Wrestling Team Finishes in Top Five at City Champs

The Hornets square up against Murrow on December 15. *Photo: Continental Studios*

By AVIELLE KRENDEL-SMYSLOV, CAROLINE PYCHYNSKI, and DIANA ANISHCHANKA

Although the wrestlers did not make it past the first round of playoffs this year, losing 36-31 to Jamaica High School, they persevered in the NYC Mayor’s Cup and City Championships, placing 6th and 5th respectively.

The first round defeat was a “huge disappointment,” said Mr. Michael Dowd, the team’s coach, “but our focus this year is on individual tournaments because we have three guys who are potentially city champions.” Those wrestlers are Evin Gursoy ‘25 in the 110 lb weight class, David Khozayev ‘26 in the 126 lb weight class, and Robert Dizengof ‘25 in the 138 lb weight class. “We never had more than one before,” Mr. Dowd said.

Those three team members, plus Firdavs Fayzullaev ‘23, made the top 10 in the Mayor’s Cup, a tournament between the top public, private, and Catholic school teams in the city. Dizengof beat Justin Lee from Murrow in the semi-finals, Fayzullaev placed 10th, David Khodzhaev placed 5th, and Gursoy won his second Mayor’s Cup as a sophomore.

Gursoy finished 6-0 in individual matches this year, and Khodzhaev had a nearly perfect season with a 5-1 record.

The incredible wrestling did not go unnoticed by the team and its coaches, who have high hopes for the players.

“[Gursoy] has only gone to one big one, but it was the eastern states,” said Mr. Dowd. “He came in second, but most of the best guys in the state were there. He'll be there in cities. He's a shoo-in to win it. And then the question is, is he going to be PSAL’s second ever state champ? Cause we've only had one in PSAL history. And certainly Midwood has never had one.”

“David [Khodzhaev] has already been dominating the city as well,” said Captain Makzim Semkiv ‘23. “He's up there as one of the top wrestlers. And he’s a freshman, so when there's a high chance that he's going to win cities, it’s really, really impressive. Speaking as one of his practice partners, he's just such a good person. He works hard, and he constantly pushes me to do better, which is why I value him so much.”

The team credited their strong record to the wrestlers’ commitment.

Kahramon Ergashev ‘23 said, “We’ve got some amazing new recruits. And our experienced wrestlers have been going extra hard.”

Semkiv said, “Overall, our cardio is great. Our team has been running stairs constantly. We try to keep up a high pace.”

Even with the hustling, there have been some weaknesses to address.

Semkiv said, “We don't really do much strengthening exercises, because we want to spend time wrestling itself.”

Ergashev said, “This weight cutting thing where you have to lose weight by a specific period of time, that's been the most challenging.”

Some hardships are out of the team's control. For example, there are rarely enough wrestlers to cover every weight class. “We don't have anybody at 285 lbs, so we have to forfeit that weight class every time we wrestle, which means we are already starting off losing six points,” said Mr. Dowd.

But the rewarding aspects of the sport, Khodzhaev said, such as “the competition levels, the excitement,” and “being number one in tournaments,” make it worth it.

Ergashev said, “The most rewarding thing is when you realize all your hard work is not in vain. You could actually accomplish something.”

This season might be over, but the wrestlers and coaches are already preparing for next year.

“We’re losing a few good seniors, but we have a lot of really good young guys who keep getting better,” Mr. Dowd said. “We hope that all the new guys workout off-season. We’ll focus more on identifying their mistakes early on and working to fix them.”

The team’s coaches would also love to fill their weight class gaps next year.

“We're in desperate need for bigger, heavier wrestlers,” said Coach Brian Gaun. “We dominate at the lower weights, but too many of the big kids in the school are afraid to join the wrestling team because they hear it's too hard. I assure them that if they come out for the team, we will make them strong enough to dominate their weaknesses.”

The wrestling team’s goals are not just win, win, win. They are improve, improve, improve. They’re focused on each individual person and helping them become the best they can be.

“All my coaches are great,” Ergashev said. “They shaped me into the wrestler I am today.”