Mac Attack: Grapplers McNeil and McQueen Are State Champs

In the nearly five decade history of the state wrestling tournament, no school has enjoyed the unbridled success achieved by Huntington High School. The Blue Devils added to their lore when Nigel McNeil and Damon McQueen won state championships in dramatic fashion and Louis Puca finished second at the Times Union Center in Albany last Saturday night before more than 4,000 fans.

The three Huntington wrestlers put on a remarkable show, going 11-1 and leading the Blue Devils to a second place finish in the team standings with 67.5 points, just five points behind champion Rocky Point.

"Everyone followed the plans we laid out," second-year head coach Kieran Mock said. "We scouted out each match and went over what to look out for and how to attack. We're very happy with how our guys wrestled."

McQueen's victory at 119 lbs. was one of the most exciting of the two-day competition as he toppled defending state champ Grant Greene of St. Anthony's, 9-7 in sudden victory overtime. The only time the Huntington senior led in the title bout was at the final buzzer.

Greene jumped out to quick lead off a takedown and seemed superior on his feet, but McQueen kept it close enough to allow his excellent conditioning to play a factor in the final two minutes.

Trailing 7-4 in the third period, the second seeded Blue Devil superstar escaped and then notched a critical takedown before barely riding out Greene in the final seconds to force overtime. The St. Anthony's junior, who was seeded first, attempted a takedown seconds into the extra frame, which McQueen (42-1) managed to fight off before launching a blistering deep shot of his own to nail a takedown of his own and lock up the 25th state title in Huntington's storied history.

One bout earlier the third seeded McNeil (38-0) capped a spectacular season by methodically racking up an 11-2 major decision of Longwood sophomore Malik Rasheed to grab the 112 lb. state crown. The Huntington star reached the finals after turning back Whitesboro junior Mike Sardo by technical fall, 16-1, battling to a 9-1 major decision of LaSalle freshman Brandon Goldup and topping second seeded Somers sophomore Brian Realbuto in a wild semi-final match, 13-10.

After gaining a wild card entry to the state tournament following a second place finish in the Section XI championships at 160 lbs., Puca made every match count in Albany, upsetting the second and third seeds during an improbable march to the finals.

The Huntington junior pinned Jacob Moose, a Canton junior in 0:45 seconds in the first round before stunning Corcoran senior Lamont Fleming in the quarterfinals, 11-10 and coming from behind to decision John Jay-Cross River senior Scott Genovesi in the semi-finals, 5-2.

Puca (37-5) lost in the finals to returning state place-winner and season nemesis Anthony Volpe of Rocky Point, 11-4. Volpe topped Puca in the Suffolk finals, too, 7-2.

Mock left Albany and headed to Lake George with his family to unwind after a more than satisfying post-season run. He spent Sunday savoring the memorable performance of the three Blue Devil greats. "They kept up their intensity, stayed level-headed during every match and gave us something to always remember," the coach said.

Blue Devil Notes: McNeil's step-brother, Stef Sair was in the corner during the finals . . . Sair is a Blue Devil assistant and won a state title in 2002 for Huntington and NCAA title in 2007 for SUNY College at Cortland . . . McQueen's 42 victories set a new single season record for the Blue Devils . . . Puca's father, Lou, was a conference champion and All-County wrestler for Huntington . . . McQueen, who reached the finals after winning 6-2, 8-6 and 8-2 decisions, has now finished first, second and third in the state tournament . . . Section XI – Suffolk ran away with the Division I team title scoring 280.5 points, 88.5 points ahead of runner-up Section VIII – Nassau . . . McNeil and McQueen are Mock's first state champions as head coach . . . Mock won a state title of his own in 1982 for Huntington and head coach Lou Giani . . . Giani is now working as an assistant coach for the Blue Devils after stepping down following the 2008 season . . . The state tournament will be held in Albany at the Times Union Center in 2011 and 2012 . . . A drop in this year's attendance to 11,865 fans from 13,956 in 2009 was blamed on the snowy weather . . . Friday's session drew a crowd of 3,688 and the semi-finals Saturday morning attracted 4,153 while 4,024 fans attended the finals, which took four hours to complete.

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