Flynn, Sair and Bradshaw Headed to National Championships

Huntington High School wrestling alumni Pat Flynn, Stephon Sair and Shaheim Bradshaw are all headed to college national championship tournaments in coming weeks. 

Flynn, who is competing on the Nassau Community College team this season, is currently ranked third in the country at 133 lbs. in the National Junior College Athletic Association.  He earned a berth in the national tournament February 25-26 at Rochester, Minnesota by capturing first place in the Mid Atlantic Championship regional qualifier.  The Nassau Community College team is ranked first in the nation in its division.  Interestingly, Nassau assistant coach Sam Thomas is a Huntington wrestling alumnus himself.

“We think Pat has the skill and conditioning to be an All-American and a real shot at winning the national championship,” Blue Devil head coach Lou Giani said.  “All of us in the program are proud of our kids and wish all of them well.”

Sair won the 174 lb. Empire Conference crown last weekend to advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament on March 4-5 at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.  The SUNY College at Cortland sophomore is 17-0 after starting the season late due to his participation on the varsity football program for the Dragons. 

In the Empire tournament, Sair knocked off top seeded Matthias Keib of Ithaca in the finals, 3-2.  Earlier in the day he edged Gus Mancini of Rochester Institute of Technology, 8-5 in the semifinals.  Sair’s effort helped lift Cortland to a third place finish in the tournament.

Bradshaw, who is 16-10 in his freshman season with SUNY College at Brockport, earned a wild card entry into the NCAA Division III tournament after placing third at 157 lbs. in the Empire Conference.  Bradshaw lost to nationally ranked Dustin Winn of SUNY College at Oneonta, 6-4 in overtime before coming back to pin RIT’s Nate Bachman and then posting a 9-8 victory over Cortland’s John Franchi.

Bradshaw’s contribution helped Brockport upset heavily favored Ithaca in the team standings, 97-87.  One of the top programs in America, the Golden Eagles are coached by Huntington graduate Don Murray (’61), who is a member of the college wrestling Hall of Fame.   

A fourth recent Blue Devil wrestling alumnus was not as successful as his former teammates.  Chuck Guttilla, who has compiled an 11-18 mark this season for SUNY College at Oswego, dropped two matches in the Empire Conference tournament, losing to Keib of Ithaca in quarterfinals, 11-1 and then falling to RIT’s Mancini, 4-0.  Oswego finished fourth in the competition with 44 points.

Earlier in the season Sair and Guttilla faced off when their teams met in a dual meet.  Sair came out on top, winning a 23-8 technical fall in 6:23 to lead Cortland to a 20-18 victory on February 2. 

Flynn won a pair of state titles and three Suffolk crowns for Huntington while Sair won the 2002 New York State championship.  Bradshaw was the state high school runner-up last winter.