Sports

100 Things to Do: #77: Eagles Alumni Wrestling Night

Sit down with generations of Hauppauge's wrestling community as Hauppauge takes on Deer Park this Friday.

Entering its third year, the Hauppauge wrestling team's Alumni Night is quickly becoming an annual tradition that celebrates local history.

Hauppauge Eagles Wrestling will host its third annual Alumni Night this Friday, Jan. 20 as Eagles take on Deer Park at 6:30 p.m at. Dozens of wrestling alumni are expected to be traveling in from near and far to return to the gym and reminisce on all times.

In 2011, more than 40 alumni attended as they raised five banners for league championship teams that had been missing from the high school's gymnasium walls for years: 1962, 1966, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2009.

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The alumni night tradition was started by organizer Charlie Clackett, the head coach of Hauppauge's youth wrestling program and a Hauppauge graduate, to help bring together younger wrestlers and the alumni together.

Hauppauge's first 16-member after the district issued a call in the school newspaper for students interested in joining Suffolk County's league. It's first varsity coach was Bart Olsen, who was famous for teaching wrestling from a book, according to team captains Richard Bowman and Sal Dinolfo.

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Since then, the Hauppauge wrestling program has set a successful record winning Suffolk County's 'small school' championship three times in 1998, 1999, 2008. The varsity team has won their Suffolk County league title more than 20 times.

On Friday, Hauppauge varsity wrestling, currently 3-0 in League IV, will compete against Deer Park, who is 1-2, so far in the 2011-2012 season. The last time Deer Park Falcons beat the Eagles in a dual meet was back in 1995, by score of 27 to 31, according to Clackett.

The junior varsity wrestling meet will begin at 5 p.m. It will be followed by varsity meet at 6:30 p.m. which will honor this year's graduating seniors and include an alumni photo.

After the meet, wrestlers, alumni and their families will be gathering at on Old Willets Path to reminisce about the old days.


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