David Corrales scores a takedown for John Jay. Jake Llanos gets ready to throw his opponent to the mat in win over Rye. Austin Omin squeezes for a pin against Rye. Photos by Jim MacLean. Jeff Quinlan rolls his opponent onto his back for a pin. Jim MacLean Photos
By JIM MACLEAN
One day at a time, one match at a time, the John Jay wrestling team continues to turn in an impressive season for first-year varsity head coach Mark Swertfager.
It was another busy and productive week for John Jay as the Wolves won two more dual-meet matches and then competed in the Hen Hud tournament on Saturday and finished second overall as a team, trailing only eventual champion Lakeland/Panas.
“The kids wrestled really well at Hen Hud and took second as a team, with a couple of champions and two second-place finishers,” Swertfager said of the tournament. “The team is looking good and picking up the intensity for the last four weeks of the season.”
At Hen Hud, it was a pair of underclassmen taking home individual titles as sophomore Ryker McCarthy won the 285-pound title, and freshman David Corrales won the 101-pound crown.
McCarthy has been out of the lineup, but he made the most of his return on Saturday against a tough field to win the crown. It wasn’t easy as both his matches in the semifinal and final went down to the wire and were decided by one move.
“He’s been fighting some illness and injuries, but he’s back,” Swertfager said of McCarthy. “He had a sudden-death win in overtime over the Hen Hud kid who took second in the section last year, and then he beat Dan Hurley of Lakeland/Panas 2-1 in the finals. He goes out there and executes, hopefully moving in the right direction for a big finish.”
While McCarthy survived two tough matches to win his crown, Corrales made it look easy as he cruised to the 101-pound title.
Corrales has steadily improved and has taken Section 1 by storm as he currently has a 28-1 overall record on the season.
“He’s looking good, doing everything we’ve asked of him and he’s really getting after it,” Swertfager said of Corrales. “He dominated all of his opponents.”
Senior captains Austin Omin and Jojo Kern also had a big day for the Wolves as they both advanced to the finals. Omin finished second at 152 pounds, and Kern was second at 160 pounds.
Two days after the tournament, John Jay met Hen Hud once again, this time in a dual-meet at home for the Wolves. It was senior night at John Jay and the Wolves made the most of the opportunity in front of the home crowd to pull away for a 58-12 victory. Swertfager said the highlight of the match was senior Braden Mulcahy with a big win at 145 pounds for the Wolves.
“It was senior night and Braden Mulcahy stepped up and really came through, that was a big win to help us win that match,” said Swertfager.
Prior to the Hen Hud tournament, John Jay hosted Rye for a dual-meet Jan. 9, and the Wolves pulled away for a 48-21 victory, but it came at a price as senior captain Craig Holm-Joergensen won his match as he was injured on a body slam and he will miss the rest of the season.
The highlight of the match for John Jay came at 170-pounds as senior captain Jake Llanos rallied from behind and won his match by pin. In addition to Llanos, Corrales, John Aniello, Omin, and Jeff Quinlan all won their matches by pin.
With the two wins, John Jay improved to 15-6 overall in dual meets as the Wolves were in the running for the league title in second place behind Briarcliff/Byram Hills/Valhalla/Westlake.
“Against Rye the kids wrestled well, and Jake Llanos pinned a kid who placed second at sectionals last year so that was a big win for Jake,” said Swertfager. “Overall, a good day, but losing Craig hurts our lineup. The season is going well for us and we’re looking to compete for the league championship, but without Craig it will be a tougher task.”
John Jay will compete in the Putnam Valley tournament Saturday, Jan. 18, and the Wolves then travel to Yonkers on Saturday, Jan. 25, for the Westchester County Championships.