Southampton Wrestlers Head to State Championships

Four Southampton High School wrestlers placed during the Division II tournament Saturday at Center Moriches High School, including two who were named county champions and will compete this weekend for state titles.

Mariners wrestling coach Lester Ware said sophomore Peter Strassfield, at 285 pounds, and junior Rafal Rokosz, at 220, won their weight classes and now head to the Times Union Center in Albany Friday for the two-day New York State Public High School Championship.

Sophomore Chris Osufsen placed third at 106 pounds, and Roberson Coard, also a sophomore, came in third at 142 pounds.

Ware said Rokosz won with three pins, then an injury default, after pinning Stephen Ostrowski, of Mattituck, in the first round, then Lucas Sokal, of Hampton Bays, and Jake Harrington, of Stony Brook. In the final, Rokosz faced Center Moriches wrestler Ryan Lewis, whose shoulder popped out, ending the match, Ware said.

Strassfield beat Nick Tesiny, of Mattituck, in 28 seconds the quarter finals and in the semis Strassfield pinned John Dertinger, of Babylon in 1 minutes 33 seconds.

In his final match, against Kevin Giron, of Hampton Bays — who had pinned Strassfield last year — Strassfield won in 5 minutes and 12 seconds with a pin. “He was beating Kevin 9-2 when he pinned him, so it was a big win on a lot of levels,” Ware said.

Overall, Southampton as a team placed sixth in the tournament.