{"id":56249,"date":"2025-11-30T12:23:06","date_gmt":"2025-11-30T12:23:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/56249\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T12:23:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T12:23:06","slug":"staten-island-hs-wrestling-2025-26-preview-farrell-tots-petrides-cream-of-the-crop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/56249\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island HS wrestling 2025-26 preview: Farrell, Tots, Petrides cream of the crop"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island wrestling dominated the city last year with strong squads from Tottenville, Petrides and Monsignor Farrell. <\/p>\n

New Dorp, St. Joseph by-the-Sea, McKee\/Staten Island Tech continue to improve with numbers and talent. <\/p>\n

Overall, the sport continues to grow in number of athletes competing at the high school and middle school levels. An increase in youth programs on the Island is helping to fuel growth and talent Islandwide and are becoming feeder programs for the high schools.<\/p>\n

\u200bAs coaching staffs continue to grow with former wrestlers, programs are benefiting. Many of the coaches are former college wrestlers who bring new perspective and new technique to their respective rooms. <\/p>\n

Check out each team\u2019s preview below in no particular order.<\/p>\n

\"Farrell'sMonsignor Farrell 116-pounder Brennan Sprague shows off the hardware he took home from the prestigious Eastern States Classic. (Photo courtesy of Peter Hamm)Peter HammMonsignor Farrell Lions<\/p>\n

Head Coach: Peter Hamm, 10th year<\/p>\n

Assistants: Matt Seitz, David Ironman, Darren Jacobs, Terry Adams, Dan Adams, Anthony Lanza, Rich Cappiello, John Basile, Marc Pirozzi<\/p>\n

Outlook: The Lions are coming off one of their most successful campaigns as they won team crowns at the Donald Douglas Memorial Tournament (overall city championship), Ironman Invitational, Horace Greeley Tournament, CHSAA Cities, and the crown jewel winning the CHSAA Sectional Championship. The Lions enter this season ranked seventh in the state. They have a strong core of returning upperclassman and over 20 freshmen to add to their large roster.<\/p>\n

Captains: Quinn Hunt (Sr.), Joe DiMaria (Sr.), John Bonura (Jr.)<\/p>\n

Seniors: Brennan Sprague, the scrappy sparkplug, looks to be the lead dog for the Lions with hopes of adding to his trophy case. The lightweight has placed in national and international tournaments and is one of the top wrestlers in both the city and State. Look for Quinn Hunt returning Mayor\u2019s Cup champ to continue to impress. Don\u2019t sleep on big man AJ Lombardi (285), Jake Censi (118), or Sebastian Georges (150).<\/p>\n

Juniors: John Bonura is a hard-nosed, no-nonsense type who won\u2019t be outworked in the room. Look for Albert Lula (126) to Level up as his progress in undeniable. Frankie Petrungaro and Vin Mercurio should be big contributors.<\/p>\n

Sophomores: This group is the most athletic part of the Lions squad. Look for continued success from Kaiden Noia (101), Misha Belyakov (157) and Alan Biktyakov (144lbs) who was sidelined last year due to injury. Others worth noting Rocco Musso, Sal Marsilla, Dennis Brooks, Robbie Wieser should all make names for themselves this year.<\/p>\n

Freshman: The Lions always have some studs coming in from the youth program. This year, Greg Delidimitriou (175) and Daniel Bagdasaryan (175) should make in impact right out of the gate.<\/p>\n

First match: Dec. 2 vs. New Dorp 4:30 p.m. at home<\/p>\n

\"TristanTottenville’s Tristan Levin, right, is the ringleader of the Pirates. (Photo courtesy of John Cichon)John CichonTottenville Pirates<\/p>\n

Head Coach: John Cichon, 13th year<\/p>\n

Assistants: Craig Sampson, Brian Mahoney, Mike Rodriguez, Dmitry Baldaev, Ryan Gaynor<\/p>\n

Outlook: The PSAL Borough, PSAL City Individual tournament and Pearl River tournament champs look for contunued success in 2025-26 with a fine cast of returnees and some promising newcomers. <\/p>\n

Captains: Tristan Levin, David Khodzhaevl, Aiden Eng, Alexandra Shuster<\/p>\n

Seniors: Tristan Levin (126lbs) is the three-time PSAL champion, who also won the Mayors Cup and was a placer in the NYS Tournament (Division 1), David Khodzhaev (144) is a reigning PSAL champ and a Mayors Cup finalist, Alexandra Shuster (132), Aiden Eng (157), Jeton Asani (165), Mohanad Mahmoud (190), Adel Kiswani (215), Yousef Moslehi (285)<\/p>\n

Juniors: Steven Ruggiero (118) is a defending Mayor\u2019s Cup champ, while Craig Monda (110) is a Mayor\u2019s Cup finalist, while Robert McGlynn (103) placed third in the PSAL. Maddalena Moog (118), Max Eng (150), Jake Padilla (175)<\/p>\n

