Mount Sinai's Brayden Fahrbach takes fourth Suffolk Division II wrestling championship
Mt. Sinai's Brayden Fahrback reacts after defeating Port Jefferson's Cade Delgado in the 138-pound weight class during the Suffolk Division II wrestling finals on Friday at Center Moriches. Credit: George A Faella
Mount Sinai senior Brayden Fahrbach is not looking too far ahead. The defending state wrestling champion is methodically taking care of business one match at a time.
Fahrbach, the top-ranked wrestler in the state at 138 pounds, pinned Port Jefferson senior Cade Delgado in 37 seconds for his fourth Suffolk title at the Division II championships Friday night at Center Moriches High School.
“The goal this season was to stay healthy and keep winning,” said Fahrbach, who has committed to wrestle at Appalachian State University. “I’ve been solid all season and very consistent."
Fahrbach is 39-0 and knows what awaits him in the state tournament at the Times Union Arena in Albany, Feb. 24-25.
“Our weight class is loaded and I’m looking forward to the competition,” he said. “There are two defending champions in my class. The challenge is there, and I’ve got two weeks to prepare.”
Two-time defending state champion Gianni Silvestri of Tioga and state champion Jordan Joslyn of Chautauqua Lake will stand in Fahrbach’s way of a second state crown.
“He just needs to be Brayden and go out and do his thing,” said Mount Sinai coach Matt Armstrong.
Shoreham-Wading River freshman Gavin Mangano defeated Frank D’Elia by technical fall 15-0 in 2:44 to win the 131-pound title. Mangano, a state runner up last year, improved to 45-1 after sweeping through the tournament for his second Suffolk crown. The technician added the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award to an already full trophy case this season. He was also named the MOW at the prestigious Eastern States tournament at Sullivan County Community College where he beat two-time defending state champion Matt Marlow of Northport.
“He’s on a mission,” Shoreham-Wading River coach Joe Condon said. “He’s super focused on that state title. He’s had an incredible season.”
Glenn junior Tommy Aiello won his third Suffolk crown when he pinned Port Jefferson senior David Argyos in 1:21 at 108 pounds. Aiello, the defending state champion, improved to 35-6. Shoreham-Wading River senior Chris Colon decisioned Glenn sophomore Aiden Lee, 12-4, to capture his second Suffolk title. Colon finished fifth in the state as a junior and improved to 40-4.
Mount Sinai sophomore Antonio Faldetta took the next step in his career. He took second in last year’s Division II tournament but would not be denied this season. He pinned sophomore teammate Parker Menechino in 1:32 to capture the 101-pound title. Glenn’s Anthony Bell also finished second in the county tournament last year and returned to claim a crown. Bell avenged an early season 6-4 decision loss to Port Jefferson’s top-seeded Nick Comito with a hard-fought 3-2 win.
“It felt awesome to come back and beat him,” said Bell, who also plays soccer and tennis. “I did all the extra work during practice this season, to focus on building my upper body strength. I put in the extra work and it was totally worth it. Now the goal is to earn all-state."
It was the second year in a row Port Jefferson teammates Chase Davis and Nick Rodriguez met in the final. Davis came away with a 7-4 win to take the 116-pound crown and made sure his teammate knew it was a well wrestled bout. The two embraced in a sign of sportsmanship, walking off the mat together to the delight of the crowd.
“It’s just a mental battle with both of us,” Davis said. “He wants to beat me, and I want to beat him and we both understand one of us is going to win. There’s no other person I’d rather be wrestling in the county finals than him. We’re both going to the state tournament so I couldn’t be happier.”
Rodriguez said, “It’s always so much fun getting to wrestle each other but especially at this level, it’s special. He’s a great opponent. It’s always a tough battle but at the end of the day this is my brother on and off the mat.”
Glenn crowned three champions and totaled 302 points to claim the Division II title. Mount Sinai had two champions and finished second with 250 points, while Port Jefferson had three titlists and scored 214 points.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
