Port Jefferson’s Royals fought hard at the at the Bob Armstrong Memorial Cup multi-school wrestling tournament held at Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Dec. 15.
Port Jeff’s Rick D’Elia, at 120 pounds, took top spot on the podium in for the Royals wrestling team
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By Bill Landon
The Comsewogue Warriors stretched their legs in a 48 to 36 victory over the visiting Port Jeff Royals in a nonleague contest Dec. 6. Danielle McGuire along with teammate Lindsay Hanson topped the leaderboard for the Warriors with 12 points apiece, while Julianna Watson added three triples for nine more. Eighth-grader Lola Idir led the Royals in scoring six field goals, a triple and a free throw for 16 points while Hailey Hearney netted 10. Both teams open league season play Dec. 12 with the Royals at home against Mattituck as the Warriors hit the road to take on Centereach. Game times are 4:30 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.
By Bill Landon
Mount Sinai opened its nonleague season opener at home easily dispatching the visiting Royals 91-47 Nov. 29. Topping the scoring charts for the Mustangs was Nick Hurowitz with 24, Alex Rudolph netted 19 and Andrew Korakis banked 16. Leading the scoring for Port Jefferson was Bryce Lewis who notched 15 followed by teammate John Bachman with 12. The Mustangs are back in action Dec. 11 where they take on Sayville at home for their first league game; tipoff is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. The Royals retake the court in another nonleague matchup Dec. 6 where they’ll take on Smithtown Christian. Action starts at 6:00 p.m.
Port Jefferson School District sports teams may soon have a different look, but not before the community gets the opportunity to weigh in.
The Port Jefferson Royals will still be clad in their signature purple and white for the foreseeable future, but the district is soliciting opinions in an online survey on two proposed logo redesigns. The current logo features block letter style white “P” and purple “J,” which are maintained in both redesign options in the survey, though one adds a purple crown sitting slightly tilted on the left side of the “P.” Both design options incorporate “Royals” in purple into the logo below the traditional “PJ.”
The goal is to created a unified logo for all sports teams and off-field gear worn by parents, friends and team supporters, according to the introduction to the survey.
“By creating a unified logo, we hope to build on our school environment, school culture and school pride,” the introduction reads.
The redesigns are from a combination of ideas used by various Port Jeff teams, according to a statement from the district.
“We currently have different teams and organizations selling team/spirit wear with different logos,” the district statement through spokeswoman Jessica Novins said. “We want to make the logo consistent regardless of the team, sport, or organization.”
For now the new logo will be on apparel that student-athletes, faculty and parents purchase for their personal use, as there are no plans currently to replace actual on-field uniforms.
The survey will be online until Oct. 12. To cast a vote visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PJSDAthleticLogo.
By Bill Landon
Port Jefferson’s first-year girls lacrosse coach Kelly Walsh will be relying on her team’s defense to help the Royals improve on its win total in its second ever varsity season.
Last year, the Royals notched two wins, and ultimately fell short of a third with a 14-13 loss at the hands of Copiague. Although Port Jefferson hasn’t had a chance to have many outdoor practices yet this year, the head coach is liking what she’s seeing.
“I think we’re coming together pretty well,” said Walsh, who played for Commack and St. Joseph’s University. “I think we’re going to be strong defensively. The girls just bond really well, so I think now that some of them have put their foot in the water to get experience playing, even though we’re so young, they’re starting to get that connection with the older players.”
Brooke Zamek said she believes there’s more work to be done to be in a position to win games.
“We definitely have to work on some skills, because we’re not at the top of our abilities yet,” the freshman defender and midfielder said. “But we all know each other — we’ve known each other for a long time — and that helps us.”
Without any seniors on the squad, this year’s team is a mix of very new varsity players with a handful of juniors, but Walsh said her team will use that to its advantage.
“You wouldn’t know [the difference] between the eighth-graders and eleventh-grade player because they treat each other like sisters,” the coach said. “Youth doesn’t make that much of a difference, maybe in size, but you can see where the older girls just take in the younger players.”
