The Ted Petersen Annual Wrestling Tournament took place on Saturday, Jan. 8. Coach Petersen is a legendary, National Wrestling Hall of Fame member who coached at Island Trees High School for over 30 years.

The teams in the tournament this year included team champion Uniondale, which edged out Plainedge, which finished in second place. Island Trees and Long Beach finished third and fourth respectively. St. Anthony's, Freeport, Calhoun and Oceanside rounded out the field of teams.

At 96 lbs., Island Trees eighth-grade wrestler, Matt Eberlein, finished in fifth place. John Greisheimer from Oceanside took first place. Freshman standout Tom Willoughby of Island Trees was crowned champion at 103 lbs. and fellow classmate Nik Butrico also finished in fifth place a 103 lbs. At 112 lbs., Island Trees wrestler Juan Marin finished third in a tough weight class, won by P.J. Gillespie from Long Beach. Bryan Henriques from Island Trees finished fifth. Joe Custer from Island Trees won the 119 lbs. weight class and also took home the Most Pins in Least time Award. Aty 125 lbs. Tayvon McKenzie took first from Uniondale and Island Trees wrestler Tom Santamauro finished fifth. Island Trees wrestler Dan Eberlein finished third at 130 lbs., while Eduardo Delgado from Long Beach won the title.

At 135 lbs., Andrew Harrison from Freeport took first, while Julio Fuentes from Island Trees finished fifth. Kris Kellam from Island Trees finished second to champion Craig Ratley from Uniondale at the 140 lbs. weigh class. Tyshawn Patrick from Freeport won the 145 lbs. weight class. At 152 lbs. Chris Coradni from Island Trees finished fifth, while Brian Kaplan from Oceanside took first place. Rishaun English from Plainedge won a close match to finalist Mike Cama from Island Trees at 160 lbs. Mike Cama reached the 100th win milestone during the early stages of the tournament. Joe Ambrosio from Island Trees finished fifth at 171 lbs., losing in the quarter finals to champion Carlos V'Estes. Uniondale's Kris Barnes and Eric Burnett were crowned champions at 189 lbs. ad 215 lbs. respectively. At super heavyweight, Frank Lombardo from St. Anthony's took first place and Island Trees' Robert Nickel finished in sixth place Tayvon McKenzie was named Outstanding Wrestler for the Tournament.

This year's Ted Petersen Annual Wrestling Tournament was a huge success. The competition was fierce and the sportsmanship by all teams would have made Coach Petersen proud. Next year's tournament looks to be just as tough and will, hopefully, include a few more teams. Keep an eye out for the Island Trees Wrestling program.