Part of Jean Carlos Almendarez wanted to give up.
The senior wrestler from Brentwood was nearly pinned in Wednesday night’s doubles meet against Patchogue-Medford as his team fell two points behind the Raiders.
Almendarez held his breath ahead of the third period of his game, level with his competitor in an opposing gym.
“I had to assert myself for my team,” said Almendarez. “Physically I was drained. But mentally I was there.”
Almendarez scored five points in the latter stages of his game, earning three crucial points for Brentwood’s dual-meet score. After Brentwood suffered a pin in the previous weight class, Almendarez retook his team’s lead.
Brentwood (9-0) was no longer on course for a 33-23 win over the Raiders (7-3).
“That was great because it pushed my team to do better,” said Almendarez. “I had to improve and show my team that we can get back into the game.”
Brentwood has won the last two Suffolk Dual Meet Wrestling titles and is still the standard in League I.
School’s 138-pound wrestler Diego Martinez stopped Patchogue-Medford’s momentum after the Raiders celebrated their first fall of the doubles meet. Julien Perez finished the competition with Brentwood’s only other fall of the night at 215 pounds.
“[Patchougue-Medford] had all the momentum,” said Brentwood coach Ralph Napolitano. “We needed Jean Carlos to come in and get the momentum back. He wrestled a great third period for us.”
Brentwood won back-to-back in three consecutive 110-126 pound weight classes for a 15-5 lead.
But Patchogue-Medford, who won the 2020 Suffolk League I dual-meet championship, then went on to win four games out of five, as evidenced by the 132lb tumble of Zack Ginas and the 160lb tumble of Cameron Travis.
“We fought hard,” said Patchogue-Medford coach Tom Anello. “It’s a long season, but every time you fight Brentwood, they’re a tough team. They’re well trained, they’re a great program and we fight with them every year.”
Brentwood ended this fight with three straight wins, starting with Almendarez’s win and ending with Perez’s downfall. Brentwood also earned an important six points in the 285-pound division from a loss that left the Raiders without a competitive wrestler.
“In the end, I knew our heavyweights would come through for us,” Napolitano said. “If we win our league and hopefully get a good seed, we’re going to love fighting at that [county] Competition.”
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