Freshman Katelynn Johnston echoed the assessment of her coach and teamates about how her Royals will look this year.
“We communicate well, we work well together, we need to get better at our stick skills,” she said. “We’re young, but I think we’ll do fairly well this year.”
Midfielder Phalina Sciara took her critiques a step further, analyzing different particular aspects of Port Jefferson’s play.
“We’ve got to hone our passing and clean up our stick skills, but we shouldn’t be underestimated just because we’re a young team,” the junior said. “We have great coaches this year, so that definitely helps, and they know how to motivate us and I think we’ll do well this year.”
Walsh said the season will be a challenge with a small roster, but hopes her limited amount of substitutes can still make their own contributions.
“We’re going to have to lean on our subs,” Walsh said. “But they’re always talking about who wants it more amongst themselves, and that builds character.”
Port Jefferson will be tested when it opens the season at home March 28 hosting Deer Park at 4 p.m.
By Jim Ferchland
Two quick pins ignited a spark for the Mustangs, and now they’re off to Syracuse.
The Mount Sinai wrestling team earned big wins from 195-pounder Mike Sabella and 220-pounder Jake Croston en route to a 45-28 victory over Port Jefferson for the Suffolk County Division II title. The Mustangs will travel upstate to compete in the first state title team championship Jan. 27 at Onondaga Community College.
“We wrestled two of our better kids,” Mount Sinai’s 18-year head coach Matt Armstrong said of the Jan. 20 meet at Bay Shore. “They have been steady, and that really got us going. We knew we had to come out and win those matches. Now, our goal is to place well in states — that would be exciting for a town like Mount Sinai.”
Sabella, ranked No. 1 in Division II with a 26-4 record, said for him, getting that first win for the Mustangs lifted a huge weight off his shoulders.
“It’s always stressful starting out the first match in any dual meet,” Sabella said. “Going out there and getting a win for my team was awesome. It was going to encourage the rest of my team to hopefully do the same.”
From weight classes 138 through 160, the Mustangs scored 18 consecutive points, giving them a commanding 45-18 advantage.
Junior Joseph O’Brien pinned Ryan Robertson in 3 minutes, 47 seconds in the 138-pound weight class. Senior Mike Zarif won a tight 2-1 decision over senior 145-pounder Joe Evangelista. Yusuf Azeem, a junior 145-pounder, beat Joe Longo with a 9-6 decision and sophomore Joseph Goodrich pinned Lucas Rohman in 2:36 seconds.
Zarif, right behind Sabella ranked second in Division II with a 28-3 record this season, usually fights at 138 pounds. He said he was asked by his coach to wrestle Evangelista, one of Port Jeff’s big guns.
“My coach came up to me and said, ‘We need you to knock off one of their best kids,’ so our team could have a better chance of winning,” Zarif said. “I just got ready with no preparation. Joe’s a great opponent. It was a good match.”
Port Jeff head coach Mike Maletta said Evangelista is one of the best wrestlers he’s ever coached, but his match was a turning point for Port Jeff.
“He is one of the best guys I’ve had in the 10 years I’ve been coaching,” Maletta said. “He gets called for a slam. It is what it is. The guy fell on his head and it changes the match. The guy escaped on him, and that’s the match.”
Maletta said he wanted to win one more match than Mount Sinai. Port Jeff won six matches to Mount Sinai’s nine.
“Once we feel we hit a certain spot in our lineup, we know we are going to win,” Armstrong said. “We definitely have solid kids. They stepped up and they did well.”
With two major decisions and two pins, Port Jeff trimmed the deficit to nine, 27-18, but couldn’t contain Mount Sinai the rest of the way.
Maletta said Mount Sinai was a great opponent, but he knows his team is full of competitors.
