Sleepy Hollow newcomers top Rye

Sleepy Hollow newcomers top Rye
By Tony Pinciaro
The Journal News

RYE - Connor Tompkins had just concluded his match, winning by technical fall and increasing Sleepy Hollow's lead to six points.

The junior 189-pounder, who was wrestling up at 215, then sat and watched the final four bouts with the dual match against Rye on the line.

Sleepy Hollow was entering the unknown, as Tompkins was followed by a pair of eighth-graders and first-year varsity wrestlers in 96-pounder Kenny Marte and 103-pounder Chris Lopez. But after Marte and Lopez stepped off the mat following their matches yesterday, all the Headless Horsemen began to savor a victory.

Marte and Lopez were winners, propelling Sleepy Hollow to a 38-35 victory over Rye.

"They really showed us a lot," said Tompkins, who scored a 19-3 tech fall over Mike Tramontelli. "I had never seen them wrestle before, so I didn't know what to expect."

Marte and Lopez had earned forfeit wins in their first matches last week, so yesterday was their initial competition.

Marte opened his bout with the first four points and held off Garnets freshman Peter Kennedy 7-5. Lopez came out and registered a four-point move - a takedown and two back points - in the first 10 seconds against seventh-grader Eric Director. Lopez then pinned Director 13 seconds into the second period.

"When I had the forfeit last week, I wanted to get a match so badly," Lopez said. "I wrestled modified last year, and I knew wrestling varsity was going to be a lot harder. I didn't expect to do that good."

Lopez also felt the pressure of the situation. Even though Marte's victory raised Sleepy Hollow's lead to 32-23, Rye (2-3) was still in position to steal it.

"I was aware of the fact that if I lost, we could lose the match, so I wanted to try my hardest," Lopez said.

Lopez opened the second period by throwing Director to his back and punctuating the match. When referee Dave Warren slapped the mat, signifying a pin, Lopez felt a rush.

"I felt so good that I wanted to jump in the air and scream," he said. "To be on varsity and pin somebody in my first match feels so good.

"Then Connor told me I did a wonderful job. To have the captain congratulate me also felt good."

Marte preceded Lopez with a gritty win. He found himself on his back in the third period, but Kennedy did not keep him there. Marte rolled over to his belly and fended off Kennedy's late surge.

"Kenny showed a lot of heart and kept fighting to get up," Tompkins said. "Chris was extremely aggressive and didn't give his man a chance to do anything."

Even though Lopez's win clinched the team match, Rye answered with pins from Jesse Trumm (112) and Frank Lorono (119).

"I think this showed how much we have matured," said Rye junior 140-pounder Charlie Trumm, who won by first-period pin. "They also showed heart. Not knowing what to expect and then wrestling like we did against a team like Sleepy Hollow will only help us in the future."

Reach Tony Pinciaro at apinciar@lohud.com or 914-696-8234.