LAKE HUNTINGTON, NY — On December 20, Sullivan West hosted a varsity wrestling tri-meet between the home team Bulldogs, the Eldred Yellowjackets and the Eagles of Burke Catholic.

The Sullivan West grapplers were lined up against one side of the gym next to the Yellowjackets, and as the meet progressed, they took to the mat, battling the matmen of Burke for supremacy.

By the end of the meet, Eldred wrestlers had taken three matches: Koen McGill in the 138-pound weight class, with a fall at 0:30 over Alan Szymanski; Luke Potter with a fall in the 145-pound weight class over Tim Healy at 1:48; and Joshua Warming in the 160-pound weight class, with a 10-7 decision over Aiden Ortiz.

Sullivan West earned wins in three bouts: Alec Hubert in a 9-4 decision over Burke’s Justin Mazzie in the 152-pound weight class; Brendon Tello over Burke’s Kevin Bennet at 215 pounds with a fall at 1:05; and, in an extra match in the 152-pound weight class, Todd Walter defeated Burke’s Tristan Matos with a fall at 0:50.

Josh Potter has been coaching Yellowjacket wrestlers for 26 years, and was at the helm in 2016 when Noah Curreri took the Section 9 Division II trophy as the most outstanding wrestler. He was followed by his brothers Nick and Joey. 

Back then, the Curreri brothers ruled the mat in Eldred wrestling, as Noah, Nick and Joey rose through the ranks, setting records as high school wrestlers.

Noah, a 2017 graduate, captured three titles and was a state finalist as a senior; Nick got his diploma in 2019 and won his title in 12th grade, and Joey won the Section 9 title in the 120-pound weight class final. As a junior, Joey picked up two wins at the Eastern States Classic.

For the record, as high school grapplers, Noah and Nick posted 100 wins, while Joey fought his way to 97 victories.

“It takes dedication,” said Potter of what it takes to be a wrestler. “You have to go to school every day, attend classes and practice at night.”

He cited three returning wrestlers as his top guns this season: Colin McGill, Luke Potter and Joshua Warming.

Fourteen-year-old freshman Luke Potter has been on the mats “since I was, like, five.” Asked his take on a sport where you face an opponent one-on-one, all by your lonesome before the world, he recalled his first time wrestling versus now. “It was scary, but now it’s fine.” On the future: “Our goal is to win sectionals, but we’re not a big school.”

Scott Haberli coaches the Sullivan West varsity squad, a few long years after being at the helm of the Narrowsburg baseball team “back in the day.”

“It’s an absolute thrill,” he said of coaching the Bulldogs grapplers. “I grew up in North Jersey, where wrestling was very popular, like in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s… I wasn’t a great wrestler, but a little bit above average. I held my own.” 

So what does a student athlete gain from the sport?

“It builds character as much as any sport there is,” replied Haberli. “You have to watch your weight and what you eat, and the workouts are brutal… the football players will tell you that when football season is over, wrestling practice feels like you haven’t practiced anything.”

According to Sullivan West’s matmen coach, the squad boasts a couple of standouts this season—Rally Cruz and Alec Hubert. “Those guys are my top two.”

Cruz, a 17-year-old senior, has been wrestling since eighth grade.

“It’s a mental sport, and it humbles people,” he said. “It’s one-on-one, so you can’t blame anyone else.”

Of competing before a hometown crowd cheering him on, he said, “It’s stressful!”

Alec Hubert, 15, takes to the mat as a sophomore.

What is it like to compete before the hometown fans?

“It’s definitely exciting, especially your home school. It puts a lot of weight on you, but it’s good fun being in front of the crowd.”

Especially if the ref raises your hand in the center of the mat, signaling a victory, which is what happened to Hubert as he defeated his opponent in a 9-4 decision on that night in the “Home of the Bulldogs.”