Port Chester pins its way past Ardsley

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ARDSLEY, N.Y. — The two basic tenants of wrestling are strength and skill.

On Tuesday at Ardsley High School, Port Chester relied simply on strength. The Rams flexed their muscles in a dominating 66-14 victory, winning eight of the 15 matches by pin.

“Our kids seemed excited today and they were very aggressive, which is what we like,” Port Chester coach Greg Domestico said. “We went out and handled business right away.”

The Rams looked a lot more like starving sharks, attacking the Panthers wrestlers with sheer ferocity. Five of Port Chester's wrestlers — Kevin Rodriguez (99), John Guido (145), Justin Karas (152), Gerardo Garcia (160) and Marcelo Urquiza (170) — recorded a pin less than a minute into the opening period.

Guido, who was coming off an individual title at the Mamaroneck tournament this past weekend, made the quickest work, needing just 17 seconds to dispatch of Ardsley's Brendan Smith. Guido is 9-4 on the year and has morphed into a legit wrestler, according to Domestico.

“John has a much better attitude this year,” the coach said. “Not that he ever had a bad attitude, but he has a much better work ethic. I think he's taking it more seriously than he has in years past and that's made a tremendous difference.

“His conditioning is getting getter and he's always had a knowledge of the sport. With that work ethic he's another guy who can be an all-section contender down the road.”

While Guido has been a revelation this season, Port Chester's most promising wrestler is Kevin Rodriguez, who also just happens to be its smallest, too. Rodriguez, a 99-pound junior, is 8-0 on the year and will be a serious contender to take home the Section 1 D-1 crown. Like his counterparts, Rodriguez got by against Ardsley with brute strength. He pinned Adam Samolsky just 51 seconds into the first period.

“It's nice when u have an older and more mature kid at a lighter weight class,” Domestico said. “In addition to his technical skill, Kevin has been physically superior to the kids he has wrestled. But we want to make sure he keeps up technically. When you get to the later stages of the season, the guy with technique usually comes out on top.”

In addition to Rodriguez and Guido, 126-pounder Diego Giron also impressed. He pancaked Ardsley's Jeremy Kogan with 46 seconds left in the third period. Giron, who is 11-1 on the year, has wrestled at 126 and 132 all year. After Christmas, however, he plans to compete at 120.

“(Giron) very strong, very quick and we think he can do some damage down there for us,” Domestico said.

For Ardsley, 132-pounder Drew Longo was a bright spot. The standout junior finished fifth in NYS D-2 tournament last year at 96 pounds. Despite jumping quite a few weight classes, Longo hasn't skipped a beat. He improved to 5-1 on the year with a tech fall (16-1) win over Odell Alexander.

Teammates Elliot Weintrab (220) and Russel Kogan (138) were the only other Panthers to win their respective matches. Weintrab edged Mauricio Ortega with a 4-2 decision. Kogan recorded Ardsley's lone pin, turning Eduardo Sanchez 22 seconds into the second period.

As a team, Port Chester improved to 7-3 on the year in dual meets. The Rams' losses came against Scarsdale, Clarkstown South and Somers. Considering a couple key wrestlers from 2010 decided not to come out this season, Domestico is pretty pleased.

“We've been working really hard and kids have been putting in a lot of time and have responded to our coaching,” Domestico said. “We are going to be a much better team a month and a half from now than we are currently.”

Match results
99 – Kevin Rodriguez (PC) pins Adam Samolsky, 0:51
106 – Carlos Vanegas (PC) wins by forfeit
113 – Armando Blanco (PC) wins by forfeit
120 – Joey Rodriguez (PC) dec. Aidan Conroy (ARD), 6-4 (OT)
126 – Diego Giron (PC) pins Jeremy Kogan (ARD), 5:14
132 – Drew Longo (ARD) tech. falls Odell Alexander (PC), 16-1
138 – Russell Kogan (ARD) pins Eduardo Sanchez (PC), 2:22
145 – John Guido (PC) pins Brendan Smith (ARD), 0:17
152 – Justin Karas (PC) pins Jesse Deutchman (ARD), 0:54
160 – Gerardo Garcia (PC) pins Zach Marji (ARD), 0:38
170 – Marcelo Urquiza (PC) pins Justin Rabadi (ARD), 0:40
182 – George Levya (PC) pins Evan Shlom (ARD), 1:50
195 – Jimmy Lopez (PC) dec. Dan Cohen (ARD), 5-4 (4OT)
220 – Elliot Weintrab (ARD) dec. Mauricio Ortega (PC), 4-2
285 – Christian Zamano (PC) wins by forfeit

Email Isaac Cass at Icass@cablevision.com | Follow him on Twiter @MSGV_Icass

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