Sports
Island Trees Wrestling Hosts Ted Petersen Wrestling Tournament
Bulldogs finish fourth in the tournament, the highest finish since 2007; Vinny Manna wins 285 lb. class, ranked #2 in Nassau County.
On Saturday, Jan. 4, the Island Trees Wrestling Team hosted the annual Ted
Petersen Wrestling Tournament, named after the physical education teacher and coach in the Island Trees School District for 31 years.
"'Coach Pete' was a man who always cared for our youth and was committed to the promotion of respect, fairness, and good sportsmanship," said Lou Tuorto, Island Trees physical education teacher and varsity wrestling coach.
"From the team’s superstar to a freshman wrestling for the first time, Coach Pete treated everyone with equality and warmth," Tuorto said. "In his honor, we have created an event that Coach Petersen would have been proud of."
In recent years, Tuorto said that the tournament has become known for one of the toughest wrestling tournaments on Long Island, showcasing some of Nassau
and Suffolk’s top wrestling talents.
The following teams that competed in the event included: Amityville, Bethpage, Farmingdale (currently ranked # 5 in Nassau County), Freeport, Huntington (currently ranked # 2 in Suffolk County), Hempstead, Island Trees (currently ranked #8 in Nassau County), Lincoln Rhode Island, Massapequa (currently ranked #3 in Nassau County), Mepham, Plainedge (currently ranked #2 in Nassau County), and Uniondale.
The Bulldogs had a very impressive day sending two wrestler’s to the finals, Tuorto said.
At 113lbs., Chris Donnelly defeated the #4 ranked wrestler in Nassau County, Hector Guerrero of Plainedge in the semi-finals with a convincing 9-2 decision.
In the finals, Donnelly wrestled defending Suffolk County Champion of Huntington John Arceri.
"Donnelly dropped a 4-1 decision but wrestled extremely tough," Tuorto said. Donnelly is currently ranked #3 in Nassau County and #6 on Long Island.
The lone champion for the Bulldogs was Vinny Manna at 285 lbs. Manna defeated the number #2 ranked wrestler Tim Gungor of Massapequa, 4-1. Winning the title and direct win over Gungor now puts Manna as the #2 ranked wrestler in Nassau County and #3 ranked wrestler on Long Island.
The Bulldogs finished in fourth place with an impressive showing scoring 169 points and its highest finish since 2007.
With approximately eight weeks left in the season the Bulldogs will look to start their league competitions and have their eyes set on a league championship.
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