Friends of Long Island Wrestling

03/29/2026

Look out NCAA! There's a Hurricane coming!

Congratulations to senior Dunia Sibomana (Long Beach) on winning the 120lbs bracket at NHSCA Senior Nationals. He wins 9-6 over 3x Missouri state champ Kaison Schreier in the finals.

Sibomana is now a 4x NHSCA All-American having previously finished 3rd, 5th, and 2nd. He ends his senior year on top of the NHSCA podium.

03/25/2026

We are saddened by the loss of our brother Peter Schlick, who passed away while getting ready to officiate a middle school wrestling match last Thursday.
He will be missed.

View Peter R Schlick's obituary, contribute to their memorial, see their funeral service details, and more.

03/23/2026

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The New York Downstate Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is proud to recognize its finalists for the prestigious Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award and Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award, honoring outstanding achievement in wrestling, academics, and leadership.

Finalists
Tricia Saunders Award: Haley Gonzales (Hicksville), Gabrielle Severin (Bethpage)
Dave Schultz Award: Devin Downes (Plainedge), Dunia Sibomana (Long Beach)

Downstate Winners
🏆 Haley Gonzales
🏆 Dunia Sibomana

Each state selects one male and one female honoree to advance through regional consideration, with the opportunity to earn national recognition.

The Downstate Chapter proudly congratulates all finalists for their exceptional accomplishments and extends best wishes to Haley Gonzales and Dunia Sibomana as they advance to the next stage of the selection process.

03/07/2026

We lost a great one this week.
In the mid '60s, when Nassau County Wrestling was the best there was, one of the very best was Johnnie B. Harris.
105lb Champion from Hempstead High, he was the State's first two time Champion, (1963, 64).
One way to measure how good someone was is to campare them to who they beat. In this case, John beat Oceanside's John Morley twice in the County Final.
How good was John Morley? He went on to be a five time National Freestyle Champion.
Johnnie made his career at Hempstead High School where not everyone knew him for his athletic exploits but loved him for his cheerful nature and solid work ethic.

https://www.hartnettfuneralhome.com/obituary/John-Harris

02/18/2026

Peaking at the right time.
EIWA Championship begins March 6th at American University, Washington DC.

A 3️⃣-0️⃣ week with two falls and a decision over a nationally-ranked opponent earns Gauge Shipp EIWA Wrestler of the Week accolades.

02/15/2026

It's with profound sadness that we announce the passing of one of our founders, Pascal Perri.
Pascal wrestled at Mepham High school during the glory days of his Coach,Frank "Sprig" Gardner.
His teammate at Mepham and Syracuse University was his lifelong friend Kenny Hunte.
After Syracuse Perri officiated 17 NCAA Division I Championships and 27 consecutive Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships. He also worked three National AAU championships, the Olympic Trials, three East-West College All-Star championships, and a host of other regional and national qualifying tournaments.
For all his accomplishments, Pascal remained friendly and approachable, always helpful to all referees.
Here he talks about one of his more famous matches.
Check out this video, "pascal perri referee"

When Dan Gable, in 1970, stepped onto the mat for his third NCAA title and a combined high school and collegiate record of 181-0, there was only one person in the arena at Northwestern University that thought he could win. That man was Gable’s opponent, Larry Owings. Mr. Perri who is a very young ...

12/13/2025

AThis is going into a lot of scrapbooks, or at least it would have for decades.
Coaches and fanatic parents had marble notebooks with the box scores of all the matches pasted in them.
They used them for seeding meetings and dual meet strategies.
Page A25 NEWSDAY Saturday, December 13, 2025.
Stop at the deli and pick up a copy.

12/07/2025

Back to work today with a 2 p.m. match against nationally ranked Wisconsin at the Mack Sports Complex. Free 👕 for the first 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ fans. Visit GoHofstra.com/coverage for video/scoring links.

11/30/2025

11/11/2025

Al Bevilacqua was a patriot.
His path didn't mean wearing a uniform but he prepared hundreds of young people for it.
It's fitting that he was born on Veterans Day, he had love, respect and gratitude for those who served.
This retrospective was created by his daughter, Nora Wheeler.