16 Photos
River Gutierrez-Tyler takes down an East Hampton wrestler. MARIANNE BARNETT
River Gutierrez-Tyler placed second at 189 pounds at the Sprig Gardner Tournament. MARIANNE BARNETT
Raul Lopez placed second at 138 pounds on Saturday. MARIANNE BARNETT
Matt Scott is a key returning wrestler for Hampton Bays this season. MARIANNE BARNETT
Esteban Montoya works against a Ward Melville wrestler. MARIANNE BARNETT
Yammileth Veliz ties up with a Southampton wrestler. MARIANNE BARNETT
Sayer Boyce competing at the Sprig Gardner Tournament in East Hampton on Saturday. MARIANNE BARNETT
Bayman David Orellana MARIANNE BARNETT
River Gutierrez-Tyler works on nearly pinning an East Hampton wrestler. MARIANNE BARNETT
Yammileth Veliz defends against a shot. MARIANNE BARNETT
Kevin Saa Pacheco gets his arm raised after a win. MARIANNE BARNETT
Baymen River Gutierrez-Tyler and Agron Bytyqi placed second and fourth, respectively, at 189 pounds.
Raul Lopez and Zach Bahamondes placed second and third, respectfully, at 138 pounds on Saturday.
Michael Gutierrez won the 285-pound weight class at the Sprig Gardner tournament on Saturday.
Hampton Bays head coach Mike Lloyd, his coaching staff and wrestlers are excited about the support they’ve received from the school and athletic director John Foster in procuring a new set of practice mats for the team's wrestling room.
Baymen Chris Rojas locks up with his Westhampton Beach opponent. MARIANNE BARNETT
The Hampton Bays wrestling team finished last season with just 13 wrestlers, the same number of weight classes in the sport, and after getting hit hard by COVID-19, things were looking pretty grim for a program that had successfully built itself back up before the pandemic.
But Cooper Shay, the team’s only county placewinner last season, having finished fourth at 215 pounds, was the only wrestler who graduated, then the team, much to head coach Mike Lloyd’s surprise, gained 21 new wrestlers in the offseason. The program went from struggling to field a team by the end of last season to now actually having some depth at some weight classes, and Lloyd certainly appreciates it.
“We have an exciting and pleasantly surprising situation with so many new faces in the room,” he said. “We lost a bit of steam with COVID, and going into this season I was concerned if we would get enough kids to come out to fully field a team. The fuller room gives us the opportunity for wrestlers to get a lot of different looks, and challenges our kids to step up and be at their best.”
The Baymen have a solid group of seniors to lead the team this season, many of whom showed off their talents at the 44th annual Sprig Gardner Tournament at East Hampton on Saturday. Zach Bahamondes, who missed all of last season due to a shoulder injury, returned on Saturday to place third at 138 pounds; teammate Raul Lopez placed second in the weight class. Sayer Boyce and River Gutierrez-Tyler are also returning seniors at 189 pounds; it was Gutierrez-Tyler and Agron Bytyqi who placed second and fourth, respectively, at 189 at the Sprig Gardner.
Hampton Bays also has a handful of returning underclassmen who should fuel the team for years to come, including junior Esteban Montoya (110 pounds), and a talented sophomore group in Kevin Saa Pacheco (126), Matt Scott (138), Angel Valverde (145) and Anthony Choy (160). Nick Mora is another returning wrestler who placed fourth at 118 pounds at the Sprig Gardner.
The Baymen will continue to compete in League VII, the most competitive of the two Division II leagues, with Bayport-Blue Point, Elwood-John Glenn, Mount Sinai and Shoreham-Wading River.
Hampton Bays will host its annual Doc Fallot Memorial Tournament this Saturday, followed by a nonleague dual meet with Stony Brook on December 14 at 5 p.m., before the first league dual meet on December 21 at Glenn.
