6 members of Northport HS varsity wrestling team not allowed to compete in competition due to scheduling error
Six students on the varsity wrestling team at Northport High School will not be allowed to compete in a big competition due to a scheduling issue.
More Stories
Six students on the varsity wrestling team at Northport High School will not be allowed to compete in a big competition due to a scheduling issue.
The kids and their parents say the wrestling coach accidentally had them participate in too many tournaments during the regular season - and that prevents them from continuing in the postseason.
“For us to compete for a whole entire season and then it being stripped away just hurts," said Kingston Strouse, a senior at Northport High School.
Northport High School students say the big varsity wresting league tournament is this Saturday, and winners get to go on to the county tournament and eventually state.
But six members of the team say they were told Wednesday they can't compete, and their season is over.
The superintendent of Northport tells News 12 the district reached out to the state to request a review of the decision.
A spokesperson for the state Education Department says the commissioner has not received an appeal under Education Law 310 concerning this issue.
The parents of the affected students say they hired a lawyer and are going to court in Riverhead Friday to ask a judge to let the kids compete.
“After all the practicing and hard work, I put in I finally got good enough to go and now this whole opportunity to prove myself is just gone. I'm just devastated," said Strouse.
The state Education Department tells News 12 it is aware of two recent cases where parents successfully obtained temporary restraining orders that allowed students to participate in athletic competitions.
The Northport students and parents hope they have the same success.