“We’re a good Port Jeff team,” he said. “We got pinned in six places — our best guys didn’t do what they were supposed to do. For us to beat Mount Sinai, everything had to work out right. It didn’t happen.”
Despite the loss, Maletta is confident in his guys competing at the league and county individual championships in February. For Sabella, his eyes are set on the matches this weekend. No. 2-seeded Mount Sinai will be facing Falconer (No. 7) and Gouverneur (No. 10) in Division II pool play. Out of the four pool plays of three teams each, the winners will compete in the semifinal round and then move through the bracket from there.
“I think we should be a team others are scared of,” he said. “We are going to go up there to make some noise.”
By Desirée Keegan
Panic could have set in for Port Jefferson, but its wrestlers remained calm under pressure.
With sole possession of the League VIII title on the line in a 24-24 meet against Center Moriches Jan. 9, the core of the Royals lineup came through, as it always has, to help Port Jefferson to a 41-34 away victory and first conference crown since 2012.
“It was an awesome feeling being able to win the league title, and seeing how excited my team and coaches are to achieve this,” 132-pounder Vin Miceli said. “I think we wrestled tough, but there were some matches where we could use some work.”
At 126 pounds, senior Robbie Williams sparked the turnaround. He had lost to his Center Moriches opponent, Dustin Dunkirk, twice before in close matches, and Port Jefferson head coach Mike Maletta said he thought maybe psychologically Williams felt he couldn’t beat him. The coach said he considered matching his grappler up against someone else, but at a tournament in New Rochelle, where Williams went 2-2 and was one match away from placing, Maletta saw him wrestle through adversity.
“When he was coming off the mat I said, ‘You did a good job today,’ and he said, ‘No, coach, if I did a good job today I’d be placing,’” Maletta said of the conversation between he and Williams Jan. 6. “My mentality changed, and I told him he’s going to face his opponent head-to-head.”
Williams started off 2-0, scoring back points early, and earned three more on a near pin to end the scoring for the first period. He score two more points with 44 seconds left in the third to go up 7-0, before surrendering a point when letting his opponent loose with the hope of taking him down again for a major decision, which he couldn’t get before time expired.
“He ended up a takedown away from bonus points,” Maletta said. “That’s not only flipping the score, that’s making a statement — and he’s wrestling up a weight class because he’s really a 120-pounder. He’s wrestling well at the right time, and I felt pretty confident where we were going to go from there.”
Miceli, who is undefeated, and 19-3 Joe Evangelista followed up Williams and backed up the head coach’s confidence.
The five-year grapplers took to the circle with Miceli also coming away with a 5-0 lead heading into the second period of his match. At 1:06, he got two takedown points and worked for a cradle, but couldn’t complete it, though grabbing three points for his effort and a 10-0 lead going into the final two minutes. He earned two back points to start the third, and let his opponent loose to try to get the pin or a final takedown for a technical fall. At the buzzer, he cradled his opponent once following his fourth takedown to earn the 17-1 major decision.
“I felt I didn’t wrestle to my full potential during my match, and realize there is still more I need to improve on,” Miceli said. “I felt worried and frustrated at first that I was not able to get those bonus points, but I knew my teammates after me would give their opponents a good fight.”
Ryan Robertson, a 138-pounder, went up against a Top 8 state wrestler in Donald Wood and was pinned at the 1:21 mark to help Center Moriches close within five points overall, 35-30, but the 145-pound Evangelista pinned his opponent in 4:06 to seal the deal.
“He does what is expected of him, he pins his guy and the match is out of Center Moriches’ hands,” Maletta said. “It’s great — it’s kind of tough to celebrate on a Monday, but they’re true wrestlers anyway because they’re right back at it ready to get to practice tomorrow and fix their mistakes.”
Conrad Sund and brothers Anthony and Rick D’Elia came away with pins for Port Jefferson. Harry Cona and Brendan Rogers earned one-point victories, 1-0 and 4-3. Maletta said it was those matches that meant all the difference in the win.
