Leo Mongiello, Sayville top East Islip in non-league wrestling
![Leo Mongiello of Sayville celebrates after a pin against Noah...](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.newsday.com%2Fimage-service%2Fversion%2Fc%3AZmZlOWJlZGYtZDhkMy00%3AOTRhOThlZmYtNGU5OC00%2Fsksay250130_gallery.jpg%3Ff%3DLandscape%2B16%253A9%26w%3D770%26q%3D1&w=1920&q=80)
Leo Mongiello of Sayville celebrates after a pin against Noah Hodge of East Islip in their 145-pound bout during a non-league wrestling dual meet at Sayville on Wednesday. Credit: David Meisenholder
Blinking is unwise when Sayville’s Leo Mongiello is on the mat. Any of the senior’s matches can be over in a golden flash.
Mongiello pinned Noah Hodge in 21 seconds at 145 pounds in host Sayville’s 36-31 non-league win over East Islip on Wednesday. The pin gave the Golden Flashes a 36-5 lead to clinch the dual meet with five matches remaining.
The Franklin & Marshall commit has been wrestling on Sayville’s varsity team since he was in seventh grade and has evolved into the program’s leader.
“He was all over the place as a seventh-grader and the seniors loved him because he was this fun, mischievous kid,” coach Gary Pesko said. “He’s matured every year since then. He’s been a staple of this program for a long time. When you don’t have a kid like him to look up to, it’s a lot harder for the younger kids to strive to be at that level.”
Mongiello has accomplished a lot in his six years at Sayville and recently earned his 100th career pin. But he still has two goals he wants to accomplish: win a county title and a state championship.
“The weight is a lot heavier… The fact that it’s the last time I’m going to be wrestling in high school. Tomorrow is my last dual meet at Sayville High School,” Mongiello said. “It’s not so much of a mindset change, but the urgency and the want is a lot greater.”
Mongiello was last year’s Suffolk runner-up at 138 pounds, suffering an 8-4 loss to Bellport’s Camryn Howard in the final. Two weeks later, Mongiello took a 7-5 decision over Howard in the quarterfinals of the state tournament, in which he placed fourth. He took third in the county at 132 pounds as a sophomore.
“Now that I’m a senior and I’ve looked back, I’ve learned to take every match the same way and not to make big matches bigger than they are,” Mongiello said. “I try to pass that mentality down to some of my teammates. Win or lose, you always can get better.”
Some of those younger teammates stepped up in a big way on Wednesday. Sophomore Javen Taff and junior AJ LaBella each picked up a 17-1 technical fall at 285 and 108 pounds, respectively. Eighth-grader Carmine Catapano pinned Liam Gleeson in 1:27 at 101 pounds.
Brady Spreckels won a 15-1 major decision over Marcos Quinones at 116 pounds to give Sayville (18-2) a 20-0 lead. Spreckels is a junior who entered the season on the bench but has worked his way into the starting lineup.
“He wrestled well and that’s the first time I’ve seen him wrestle that well for the entire match,” Pesko said. “He’s getting much better.”
During the final bout, Sayville assistant coach Frank Esposito exchanged playful words with his brother, Joe, an assistant coach at East Islip (16-5). Joe’s son, Jake, is an eighth-grader on Sayville’s wrestling team.
Said Frank Esposito: “I get bragging rights at Thanksgiving this year.”