Sophomores: Russel Moran (110), Ryan Buccheri (126), Patryk Napora (126), Gavin Soto (132), Esam Kiswani (138), Vincent Klein (138), Brandon Hayes (144), Daniel Ciobanu (165), Anthony Moog (190)<\/p>\n

Freshman: Jonathan Boyer (103), Matthew Hernandez (118), Landon Wagner (144), Michael Durante (150) <\/p>\n

First match: Dec. 11 at Curtis, 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

\"StatenPetrides’ Rocky Molinare scores a pinfall victory on his opponent from James Madison when the two schools met for the PSAL 2A Playoff final on Feb. 4.Michael O’Brien for the Staten Island AdvancePetrides Panthers<\/p>\n

Head Coach: David Olah, 15th season<\/p>\n

Assistant: Dionisos Georgiou <\/p>\n

Outlook: The Panthers put together a nice 2024-25 season, winning the PSAL D2 Individual Championship and reaching the finals of the D1 PSAL Dual meet Championships.<\/p>\n

Captains: Rocky Molinare (125), Marco Michielli (150), Robert Alincaj (157), Julian Orellana (144)<\/p>\n

Seniors: 125-pounder Rocky Molinare is three-time sectional winner, who was second at the Mayor\u2019s Cup and fifth in the Ironman. Julian Orellana (144) was second in the section and took seventh at the Mayor\u2019s Cup. At 150 pounds, Marco Michielli was third in the section and won D 2 in 2024. Robert Alincaj (157) hopes to come back from an injury that sidelined him most of last season. Elias Hardt (165) was a spot starter last season and will take on a larger roll this year. Luke Burmaster (285) was tops in the section last season. <\/p>\n

Juniors: Bradley Munoz at 132 pounds placed second in the Section after winning the Section the year before. <\/p>\n

Sophomores: Giovanni Molinare (110) was second in the section and placed second at the Ironman last season. <\/p>\n

Freshman: Michael Lamattina is a youth program product, who should be an impact starter immediately at 118 and 125 pounds; <\/p>\n

First Match: Dec. 2 @ Sunset Park<\/p>\n

St. Joseph by-the-Sea Vikings <\/p>\n

Head coach: Corey Hannah, seventh season<\/p>\n

Assistant coaches: John Pignatteli, Edward Tunyla, Ralph Maio<\/p>\n

Outlook: After an off year last season, the Vikings hope to gain ground this year on their opponents and place some of their grapplers in elite company.<\/p>\n

Captains: Mike Arena (Sr.), Sal Sorrentino (Sr.), Justin Stassi (Sr)<\/p>\n

Seniors: Justin Stassi, Jeremy Favara, Mike Arena, Mike Balzano, Sal Sorrentino <\/p>\n

Juniors: Steve Caruso, Noah Ocasio, John Gogarty<\/p>\n

Sophomores: River Timbreza, Vladislav Volkov<\/p>\n

Freshman: John McGrath<\/p>\n

First Match: Dec. 6 at Poly Prep<\/p>\n

St. Peter\u2019s Eagles <\/p>\n

Head Coach: Dan Brothers, first year<\/p>\n

Assistants: Steve Avena and Hailey Cancelleri<\/p>\n

Outlook: The Eagles are lead by seniors Sean Foley and Matteo Gioia and captain John Ventre. Foley put in a lot of work in the off-season and it should pay off on the mat. Ventre\u2019s improvement has been a steady increase the last two years and Gioia gives the Eagles a solid anchor at the end of the lineup.<\/p>\n

Captain: John Ventre (Jr).<\/p>\n

Seniors: Sean Foley (118) and Matteo Gioia (215)<\/p>\n

Junior: John Ventre (175)<\/p>\n

Sophomores: Joseph Said (138), Aiden Cancelleri (285) <\/p>\n

Freshman: Aidan Noto (215l) and Eldin Karastanovic (215)<\/p>\n

First match: Dec. 5 vs. Mount St. Michaels and Port Richmond<\/p>\n

\"StatenPetrides’ Rocky Molinare and New Dorp’s Anthony Capichana lock up during a PSAL 2A semi-final meeting between the schools in Sunnyside on Feb. 1.Michael O’Brien for the Staten Island AdvanceNew Dorp Centrals <\/p>\n

Head Coach: Michael Vaccaro, seven years <\/p>\n

Assistants: Kevin Talento and Jacob Nowak<\/p>\n

Captain: Anthony Capichana (Sr.)<\/p>\n

Seniors: Capichana, who will wrestle at 118 pounds, placed third in the PSAL and was fifth in the Donald Douglas event, and should give his team a top guy in the lower weights. Sami Zahrieh (215), Sam Cocozza (190), Eleftherios Michos (175), Aiden Minacapilli (165) and Jacqueline Jackson (150)<\/p>\n