“If either one of those went the other way we wouldn’t have won the title,” Maletta said. “They all came to wrestle; they all showed up to compete, which was great to see. The coaching is done at this point and they have to respond to situations, and they did.”
Chris Lepore, a senior who battled his challenger to a 2-0 finish for the second win of the night, said he sees things only escalating for Port Jefferson from this point.
“I’m loving where we’re going,” he said. “Getting a league title [in] my senior year is special, and we’ve all been working hard to get there, but what makes us so successful is we don’t focus on the bigger picture. We psyche ourselves up to win our match, push ourselves to the limit and put ourselves in the best position to support our team.”
For the first time in five years Mattituck lost a wrestling met.
Port Jefferson handed the Tuckers their first loss in five years, 37-32, at an away meet Dec. 22. Port Jefferson also topped Mattituck its last loss five years ago, according to head coach Mike Maletta.
Matt Murphy won a 7-0 decision over David Jenkins in the deciding match at 170 pounds. Anthony D’Elia picked up a key 9-3 win over Sean Feeney at 99 pounds for the Royals, and Jack Niederburger won 1-0 at 195 pounds.
“The kids felt great about it, I felt great about it,” Maletta said. “We fought well.”
He said his athletes felt even better when he said he’d cancel practice the next two days before holiday break.
“I told them on the bus ride home,” he said. “I think they were more excited because I gave them the next few days off from practice.”
At the next tournament at West Islip, the Royals took second out of 11 teams.
“We fell short of matching Brentwood, but it’s 20 times the size of our school,” Maletta said. “I’m proud of how we did.”
Port Jefferson’s 138-pounder Vin Miceli claimed his fourth straight West Islip tournament win, and Joey Evangelista was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler for being the other Port Jefferson grappler to place first after coming in second the last couple years.
“The success I’ve had so far has really proven that all the extra hard work and long hours I put into this sport is what separates me from champion and runner-up,” Miceli said. “I have the same mentality going into every tournament or match, no matter who I am wrestling, that I am predator and not the prey.”
Other key seniors this season have been Chris Lepore at 182 pounds, Joe Longo at 160 and Robbie Williams at 120, according to the head coach.
“Chris Lepore is a senior that’s been very important to us,” Maletta said. “Robbie Williams does a lot of extra work.”
Port Jefferson hosted Babylon Jan. 3, but results were not available by press time. The Royals will face Center Moriches on the road Jan. 5 in a league title-deciding meet currently scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
“I feel very confident that we can beat Center Moriches,” Miceli said. “The way we train and the knowledge we have in our coaching staff really helps prepare us for a time like this.”
Mattituck beat Center Moriches, so if Port Jefferson wins, they’ll win the league title for the first time since 2012.
“You get nostalgic,” Maletta said. “I’ve coached Vin and Joey since they were eighth-graders, half of my time coaching here, and it’s been great to see them become young men. I only wish for good things for all of these guys. We have a lot more wrestling to go, and the countdown is on.”
Behind the relentless play of senior Patrick Billings and sophomore Jaden Martinez, the Comsewogue boys basketball team cruised to an 86-38 nonleague win over cross-town rival Port Jefferson Dec. 11. The Warriors duo shared a game-high 18 points and combined for 22 rebounds in the win.
“It took them a little bit of time to dig in, but once we got going we showed what we’re capable of,” Comsewogue head coach Joel Sutherland said. “We always try to dictate tempo — play at our pace — and I felt in the second quarter we gave up some dribble-drives and some kick-outs and started to fall short of what we wanted to do. We made some adjustments at halftime and came out and played our game.”
Billings scored 10 of his 18 points in the first quarter alone, as Comsewogue jumped out to a 26-13 advantage after eight minutes. Despite the slow second, the Warriors turned a 37-27 halftime lead into a 68-35 difference at the end of three quarters of play.
