Merante leads Sachem East in Rocky Gilmore
Sachem East's Frank Merante, left, defeated East Islip's Tyler Conway at 171 pounds in the Rocky Gilmore Wrestling Tournament. (Jan. 8, 2011) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
The diagnosis for Frank Merante was anything but optimistic.
The Sachem East senior wrestler had surgery on a torn ACL in August. Estimated recovery time: 6-9 months. But Merante banked on his uncanny healing powers and went about rehabbing for wrestling season, anyway.
Less than five months later, in his first tournament of the season, Merante defeated East Islip's Tyler Conway, 4-3, in the 171-pound final of the 24th annual Rocky Gilmore Classic at East Islip High School Saturday.
"It's always exciting to go against good competition," Merante said. "I knew if I wrestled my kind of match and at the pace that I like, I would win."
But the long road back to competition started in the summer, when he began rigorous physical training. Sachem East coach Sean O'Hara said Merante showed up for every scheduled therapy session and then some.
"The injury was certainly a big setback," O'Hara said. "We looked at it as something that would make him stronger if he could overcome it. I told him that, with hard work and perseverance, you could do things that most people don't think you can do."
Merante won his quarterfinal match on a 19-second pin and earned his way to the final with a 3-1 decision over Central Islip's Julian Ming in the semis.
In the final, Merante built a 4-0 second-period lead over Conway. A two-point reversal narrowed the lead to two, and with a minute left in the match, Merante was left holding on to a 4-3 advantage. On the precipice of a tournament crown, it was time to wrestle smart.
"If I found my opening, I would have gone for it because I'm very offensive," Merante said. "My main strategy was to make sure he didn't get at my legs."
Merante did not let that happen, but even in victory, there is still progress to be made.
"He certainly has a lot of work to do. He knows that," O'Hara said. "I'm sure a couple of the matches were closer than he would like, but it's a good steppingstone for him."
Sachem East took home the team title with 271.5 points, defeating runner-up East Islip by 41.5 points. The Flaming Arrows had eight tournament champions, including five champions.
At 140, Anthony Pistone of Sachem East beat top seed Eric Kogel of Mount Sinai in the semis, then defeated teammate Billy Merone, 8-1, in the final.
Frank Abbondanza of Mount Sinai won the 189-pound class and the tournament's most outstanding wrestler award. Abbondanza won three matches by pin, and in the final, he took down Central Islip's Dondre Bailey on a technical fall.
At 96 pounds, Jesse Dellavecchia was trailing 2-0 in the final minute when a three-point near fall gave him the win over Central Islip's Walter Ibanez.
At 103, Chris Powers of Mount Sinai earned a 5-2 decision over Kellenberg's Pat Skinner. Mount Sinai's Connor Stroh held on late to upend James Frost of East Islip, 4-2, in the 215-pound final.
