Francia paces Lynbrook wrestlers

Lynbrook's Chris Francia, right, continued his big season on the mats by winning the 195-pound title at last Saturday's Nassau Qualifying Tournament hosted by Syosset.

Neil Miller/Herald

Ranked second among Nassau wrestlers competing in the 195-pound weight class, Lynbrook’s Chris Francia didn’t disappoint last Saturday in the county qualifying tournament hosted by Syosset.

Francia, a senior, dominated the competition to capture the qualifier and will be one of four Owls headed to Hofstra for this weekend’s Nassau Division I championships that begin on Saturday morning. Francia, who is ranked behind only Plainedge’s Robert Oliver and figures to be in the mix for a county title, capped the qualifier by pinning Mike DiBennedeto of Massapequa in the finals and upped his record on the season to 26-2.

“Chris came up just short of making All-County last season and has progressed a lot since then,” Lynbrook coach Rich Renz said. “He was visibly upset after that loss and came back this year on a mission. He’s been wrestling really well since the season started.”

Francia, who hasn’t loss a match this season to any Nassau public school opponent, is in his fourth varsity campaign and came up through the high school program from the Lynbrook Titans youth league. “He’s our top kid,” Renz said. “He’s a captain and a very good leader. We’re hoping he goes really far and makes a run at the county championship.”

Joining Francia in the county tournament will be sophomore Anthony Arena (132 pounds) and freshmen Zachary Kornberg (138) and Matt Swanson (106.) Renz said he was hopeful senior Andrew Ferrall would gain a wild card spot at 126 after placing fifth in the qualifier.

Arena was runner-up to Mepham’s John Sherlock in the qualifier after winning his first two bouts. “Anthony’s an extremely hard worker and I think he’s got a good chance of placing in the top six in the county,” Renz said. “It’s within reach for him.”

Kornberg also reached the finals of the qualifier, where he came up short against Jericho’s Ryan Wu after recording a pair of wins. “Zach’s been a tough kid to beat all year,” Renz said. “He’ll get the experience he needs at the county tournament and we’ll see what he can do.”

Swanson, who suffered only two regular-season losses, went 2-2 at the qualifier in what was a stacked weight class won by Mepham’s Joel Zambrano. “Matt had a couple of close defeats,” Renz said. “I think he’ll have a good showing at Hofstra.”

The Owls finished the regular season with a 7-6 record in dual meets.