Dylan Aristides, East Islip get on roll, pin down victory
East Islip's Dylan Aristides defeats Hauppauge's Nicholas Marsicano in the 118-pound weight class during a Suffolk wrestling dual meet on Wednesday at Hauppauge. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Dylan Aristides knew his team needed a spark.
East Islip fell behind by nine points after the first two matches of its dual meet with Hauppauge. With the Suffolk League V dual-meet title on the line, Aristides turned the tide.
The junior earned a takedown before pinning Nick Marsicano in 1:23 at 118 pounds to start a dominant five-match run for East Islip in its 51-20 victory at Hauppauge High School on Wednesday night.
“I started off a little bit slow on my feet, but I got on top and got the pin,” Aristides said. “I made sure to walk over to the bench and get everyone ready to turn this meet around. It’s tough starting out down 9-0.”
East Islip earned six more points via forfeit at 126 pounds. Then the pinfalls continued.
Sophomore Logan Alfalla pinned Elijah Infante in 44 seconds at 132 pounds, Justin Shayew pinned Michael LoVerde in 34 seconds at 138 pounds and Anthony Avitabile pinned Jackson Tacca in 1:09 at 145 pounds. Just like that, East Islip found itself with a 30-9 lead.
James Sturek notched a pinfall at 189 pounds and Nick Groneman earned a 4-2 decision at 172 pounds for East Islip (6-0, 17-0).
“Every single one of our guys fights,” head coach Mike Longobardi said. “Even the ones who lost today, you could tell they didn’t give up. We’re fighters and that’s what we love about these guys.”
The win clinched East Islip’s 12th dual-meet title in program history and second in the last three years. Hauppauge (4-2) won the Suffolk IV dual-meet title last year before moving to League V.
While East Islip has built a dominant wrestling program the last few years, the upperclassmen remember darker times. East Islip’s dual-meet title in 2021 ended an eight-year drought.
“I’ve been on the team for five years and we weren’t a very good team when I started,” said Shayew, a senior. “It really feels good to be at the top and see our hard work pay off.”
East Islip won the Suffolk V tournament championship last season, but the team has bigger goals this year.
“We’re trying to go further with this team,” Shayew said. “Of course we want the league championship, but we’re hoping for the county title too. We know we have something special.”
“We’re looking to dominate and finish in the top three in the state this year,” Aristides added.
