SECTION XI CHAMPIONSHIPS
Heaney books return trip to Albany with sectional title
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Joe Mankiewicz of Babylon, on top, twice got the better of Bishop McGann-Mercy's Matt Stetler.
The Mattituck/Greenport high school wrestler won his second sectional championship in four years Saturday to qualify for the state tournament that will be held Feb. 26 and 27 in Albany. Heaney scored a 6-0 decision over John Proios of Port Jefferson to win the Division II 189-pound title in the L. Robert "Doc" Fallot Section XI Championships at Stony Brook University.
Heaney, who had breezed through his first three tournament bouts in pins that consumed only 1 minute 53 seconds the day before at Center Moriches High School, brought his season record to 33-0 with 22 pins. The senior's career record stands at 112-30.
Riverhead's Edwin Perry (in white) had all he could handle in his loss to Rocky Point's Stephen Dutton in the Division I 140-pound final.
"This match I didn't feel 100 percent," he said. "I was, I don't know, a little nervous maybe. I felt weak. I went out there trying to play it safe, but I should have been more offensive."
The way Heaney flew through the first day of the two-day tournament, perhaps he was bound to slow down somewhat. Just look at what Heaney did to his first three opponents: Henry Read of Bishop McGann-Mercy, a pin in 15 seconds; Oliver Mendez of Hampton Bays, a pin in eight seconds; Josh Smith of The Stony Brook School, a pin at 1:30.
Mattituck/Greenport freshman Tomasz Filipkowski made notable improvement this season, finishing up as a Section XI runner-up at 152 pounds with a 25-10 record.
"He didn't wrestle too great in his final match, but he got the job done, and that's really what it's all about," Mattituck/Greenport Coach Cory Dolson said. "Now we're going up to the state tournament. He's going to have to wrestle better than he wrestled in the finals here if he wants to do well upstate, and I think he can."
Heaney had competed in the state tournament as a freshman, losing both of his bouts that year in Albany. This time around, though, he's much better prepared.
Mattituck/Greenport senior Sean Heaney, right, said he didn't feel at full strength, but he was still strong enough to post a 6-0 decision over Port Jefferson's John Proios in the Division II 189-pound final.
Heaney was the only one of the four Tuckers who reached the finals to win. Mynor Javier was pinned by Michael Menzer of Center Moriches at 3:05 of their 103-pound bout. Tomasz Filipkowski, wrestling at 152 pounds, took a 9-4 loss to Dylan Flynn of Hampton Bays. Brandon Lake was decisioned by Kasten Carter of Bayport-Blue Point, 5-1, at 171 pounds.
Javier finished the season at 22-10, Filipkowski at 25-10, and Lake at 18-10. "Luckily we have those three guys returning [next season], which is nice," said Dolson.
Edwin Perry was the only Riverheader to reach the Division I finals, but Perry had the misfortune to run up against Rocky Point's wrestling machine, Stephen Dutton, who only the day before became Long Island's all-time wins leader, passing Jesse Jantzen. Jantzen had collected 221 wins over the course of his career with Shoreham-Wading River from 1994 to 2000 before becoming an NCAA champion for Harvard in 2004.
Dutton, a senior, was in firm control of the 140-pound final, and was leading by 10-0 before pinning Perry at 3:35 for his fourth sectional championship. It was the 33rd pin of the season for the 45-0 Dutton, a returning state champion who raised his career mark to 223-12. The senior hasn't lost since he was a sophomore.
In recognition of his achievement, Dutton was voted the Division I champion of champions, as voted by the division's champions. "He's a technical wrestler," Perry said of Dutton. "He wrestles all year-round and he's just a good wrestler all the way through. It's just kind of hard to just get to do what you want off him."
Perry completed his senior season as a league champion and county runner-up with a 32-3 record.
"He was the second-best kid in the weight class," Riverhead Coach Rocky Davey said. "Unfortunately, you have the best kid in the state in it."
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