Redmen Win Cordell Tournament at Oneonta

                                    East Islip dominates the field; captures 14 medals

Monday January 4, 2010

By Matt Ruler

The East Islip high wrestling team captured the team crown at the 21^st annual Ross Cordell-Rotary Tournament at Oneonta High School this past weekend. It was the first Cordell tournament title for the Redmen in three years. East Islip out-scored the 16-team field with 223.5 points, easily beating out runnerup Levittown Division who scored 186.

The Redmen have traveled over 200 miles to the Southern Tier (Section IV) of New York State for seven years to compete in the Cordell Tournament. “It’s a great tournament,” stated East Islip head coach Guy Leggio. “The competiton is great and the tournament is run very well,” he said.

East Islip won 14 individual medals including two golds. Kenny Risco (96 pounds) and Nick Ventiere (130) were the champs for the Redmen.

Risco was very impressive in winning the 96-pound weight class. He pinned all three of opponents in the first period. In the finals Risco used a double-leg takedown and a half-nelson to make quick work of his opponent in just 50 seconds.

Ventiere won all four of matches including the first three by pin. In the finals Ventiere won an exciting 6-4 match. It is the second tournament of the season he has won. Ventiere raised his record to 13-1 on the season.

Alex Brown (140), David Dellavecchia (103), and Erik Vik (171) took second place. Brown lost a hard-fought 10-4 decision to a two-time state qualifier. Dellavecchia trailed 13-4 in the second period, but stormed back to score 11 points. He had his opponent on his back as time expired. Vik lost 3-1 on a late takedown. Coach Leggio stated, “They all wrestled tough even though they lost.”

East Islip was leading by just 2.5 points after the first day of competition. But the first two rounds on Sunday morning clinched the tournament for the Redmen as they scored 100.5 points. East Islip had 11 winners with eight pins. Five of the eight Redmen won in the semifinals. And just as importantly, six other boys won in the placement round. East Islip had a lead of 42.5 points after the morning session.

The following boys placed in the tournament for East Islip: Hunter Ingram (96), Mike DiLiello (125), and Nick Arma took third place. Kyle Shevlin (103), Tyler Conway (160), and Andrew Slawson (285) took fourth place. And Anthony Argenti (152) and James Frost (189) took fifth place while Tom Carew took sixth.

Consistency was the key to the Redmen victory. ‘’We wrestled well from start to finish,” said Leggio. “It’s always a good experience for the team and the parents.”

East Islip won the tournament for the fourth time in sixth years.