Jack Rosen’s pin sparks Dalers to wrestling win
Tyler Sullivan of Farmingdale sizes up John Cannella of Oceanside in their 138 pound match at Farmingdale High School on Friday, January 6, 2017. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
Jack Rosen usually has anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to prepare for his wrestling matches at 195 pounds.
But the Farmingdale senior got some unexpected news from coach Artie Weidler just before the Dalers match against Oceanside last night.
“He told me, ‘We’re starting in two minutes, and we’re beginning at 195 (pounds),” Rosen said.
It’s usually the waiting game for the heavier weights in wrestling, but the 195-pound weight class was picked first to begin the match.
“I wanted to work for the pin and get us six early points,” Rosen said. “I was hoping everyone else would follow.”
Indeed they did. The host Dalers rattled off three straight pins — led by Rosen — and defeated Oceanside, 69-12, in Nassau I-B.
Rosen could only recall one other occasion in his four-year varsity career when he opened a match.
“It’s definitely a lot better to go first than to wait to face an opponent,” Rosen said. “It was exciting because we had a packed house.”
After Rosen’s pin in three minutes, Josh Desousa (220) and Ryan Charleston (285) also recorded pins as Farmingdale (2-0) led 18-0. Joseph Simons (120), Jalees Briggs (152) and Darrin Simons (182) also registered pins for the Dalers. Tyler Sullivan (138) earned a hard-fought, 4-2, decision over John Cannella in the match of the night, according to Weidler.
“We didn’t let up, and we didn’t make any mistakes,” said Weidler, in his first season as head coach. “We wrestle as hard as we can, and as long as we wrestle our best, whatever happens, happens.”
