Freshman Castillo and Senior O’Brien Impress at Nassau County Tournament

Vikings coach Anthony Schettino expected Christian Castillo to hold his own at the Nassau County wrestling tournament, and the freshman didn't let him down. He opened many eyes on the mats at Hofstra University's Mack Sports Complex in early February.

Castillo, wrestling at 130 pounds for Schreiber High, earned enough quality points throughout the season to earn a wild card bid into the county tournament – a blessing for anyone on the brink of wrestling at one of the best tournaments around, and the gateway to the New York State tournament.

Schettino wasn't nervous at all for Castillo. He knew first timers like him are often overwhelmed with the crowd and pressure, but figured he would have a few good matches at the very least.

That lasted but a mere second because, "Christian put that behind him and listened to his coaches," Schettino said, "he took it one match at a time."

Castillo opened the tournament with a pin in 5:23 against Levittown-Division's Jon Maldonado, then pinned Clarke's Ryan Lopez in 4:30 before losing to Syosset's Dan Gewolb in a quarterfinal decision, 13-5.

With the ability to wrestle back into the tournament in a consolation bracket, Castillo beat Baldwin's Dylan Cohen, 6-5, and was eventually ousted from the tournament when he was pinned by MacArthur's Angelo Rella, a senior, in 1:23.

"The good news is he will get three more shots at it since he's only a freshman," Schettino said. "Only this time his focus will be on the overall county title and not just placing. With freshman having this kind of success it's apparent that Port wrestling is doing something right."

Schreiber's other story from the tournament was senior Mike O'Brien and his battle against defending Nassau County champion Connor Horl from Garden City in the 215-pound quarterfinal. They battled into three overtime periods and Horl won, 9-5. O'Brien beat Tom Sinclair from Island Trees with a pin in 1:31 to open the tournament, and pinned Oceanside's Hector Quinton in 5:42 during the second round.

Like Castillo, O'Brien was awarded the chance to participate in wrestle backs to earn a consolation title. He started strong, pinning Glen Cove's Aaron Sylver in 2:09, but lost to Wantagh's Tom Hall, 11-4, in the next round.

"Mike proved to be one of the best heavy weights on Long Island," Schettino said. "He is one of the best heavy weights I have ever had the pleasure of coaching. Guys like Mike make coaching exciting and he has been a key component to the success of our team this season." 

O'Brien, who will wrestle at NYU next season, will be featured on the Port Wrestling Wall of Fame, having gone undefeated in dual meets this season, which includes 12 victories by pin.  

Senior Luke Klumpp, who wrestled at 245 pounds and finished with a 16-5 record this season, was eliminated in the second round of the tournament after Plainedge's Dan Spurgeon beat him, 15-0. Klumpp will wrestle at SUNY Brockport or Oswego next year.

Boris Joutovsky, wrestling at 135 pounds, lost in the first round to Sean Peters of Plainedge by pin in 3:20.

Schettino is optimistic for next season, even with the loss of Klumpp and O'Brien.

"If the younger guys on the team follow the off-season work ethic of leaders as Luke Klumpp and Mike O'Brien we will come back stronger then ever next season," he said.

Keep an eye out for underclassman Mike Froccaro, Cam Boroumand, Tony Kim, Chris Castillo, John Crawley, the Joutovsky Twins, Harry Weinstein, Lev Pinkus, Josh Dell and Anthony D'Aversa. They will solidify a terrific line-up for the Vikings next year.

"This wrestling program has unlimited potential," Schettino said.