DeTore Hits Century Mark; 'Canes Score Tourney Win

By Brett Mauser

Westhampton's Pete DeTore pinned Bay Shore's Joe Silipo for win number 101, the third of four triumphs he had in the Hurricanes' tournament victory on Saturday. Photos by Brett Mauser

Westhampton Beach - The Westhampton Beach Dual Meet Tournament is a landmark on the Hurricanes' schedule not only because they wrestle in front of their home crowd, but it's always served as a springboard into the League VI schedule. It vaulted them to historic heights last year, and they're hoping for a similar boost in 2010.

The Hurricanes made it look easy against Center Moriches (61-6), Bellport (60-9) and Bay Shore (59-9) to set up a clash with Central Islip, which outdueled Deer Park, Newfield and Mattituck in the other round-robin bracket. Two forfeits aside, Westhampton won nine of 11 matches to beat the Musketeers 44-18 for their second straight championship in the annual event.

Cory Hubbard's win by major decision versus the Bay Shore 130-pounder was one of four triumphs on the day for the senior co-captain.

"Right now, they're starting to come together like they did last year," Hurricanes head coach Paul Bass said. "This week was a real test for them as a team. We had a great week at this time last year and we were hoping to do that this week. We head off to the duals at West Islip and we'll see if we can win that too."

Entering the day with 98 wins, it was only a matter of time before DeTore hit the milestone. The senior 119-pounder drew within one by pinning Center Moriches' Sasha Pulver at the 4:58 mark. Number 100 was his quickest on the day as he stuck Bellport's Aidan Lundstrom at 1:20 of the first period, earning him a loud ovation from the Hurricane faithful. He accomplished the feat 10 months after the other 'Cane co-captain, Cory Hubbard, hit 100 at last year's League VI championships. Conner Bass could become the third; he entered the year with 73 varsity wins and has cracked 80 already as a junior.

DeTore added a third pin against Bay Shore's Joe Silipo and a major decision over CI's Giovanni Sanchez to bump his total to 102 heading into Wednesday's dual meet against Shoreham-Wading River. Considering the heights to which DeTore hopes to climb in 2010, he's less concerned with the number of wins he accrues now than with the choice few he hopes to earn at March's Division 1 county tournament.

"It's great - I wish I wrestled in eighth grade - but it's really not that big a deal to me," DeTore said. "I'm really focusing on counties."

A headlock secured Matt Mazarakis' second win of the day, a pin of Bellport's Aaron Rodriguez at the 1:08 mark.

It's a sentiment shared up and down the Hurricane lineup, which looked impressive as it lost just three matches from the 112- to 189-pound weight classes all day. Altogether, eight wrestlers recorded four wins, joining Tim Daly (112), Conner Bass (125), Hubbard (130), Zach Bass (135), Brian Higgins (140), Matt Mazarakis (160) and Brian Kobus (171). Only Zach Bass and Kobus swept through by way of four wins by fall.

Bass said that Higgins had the toughest path to perfection, winning three of his four matches by decision. That included a 5-1 victory over CI's Josh Duperoy in the finals. His efforts helped him own Most Outstanding Wrestler honors.

Hurricanes 125-pounder Conner Bass sizes up his opponent as they circle the mat.

"He wrestled very well," Bass said. "He had a great day. Every match that Brian wrestled was against one of the teams' better guys. He's been up and down a little bit, so this was good to see."

For all the triumphs, it was a stand-up performance against one of the state's best that might have stood out more than anything. At 152 pounds, Westhampton's Scott Carey squared off against Central Islip's Andy Rodriguez, last year's 140-pound state champ. The two were locked in a tight match when Rodriguez illegally slammed Carey to the mat; Carey could have won by disqualification but chose to continue wrestling, ultimately losing 10-8.

"Right from the get go, he was in there with him," said assistant coach Bob Emmons. "He's been down a little bit, but he came off the mat telling me 'he ain't that tough,' and this is after he got hurt. [Scott] is a little limited on his feet, but his defense is a good offense. He's quicker than heck and he showed it against Rodriguez."

Carey and Bobby Garone (189) each finished their days with three victories, their only loss coming in the fourth and final duel.

Westhampton came off a dual meet loss to Brentwood, which reached the semifinals at the prestigious Union-Endicott Duals this past weekend. Previous to that, the Hurricanes logged a second-place finish at the Half Hollow Hills Tournament. DeTore, Conner Bass, Mazarakis and Garone took first at their respective weight classes while Zach Bass, Higgins and Carey were runners-up. Commack narrowly won the team title, with Westhampton second and West Babylon, Kings Park and Bellmore JFK rounding out the top five. The Hurricanes' opponents in the duals consisted of 38 county qualifiers from last year.