“We were passing the ball very well,” Billings said. “We came out of halftime ready to play ball. Defense is our top priority, and this is how we have to play every time. We talked each other up, brought up the energy and trusted each other.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Martinez, senior Dylan Morris Gray and eighth-grader Aaron Talbert disrupted the Royals’ offense, deflecting and stealing several passes. Upon gaining possession, the trio jump-started the Warriors’ fast break offense, knowing when to keep it, or who to dish it off to. Martinez, who finished with five assists and six steals, connected with Billings under the net for a few easy buckets.
“I feel comfortable out there,” said Martinez, who scored 11 points in the monster third quarter and had three 3-pointers in the win. “Our half-court traps, our defense helped us put it all together today.”
Senior Alan Dylan Smith scored 12 points, classmate Tom McGuire tacked on 11 and freshman Liam Gray caught fire in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 points in the final three minutes of the game on two threes and a perfect 4-for-4 finish from the free-throw line. Talbert came off the bench to add eight points in the win. Port Jefferson junior Grant Calendrille finished with a team-high 10 points. Comsewogue ended nonleague play at 4-2 while Port Jefferson fell to 2-3.
With Comsewogue moving up a league this year, Sutherland said he doesn’t see it as a problem. He expects his team to compete.
“I know what we’re capable of — it’s a matter of putting it together for a full 32 minutes,” he said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but as soon as they understand that when they play together there aren’t many teams as talented, we’ll be a dangerous one.”
The Warriors are back in action Dec. 19 hosting Bellport in the first League IV game of the season. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.
Port Jeff Royals set the bar high this wrestling season
By Bill Landon
For Port Jefferson senior Vin Miceli, grabbing gold was a nice way to kick off the individual season. The 132-pounder placed first at the 47th annual Huntington Holiday Tournament Dec. 2, and was also voted Most Outstanding Wrestler by all of the coaches in attendance.
Miceli, who has committed to wrestle for Division I Bloomsburg University next year, said there’s no secret to competing at the level he does. He said the sacrifices he makes pay off on the mat.
“It takes a lot of hard work — there’s no stopping and there’s no offseason for me — I’m always in the wrestling room,” said Miceli, who will start the season competing in the 126-pound weight class, hoping to transition to 120 by midseason. “I have my brother and good friends to train with, so it’s nonstop. I have about 90 matches in the offseason.”
Despite its size, Port Jefferson has a rich tradition of cultivating wrestling talent year in and year out, and according to first-year assistant coach Jesse Meaney, the sport is unique in several ways.
“Wrestling isn’t like other sports where you need 100 kids coming out to have a successful team — the work that they put in is the success they will come away with,” Meaney said. “And repetition is the key. You have to drill things 1,000 times in order for it to become muscle memory, so at the end of the week, the kids have drilled things to where they’re technically perfect.”
Port Jefferson faced off against the best of Huntington, Kings Park, Farmingdale, Patchogue-Medford, Comsewogue and Grand Street Campus (Brooklyn).
Junior Rick D’Elia placed second at 113 pounds, as did senior Joe Evangelista at 152 pounds.
Meaney reiterated that being a large school with a larger talent pool isn’t the same type of advantage it is in other sports.
“Wrestling isn’t a sport that discriminates, if you have kids that are willing to put in the work and that are willing to listen to the coaches, you can have a successful program,” he said.
Junior Brendan Rogers placed third at 120 pounds, as did classmate Ryan Robertson and sophomore Jack Neiderberger at 138 and 195 pounds. Placing fourth were seniors Joe Longo and Chris Lepore and junior Harry Cona in 152, 182 and 220 pounds, respectively.
When asked what his goals were for his senior season, Miceli didn’t hesitate.
“I’m a senior on a mission — my goal is to win states,” Miceli said. “That’s been my goal since I’ve joined the team.”
The Royals compete in two more invitationals — Harborfields’ Steven J. Mally Memorial and their own Bob Armstrong Cup — before opening the league season on the road against Mattituck Dec. 21.
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