STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— Following their move to PSAL 1A competition this offseason, the Petrides varsity wrestling team has made itself right at home in its new division, moving to 3-0 in league meets following a 43-33 victory over Grand Street Campus on Tuesday evening in Sunnyside.
Olah, who recently captured the 1A title as Petrides’ head football coach, said that although it’s been a quick turnaround from the gridiron to the mats, he’s been pleased with his team’s efforts so far.
“We’ve got a lot of guys who are making the flip from football to wrestling, so it’s been nice to get off to a good start at 3-0,” the HC said.
Olah’s team may have won its first two meets by a combined 30 points, but he credited Grand Street for “having tough-nosed kids that are going to scrap and wrestle for a full six minutes,” which made this their closest encounter yet.
In fact, Grand Street took two of the first three bouts, giving the Panthers a brief scare. But back-to-back wins from Rocky Molinare (126 lbs) and Bradley Munoz (132 lbs) soon put the Panthers in the driver’s seat, as Petrides went on to win seven of the final ten matchups to secure the meet.
Petrides’ Zayd Albaz looks to score a win on his opponent from Grand Street during a meeting between the two schools on Dec. 9, 2025.Michael O’Brien
Two individual performances Olah highlighted as key to the win over the Wolves were Julian Orellana (150 lbs) and Alexander Baez (215 lbs), both of whom secured victories that helped propel the team.
“Julian did a nice job today stepping up. He bumped up a weight class for us because they had a forfeit at his weight class, so as a senior leader, those are things you have to do sometimes. That was a really big spot for us,” Olah explained.
As for Baez, who played under Olah’s guidance in the fall, the HC noted, “Alex played football with me on varsity, and he’s getting himself into shape right now—you can see that. That was a great six-minute match for him to finish and put us in a good spot.”
Petrides’ Gio Molinare locks up with his opponent from Grand Street Campus during a meeting between the two schools on Dec. 9, 2025.Michael O’Brien
Now with a solid early-season sample size to gauge what’s working well and what needs improvement among his wrestlers, Olah pointed to two key areas: mat awareness and conditioning.
“One thing looking good is mat awareness—where we are on the mat. You kind of know what each individual is good at, and they have within themselves what they should be doing right now. I think that looks really good,” Olah shared.
“But early on, we have to work on our conditioning. You can see that. This is really the second full week of practice that we’re cranking that stuff out, so the conditioning piece will come. We’re looking to peak in February at the end of the season, so we still have time for that,” he concluded.
Other Panthers to score individual wins against Grand Street included Gio Molinare (110 lbs), Taliyah Southerland (144 lbs, via forfeit), Elias Hardt (165 lbs), and Zayd Albaz (175 lbs).
Petrides head coach Dave Olah instructs one of his wrestlers against Grand Street Campus on Dec. 9, 2025.Michael O’Brien
Looking to extend their unbeaten start to the season, the Panthers will now prepare for a clash with Sunset Park High School on Thursday.