Mahopac Tournament Sends Six Wolf-Pac Wrestlers to the Podium

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On Saturday January 27, the High School hosted their annual wrestling tournament, and the Wolf-Pac put six kids on the podium. But for one Mahopac winner, the stars were really aligned.

Before the tournament, Nick Greco realized, “It lined up perfectly,” and when the wrestler’s hand went up after the finals, the victory was win number 100.

The 160 pounder didn’t wait long to secure triple digits in wins either. “I’m always trying to not play with my food,” he joked after getting a 46 second pin.

A half nelson, Greco added, “that’s my move,” and timing came into play again. As Greco had Joe Davis viewing the ceiling, Chase Heidt was looking up courtesy of Henry Ramirez.

The mats adjoined, Coach Steve Tornambe had his head on a swivel. But eventually the coach felt confident about where to focus attention. With a lead in the waning seconds and Heidt pretty well tied up, said Tornambe,“I knew Henry was going to win.”

Turning to Greco, the pins came almost simultaneously. So the roar from the Mahopac crowd was twice as nice.

Maybe a little louder for Ramirez, because the 124 pounder looked finished in the first period. The Shenandoah wrestler shot the takedown, and sent Ramirez to his back with a cradle.

The referee on the mat and the Shenandoah coaches ready to celebrate, there remained light between Ramirez’s blades and the blue surface. “I heard my coach,” the sophomore gave Tornambe an assist, and twenty seconds later, Ramirez was on top with a reversal.

Of course, the determination didn’t come out of nowhere. “We train the room hard,” said Tornambe. “We put them in situations - never give up, keep moving forward.”

Ramirez certainly exemplified the mantra but still trailed 6-2 going into the third. So the choice to Ramirez, the decision to go neutral was easy. “Henry is great on his feet,” said Tornambe.

And Ramirez quickly made good on the words. Ten seconds in, Ramirez had a takedown and sent Heidt to his back for a 7-6 lead.

One more time, Ramirez picked up three more points and both Mahopac wrestlers had the championship in their sites. First was Greco, and the standard Tornambe reaction followed. “A ten out to ten,” said Greco of the big bear hug that Mahopac wrestlers have come to expect.

Nineteen seconds elapsing, Tornambe was able to have a front row seat for Ramirez too, “Henry put him to his back and finished the job,” Tornambe said.

The finals did have one more Mahopac wrestler line up for the gold, but he was not able to land at the top of the podium. Charles Przymylski faced Smithtown East’s Matthew McDermott and his 30-1 record.

Przymylski was taken down in first and fell behind 5-0 in the second when McDermott registered a near fall. Still, Przymylski didn’t relent.

He fought to his feet in the second and got a reversal to pull within three. Unfortunately McDermott escaped and got another takedown.

A 7-2 final, Tornambe knew what his 116 pounder was up against. “That kid was tough,” the coach said.

Of course, he didn’t doubt Przymylski's resolve. “Charles is a warrior, and he hates to lose,” said Tornambe.

The residue, on the other hand, will not linger. “Charles will move forward like a rhino. That’s what he does, and he’s an example,” Tornambe said.

A notch down, Rob DeMauro kept moving forward too. Getting through the wrestle-backs, the 138 pounder finished third. “I took him down, locked the cradle and pinned him,” DeMauro said.

So the postseason ahead, he is measured about his goals. “I want to make it to the sectionals and do the best I can,” DeMauro said.

A good day was had by Will Melendez too and ended in the consolation round, where the 170 pounder began on his feet. “I bobbed his head down a bit, I saw an opening and knew when to go,” said Melendez.

On the bottom in the second, the senior got a defensive pin. “I hooked his leg, wrapped his arm and launched myself backwards,” Melendez said.

Good for fifth place, Melendez proudly took home his hardware “I’m a first year wrestler, putting in work and effort,” he said, “to be on the podium is a very rewarding feeling.”

Last but not least, Pace Zeiler wrestled to a sixth place finish. Losing his consolation round match, he had to take some risky shots in the final period to get back in his match. “They were a little sloppy,” he said, and the result was a 6-2 loss.

Still, he feels good about being strong from the bottom with his standup, and like the rest of his teammates, Zeiler has his eyes on the postseason. “I want to make it to the sectionals and place in the top six,” the wrestler concluded the day.

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