After their final home dual meet on Jan. 16, the Bonackers said goodbye to eight of their seniors, honoring them with flowers, photos, and bittersweet farewells.
“These kids deserve an opportunity to be recognized. We have 30 kids on the team, a thousand kids in the school, so that means 3 percent are actually participating in this? And you finished. You grinded,” Coach Ethan Mitchell said about his seniors. “Even if you had to take some days off, and you had to heal here and regroup there, you still did what you had to do and showed up all the time. It’s hard to show up every day and to keep battling and grinding. That’s what we try to prepare them for in life. I’m glad they stuck it out.”
One of the key lessons Mitchell hopes his seniors will take with them is the Latin phrase “sine metu.”
“It means without fear. And the message is, what would you even try to accomplish, let alone accomplish, if there was no fear of failing,” Mitchell said. “The more scary moments you have, the easier it gets. Not that it ever goes away, just that it gets easier and you know you can do it.”
Denisse Vinansaca — the only female senior — just joined the team this year. Coach Mitchell called her a true tough bub. “A girl wrestler coming out as a senior to wrestle? That’s crazy. She’s in a room filled with men. It’s awesome. It’s so great.”
John Geronimo rejoined the team after wrestling as an underclassman. J.D. Uribe started as a sophomore. Mitchell says he embraced the grind and always brought a terrific sense of humor to practice.
Frank Barrientos wrestled all four years and grew into a leader. Mitchell called him Bonac through and through. Matias Gonzalez was a two-year starter, known for his nasty fireman’s carry.
Francesco Palombino was a varsity wrestler all four years, posting 65 career wins. Mitchell called him one half of the best heavyweight duo Bonac has seen in a long time. The other half, Juan Espinoza, was a three-year varsity starter, two-time league finalist, and 2024 league champion. With 81 varsity wins, he earned the nickname Big Bird because he launches his opponents like an angry bird. Luca Borghi was also recognized, though he wasn’t able to attend the ceremony.
“Juan Espinoza and Franco Palombino for the last three years gave me no worries for the upper weights,” Mitchell recalled. “Collectively, I think they only lost 25 matches in three years. That’s a lot of really good wrestling. We’re looking for them to finally peak in this postseason.”
The senior honors capped off a hard-fought meet for the Bonackers, who hung tough against Hauppauge — the defending county champs who are in a three-way tie for first place — losing 49-26.
“We showed up. I’m very proud of how the Bonackers really went today,” Mitchell said. “We show we’re tough bubs at home, always. They really stepped up. They really wrestled hard.”
Bronco Campsey recorded his 109th win, at 126 pounds, making pretty quick work of Hauppauge’s James Loverde with a technical fall in 2:54. At 175 pounds, Brian Torres pinned Josh Sifuentes. At 215 pounds, Espinoza pinned Christopher Fulmer. At 285 pounds, Palombino pinned Dominick Green. Caleb Mott capped off the night, beating James Moccia of Hauppauge 6-3 in a sudden victory.
The Bonackers head into the back half of the season hopeful they’ll make it to the county and state championships.
“After this, it’s just getting the job done. Just get the W’s, get the hands raised, and move on to the next,” Mitchell said. “Suffolk sends three wrestlers automatically to the state championship, so even if we lose in the first round, there’s still hope for you to wear the Section XI singlet upstate.”
