![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771203855_211_image.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nDunia Sibomana-Rodriguez usually saves the backflip for state titles. But the Long Beach senior decided his fifth and final Nassau Division I championship deserved a little extra flare.<\/p>\n
After all, he had just etched his name into the Nassau wrestling history books.<\/p>\n
After locking up a 1-0 decision over top-seeded Will Russell of Manhasset for the 118-pound title, Sibomana-Rodriguez dismounted off one foot into a backflip and stuck the landing Sunday afternoon at Hofstra University.<\/p>\n
The UNC commit became just the third wrestler to win five Nassau Division I titles, joining Long Beach\u2019s Jacori Teemer and Syosset\u2019s Vito Arujau, both of whom were NCAA Division I All-Americans. Arujau won two NCAA titles and added a World Championship gold medal in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot to be a part of that group,\u201d Sibomana-Rodriguez said. \u201cIt\u2019s such a small percentage. We\u2019re the only ones who were able to do it. After today, this is behind us. I\u2019m still stepping forward and getting ready for that next level of wrestling. I\u2019m hoping to follow in their footsteps and become one of the best guys out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sibomana-Rodriguez\u2019 escape early in the second period was the only score of the match. Later in the period, Russell shot in on Sibomana-Rodriguez\u2019 right leg, looking for a takedown. Russell dropped Sibomana-Rodriguez on his stomach with a chance to earn his three points, but the two-time state champion quickly bounced up off the mat, maintaining neutral position to hold his one-point lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know Will really well. He\u2019s a great opponent,\u201d Sibomana-Rodriguez said. \u201cI just wanted to keep the match close.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Sibomana-Rodriguez was 6 years old, he survived an attack by a troop of chimpanzees while playing with family outside his village near the Virunga National Park in the Congo. While the other two boys were killed, Sibomana-Rodriguez survived with traumatic injuries to his lips, face and right ear.<\/p>\n
After his backflip on Sunday, Sibomana-Rodriguez took a moment to wave to the crowd and clap as a sign of respect for the support the Nassau wrestling community has shown him over the last five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was my way of saying, \u2018Thank you,\u2019\u201d Sibomana-Rodriguez said. \u201cI have such a great wrestling community. It\u2019s like a big, big family. They\u2019re always there for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin\u2019s Moment<\/p>\n
Mepham senior Jason Martin finally had his moment. Martin defeated defending champion Josh Kama of Farmingdale by a 10-4 decision for the 190-pound title.<\/p>\n
Martin was pinned by Kama in last year\u2019s semifinals.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole year, I was training for that specific match,\u201d Martin said. \u201cI knew if I had to wrestle him at some point, he would give me my toughest match and I would have to let it all out. It happened to be today and I\u2019m very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Martin was named the tournament\u2019s Most Outstanding Wrestler. After his win, he shared a long, emotional hug with his father, James.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was five years of emotion built up,\u201d Martin said. \u201cMy dad wrestled when he was in high school and he\u2019s seen me work hard. I think he gets a lot more nervous for matches than I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mikedis ends Cougars\u2019 drought<\/p>\n
For the first time since 2013, Bellmore JFK has a county champion. His name is Peter Mikedis.<\/p>\n
The sophomore pinned Manhasset\u2019s Henry Jervis in 4:36 for the 165-pound title. Mikedis earned two technical falls in Saturday\u2019s early rounds and two pins on Sunday to claim the title.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe needed someone to end this drought. It was a long 13 years,\u201d Mikedis said. \u201cMany people came close, but it feels good to end it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Massapequa\u2019s dominance continues<\/p>\n
Already with the Nassau and state Division I dual meet titles under its belt, Massapequa won Sunday\u2019s team competition with 242.5 points. Manhasset took second with 172 points.<\/p>\n
Jon Tutku (110), Jake Nieto (138), Kai Tiringer (150), Joseph Brooks (157) and James Mulhern (285) each claimed a title.<\/p>\n
Tutku defeated Long Beach\u2019s Ethan Andreula by 1-0 decision for his second straight title. Andreula won a 10-5 decision over Tutku in the semifinals of the Eastern States Classic in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember the car ride home from Eastern States, I was so upset,\u201d Tutku said. \u201cIn my mind I was like, \u2018I need to get that one back at counties.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Matt Lindsay is a high school sports reporter who joined Newsday in 2022 after graduating from Stony Brook University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez usually saves the backflip for state titles. But the Long Beach senior decided his fifth and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[66332,131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-179615","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-hs-wrestling-boys","9":"tag-long-beach","10":"tag-long-beach-headlines","11":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}