With its first full season in two years, Lynbrook varsity wrestling has set its goals high. Some wrestlers would like to be All-County; others want their team to succeed in the upcoming tournaments. Whatever their goal is, LHS wrestlers plan to go far and not be stopped.

Junior Shawn Healy has great expectations for the team in their upcoming tournaments in Long Beach and at South Side High School.  “I can see a lot of us qualifying for counties, and hopefully we have some all-county wrestlers,” Healy said.

Healy shared that the team is very supportive and pushes each team member to improve. “Coach Richard Renz always preaches about hard work and pushes us to our limits to improve every day,” Healy added.

When asked about his goals for the season, Healy said he wants to prove the doubters wrong. “I think a lot of teams in the county are counting us out this year, but I am hoping to shock some people this year and do some damage in the dual meet playoffs and tournaments this year,” he said. “We have a great group of guys this year and the potential for a bunch of guys to go far in counties this year.”

Senior Tyler Ippolito said he does not plan on giving his final season on the LHS wrestling team anything less than his best. “We have a small team with a lot of good wrestlers, and I think that we will have a successful season,” said Ippolito.

“Wrestling against different kids in practice helped me not only get better, but the people I wrestled against get better,” Ippolito said when asked how the team has helped him improve so far. He said his personal goal is to “win many matches” and hopefully make it to the All-County competition. 

Senior Andrew Director also has high hopes for this season. “We have a lot of good wrestlers who fill up most of the weight classes, and our strong, full lineup should help our team do well in the 2021-2022 season,” he said. Director shared that the team has a “great group work ethic, where everyone is always pushing themselves and others to do their best.”

Director strives to rank high in the conference, county, and eventually, the state. “I hope we can all improve, and every wrestler on the team can feel fulfilled and get enjoyment from the sport,” he said.