Glenn's Punzone gets call of a lifetime

ALBANY - The phone call came late Wednesday afternoon. Glenn wrestling coach T.J. Brocking was relaying the good news that senior Vinny Punzone was awarded an at-large bid to the state Division I wrestling tournament in Albany.

The news gripped Punzone's imagination - that he could again live the dream of earning All-State honors this weekend. That possibility eluded Punzone after he finished the Suffolk Tournament in third place and failed to qualify for the state meet two weeks ago.

The news also came with the stark reality that Punzone had little time to get ready for the tournament. "I was so excited when coach called," said Punzone, who wrestles at 119 pounds. "But I knew I was nowhere near the weight class because the county tournament ended two weeks ago and I hadn't been training. So work needed to be done."

Punzone met Brocking at the Glenn gym for a three-hour workout late Wednesday night. Punzone lost nearly nine pounds. "I was 10 and a half pounds over the weight," said Punzone, who entered the tournament with a 41-3 record. "I knew there was a small chance and some hope. But I didn't think it would happen and I thought it was over."

Punzone was the next alternate in line after Wantagh's Joe Barbato, a wild card in the weight class, suffered a broken foot and couldn't compete.

"What he's doing is amazing," Brocking said. "He got himself ready and is taking full advantage of a second chance."

Punzone beat Columbia's Corey Southard, 11-2, in the opening round and followed that with a 3-2 nail-biter over Warwick Valley's Shane Connolly to advance to Saturday morning's semifinals.

The two wins guarantees All-State status for Punzone, something he thought wasn't possible two weeks ago when the dream was all but erased. His semifinal is another difficult hurdle. He'll meet defending state champion Nigel McNeil of Huntington, who is 38-0 and on a 78-match winning streak. McNeil beat Punzone in the Suffolk semifinals, 11-3.

"You have to be here to have a chance," Punzone said. "And I'm here."

Suffolk continues to roll. Suffolk, the defending state team champion, moved 16 wrestlers into the semifinal round. Nassau has eight. Suffolk has two semifinalists at 119, 125 and 145 pounds. At 125, senior Anthony Abidin of Half Hollow Hills East is the top seed and could meet Brentwood's Alex Gomez, the second seed, in Saturday night's final. Abidin meets Shenendehowa's Max Miller in a semifinal and Gomez will wrestle St. Anthony's Jimmy Morris in a semifinal.

Morris beat previously unbeaten John Pellegrino of Division with a late takedown for a 6-4 win. Pellegrino had won 56 straight bouts this season.

At 145, Longwood sophomore Nicky Hall won by overtime criteria in a rideout over Spencerport's Steve Maier in the ultimate tiebreaker. Hall, on top, was able to control Maier for 30 seconds for the win. Hall went on to beat David Hall of Fulton, with an overtime takedown, 3-1, in the quarterfinal round. He'll meet Iroquois junior James Kloc in the semis. Also at 145, Rocky Point's Matt Ross, who took third in Suffolk and earned a spot in the tournament as a wild card, won two bouts by decision and moved into the semifinals against Long Beach junior Dylan Palacio. It could make for an All-Long Island final.

Top-seeded Kyle Wade of Islip won two bouts by decision and improved to 39-0. Wade, who was the state runner-up at 152, will meet Beacon's Vin Grella in the semis. This is Wade's third trip to the state tournament.