Juniors: 215-pounder Malik Ayesh, who was second in the PSAL and sixth at the Douglas event, should give the Centrals strength at both the top of the lineup. <\/p>\n

First Match: on Tuesday, 12\/2 4 p.m. at Monsignor Farrell <\/p>\n

Curtis Warriors<\/p>\n

Head Coach: Carlos Banegas, sixth year<\/p>\n

Assistants: Josh Childs, Sam Williams<\/p>\n

Outlook: The warriors are going for the strength-in-numbers model with a heavy offseason recruiting effort by the assistant coaches. Look for them to rattle some cages around the middle of the season.<\/p>\n

Captain: Anthony Formica (Sr.)<\/p>\n

Seniors: Anthony Formica (145) placed seventh at last year at Mayor\u2019s Cup, second at the PSAL Boroughs. \u201cHe\u2019s the emotional leader of the team,\u201d said Banegas. \u201cHas the gas tank and mental toughness to battle back from tough situations. Noah Nadler (220) has put in the work in the off season competing regularly in NJ. Expect him to level up this season. Luis Gonzalez Jr. (165) is a powerful middleweight, who is expected to make strides this year. He possesses both speed and power.<\/p>\n

Juniors: Ismael Nadler (175) is poised to level up. He took second at the Farrell pre-season tournament but could have easily taken the bracket. Peter Parise should wrestle at 150 or 157. \u201cHe\u2019s kind of an X-factor,\u201d the coach said. \u201cWe\u2019ve yet to see him in a match but he sets the pace in practice. Best work ethic on the team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Freshmen: Jayden Neri (138), Ryan Vazquez (138), Axel Salerno (122) Solemane Nabay (285)<\/p>\n

First match: Dec. 4, vs. New Dorp at Curtis.<\/p>\n

Susan Wagner Falcons <\/p>\n

Head Coach: Gary White, 11th season<\/p>\n

Assistants: Martin Kiriakos, Elias Brenes, Christian Kiste <\/p>\n

Outlook: Joshua Zacharia, Gabriel Buzukja and Varfee Kamara will be expected the lead the Falcons. This trio gives White a nice returning core to build around and will make the Falcons competitive.<\/p>\n

Captains: Joshua Zacharia (Sr.), Gabriel Buzukja (Jr.)<\/p>\n

Senior: Joshua Zacharia (108) placed fourth in the PSAL city event. <\/p>\n

Junior: 285-pounder Varfee Kamara, who placed third in the PSAL city event last year, will solidfy the end og the lineup. Gabriel Buzukja will play a major role for SW. <\/p>\n

First match: Dec. 4 vs. MSIT at home, 5 p.m. <\/p>\n

Port Richmond Raiders<\/p>\n

Head Coach: James Ryan, 19th season<\/p>\n

Assistant: Joe Marinello<\/p>\n

Outlook: Expect senior leadership to carry this Red Raiders squad throughout the season. Head coach James Ryan the elder statesman of Staten Island coaches will have his squad ready to level up.<\/p>\n

Jayden Adesanya and Barry Adewumi both qualified for the PSAL sectional championship<\/p>\n

Seniors: Barry Adewumi, and Jayden Adesanya both qualified for the PSAL sectional championship last season. Douglas Diaz <\/p>\n

Freshman: Peter Alexandrini (lightweight) is expected to boost the lineup right out of the gate.<\/p>\n

First match: Dec. 6 at Edward R. Murrow Tourney <\/p>\n

McKee\/Staten Island Tech Seagulls<\/p>\n

Head Coach: Chuck Brancato, 10th season <\/p>\n

Captain: Albert Berkovich<\/p>\n

Outlook: The Seagulls will be tough in the middle and look to the underclassmen to help rebuild some spots in the lineup. Look for the Seagulls to improve quickly under Brancato.<\/p>\n

Senior: Returning borough champion and team captain Albert Berkovich, a middleweight, looks to improve on his placement and is striving to be city champ.<\/p>\n

Sophomore: Eric Berkovich and Logan Yu are each returning qualifiers and are focused on improving and moving up the podium.<\/p>\n

First match: Dec. 4 vs. Susan Wagner <\/p>\n

CSI\/McCown Dragons<\/p>\n

Head Coach: TJ Greco, seventh season<\/p>\n

Outlook: Under Greco, the Dragons have seen steady progress with their numbers growing. The Dragons will be led by senior Marcus Martino and sophomores Severino Kobryn and Josh Osorio. Expect them to make some noise on the Island and the city.<\/p>\n

Senior: Marcus Martino (110)<\/p>\n

Sophomores: Severino Kobryn (138), Josh Osorio (144)<\/p>\n

Freshman: Kellan Todaro (118), Heagan Lo (103)<\/p>\n

First match: Dec. 5 at Grady<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island wrestling dominated the city last year with strong squads from Tottenville, Petrides…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56250,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-56249","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}