On Saturday, the wrestling squad sent a strong contingent to the Division II Suffolk County Championships. Three Bears wrestled their way into the semifinals and onto the podium to give the season a satisfying crescendo for coach Mark Maningo.

Kyle Broomes, in only his second season with the team, nearly grappled his way into the 145-pound finals, but settled for an impressive 3rd place finish after winning three bouts on the day. In the quarterfinals, he topped Mattituck’s Lucas Johnson, 9-7, before falling to the eventual 2nd place finisher, Dallas Brett (Port Jeff), with a pin at the 3:20 mark. In the consolation bracket, Broomes continued to fight, pinning Southampton’s Damari McFadden at 4:23 to earn a spot in the 3rd place bout. In the final match of his Stony Brook career, Broomes went out a winner, topping Mattituck’s Tom Salice, 5-3, to take 3rd place in an 11-wrestler bracket. Coach Maningo marveled at what Broomes was able to accomplish in such a short time with the program and believes he could have been “one of Stony Brook’s best” with a little more time in the room.

The 4th-seeded Jake Tutuska built on last year’s impressive 4th place finish by wrestling into the 152-pound finals and nearly taking the crown. He beat Kevin Farina (Center Moriches) 10-5 in the opening round and then pinned Southampton’s Selvin Chubmaquin at the 1:08 mark of his quarterfinal match to set up a bout with the top-seeded Ayden Muhs (Hampton Bays). The eighth-grader made quick work of Muhs, winning a 9-0 decision. Tutuska wrestled hard in the finals, but eventually succumbed to Center Moriches’ Bel McFarlane, 14-7, to earn a 2nd place finish in the 13-wrestler bracket.

The 3rd-seeded Harry Hou was the Bears’ other 2nd place finisher, wrestling his way into the final match of the 195-pound bracket. He received a bye into the semifinals where he pinned Port Jeff’s Ryan Walsh in just 0:56. He fell to Mattituck’s talented Tanner Zagarino in the finals to earn the runner-up spot.

Senior Tom Hull also won a match for the Brook. He beat Jackson Perez (Hampton Bays) 5-4 before falling in the quarterfinals to the eventual 182-pound champion, Tim Schmidt (Mattituck).

Check out the complete results here.

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