-24.
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