North Shore Sun

Coming off a fifth-place finish in last year's state tournament, Longwood sophomore Malik Rasheed had the odds well in his favor to earn an at-large bid to this year's state tournament after losing in the county final.

Rasheed, to no one's surprise, was the second wild card selected and was seeded fifth in the 112-pound bracket. But the Lions got an added bonus when they found out late Saturday that Ben Lee, the 285-pound county runner-up, also earned a spot in this weekend's tournament.

Lee was the fifth wild card based on the formula used to determine the at-large bids, making him an alternate. Lee, a senior, lucked out when Section X produced no 285-pounder, creating an extra spot in the bracket. He'll now get to participate in his first state championship, where he's seeded eighth and will face David Brown of Flushing in the opening round.

"We've been pretty lucky with the alternates," said Longwood coach Mike Picozzi.

Last year, Rasheed was an alternate and earned a spot into the tournament when another wrestler dropped out. He made the most of his opportunity, going 3-2 at 103.

At 112 this year, Rasheed faces a very competitive bracket. He opens the tournament against a wrestler who took third in the state last year, Jimmy Morris from St. Anthony's. Rasheed beat Morris earlier this season 6-1 at the Whitman Duals.

Picozzi said he wasn't sure if the bracket might be adjusted to separate two returning All-State wrestlers in the first round.

Rasheed was seeded fifth in the bracket. The top eight seeds are the only wrestlers seeded.

Picozzi said he still liked Rasheed's chance of reaching the semifinals, which would guarantee him at least a top-six finish. If he were to win, the quarterfinals would pit him against either the fourth seed, Brandon Ling of Penfield, or Deuly Espinal of Grand Street.

All the Section XI wrestlers have been working out at John Glenn High School to prepare for the state tournament.

The Lions nearly got a third wrestler into the competition, but Patrick Jennings was an alternate and did not get the nod. Jennings, a third-place finisher at the county tournament, was the fifth wild card at 152. Jennings did not place in the county tournament last year, which hurt his chances of a higher at-large spot.

T.J. Fabian of Shoreham-Wading River, a third-place finisher at 96 in the county tournament, was an alternate and did not get into the tournament.

Rocky Point's three county champions each received the top seed in their bracket. Stephen Dutton, Anthony Volpe and Billy Coggins all enter the tournament as the favorite. Six Section XI wrestlers in total were awarded the top seed. Nine out of the 15 top seeds are from Long Island, including Section VIII and Catholic schools.

The state championship begins Friday morning at Times Union Center in Albany. The quarterfinals begin at 2:30 p.m. Friday and the semifinals start at 10 a.m. Saturday. The finals begin at 6 p.m. Saturday.

joew@northshoresun.com