99 Pounds (By Section)

1: Tyler Aslanian (Edgemont)

2: Luis Weierbach (Hoosick Falls)

3: Alex Herringshaw (Holland Patent)

4. Joe Nelson (Oxford)

5: Tony Recco (Lyndonville)

6: Dylan Lundmark (Southwestern)

7: Ethan Feazelle (Peru)

8: Nick Casella (Locust Valley)

9: Dean Stanton (Tuxedo)

10: Tanner LaPiene (Ogdensburg Free Academy)

11: Lucas Webb (Mattituck)

P: Dolan McColgan (Petrides)

A1: Andrew Flanagan (Holley)

A2: Dylan Wood (Walton)

A3: Joe Dillon (Nanuet)

A4: Alexis Bleau (Schoharie)

106 Pounds (By Section)

1: Vinny Stokos (Nanuet)

2: Carter Merecki (Salem)

3: Ryan Snow (General Brown)

4.Lucas Malmberg (Marathon)

5: Corey Hollister (Perry)

6: Drew Marra (Olean)

7: Kyler Agoney (Peru)

8: Hunter Dusold (Locust Valley)

9: Austin Ingraham (Highland)

10: Aaron Bush (Gouverneur)

11: Michael Menzer (Center Moriches)

P: Cheick Ndiaye (Brooklyn International)

A1: Cody Carberry (Chittenango)

A2: Sean Ballard (Whitney Point)

A3: Jerome Gladney (R-C-S)

A4: Matt Boyle (Batavia)

113 Pounds (By Section)

1: Trey Aslanaian (Edgemont)

2: Kyler Harrington (Hudson Falls)

3: Laken Cook (Ilion)

4. William Koll (Lansing)

5: Austin Keough (Warsaw)

6: Ryan Kromer (Lew-Port)

7: Max Marte (Peru)

8: Jack Leguelaff (Oyster Bay)

9: Declan Dwyer-McNulty (Red Hook)

10: Dylan Stowell (Gouverneur)

11: Hunter Hulse (Stony Brook)

P: Edwin Uruchima (Robert F. Wagner)

A1: Sean Peacock (Midlakes)

A2: Cody McGregor (Tonawanda)

A3: Pat McCarthy (Fredonia)

A4: Nate Hayes (Windsor)

120 Pounds

1: Anthony Calvano (Nanuet)

2: Zach Marcel (Corinth)

3: Pat Webster (Adirondack)

4. Scott Stafford (Sidney)

5: Sam Recco (Lyndonville)

6: Dakota Gardner (Fredonia)

7: Codie Gillette (Saranac)

8: Cassidy Exum (Oyster Bay)

9: Eric Januszkiewicz (New Paltz)

10. Zach Ayen (Gouverneur)

11. Justin Underwood (Bayport-Blue Point)

P: Metin Vrlaku (Petrides)

A1: Jeff O’Lena (East Rochester)

A2: Andrew Lazickas (East Aurora)

A3: Al Aubin (Whitehall)

A4: Austin Ryan (Unatego)

126 Pounds

1: Drew Longo (Ardsley)

2: Noah Valastro (Hudson Falls)

3: Nick Tighe (Phoenix)

4. Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich)

5: Dylan Rifenburg (Pal-Mac)

6: Renaldo Rodriguez (Cheektowaga)

7: Jordan Bushey (Peru)

8: Ryan Arnel (Oyster Bay)

9: John Hodes (Rondout Valley)

10. Skyler Way (Gouverneur)

11. Sean Kelly (Babylon)

P: Abubokarr Sow (Brooklyn)

A1: Corey Dake (Lansing)

A2: Emory Rowe (Ripley)

A3: Dustin Greene (Chenango Valley)

A4: Jake Nicholson (Waterloo)

132 Pounds

1: David Occhipinti (Croton)

2: Curt Rowley (Duanesburg)

3: Wesley Blanding (Chittenango)

4. Connor Lapresi (Lansing)

5: Clyde Carey (Addison)

6: Tom Page (Eden)

7: Jacob Goddeau (Peru)

8: Robert Heney (Locust Valley)

9: Collin Dimler (Rondout Valley)

10: Joey Love (Gouverneur)

11. Ryan Hake (Bayport-Blue Point)

P: Paul Schoenberg (Baruch)

A1: Kevin Strong (Frewsburg)

A2: Matt Herringshaw (Holland Patient)

A3: Frank Garcia (Norwich)

A4: Jessy Williams (Windsor)

138 Pounds

1: Dean Rogener (Westlake)

2: John Diekel (Whitehall)

3. Anthony Finocchiaro (Canastota)

4. Adam Greene (Chenango Valley)

5: Quinton Murphy (Holley)

6: Jude Gardner (Fredonia)

7: Nick Forget (Peru)

8: Matt Long (Mineola)

9: Ian Morse (Rondout Valley)

10: Nate Murdock (Ogdensburg Free Academy)

11. Dylan Roberts (Port Jefferson)

P: Anthony Padulo (Baruch)

A1: Isaiah Riccio (Beaver River)

A2: Dan Reagan (Lewiston Porter)

A3: Matt McCauley (Royalton Hartland)

A4: Matt Dillon (Nanuet)

145 Pounds

1: Brett Pastore (Irvington)

2: Geno Brancati (Hudson Falls)

3. Nathan Silverthorn (General Brown)

4: Kyle Halliday (Chenango Valley)

5: Austin Hedges (Letchworth)

6: Jake Baer (Olean)

7: Hunter Carpenter (NAC)

8: Jordan Formicola (Locust Valley)

9: Ricky Treu (Red Hook)

10: Jake Demmon (Clifton-Fine)

11. Dom Evangelista (Port Jefferson)

P: Adis Radoncic (Riverdale Kingsbridge)

A1: Tyler Button (Phoenix)

A2: Drew Hull (Royalton Hartland)

A3: Mitch Janes (Port Byron)

A4: Connor Lawrence (Duanesburg)

152 Pounds

1: Scott Porter (Pawling)

2: Nick Gallo (Schalmont)

3: Derek Pfluger (Sandy Creek)

4: Dan Dickman (Greene)

5: Brooks Boyle (Lyndonville)

6: Ben Haas (Salamanca)

7: Jackson Suderland (NAC)

8: Blake Meyer (Oyster Bay)

9: Paul Sommer (Rondout Valley)

10: Curtis Fuller (Gouverneur)

11. Paul Cavanagh (Port Jefferson)

P: Max Zhang (Baruch)

A1: Tristan Hamner (Medina)

A2: Tyler Spann (Adirondack)

A3: Tyler Newton (Bolivar Richburg)

A4: Conner Fox (Midlakes)

160 Pounds

1: Mike Boyle (Dobbs Ferry)

2: Aaron Dudley (Hudson Falls)

3. Jared Soule (Sandy Creek)

4: Mike Beckwith (Greene)

5: Chris Nevinger (Letchworth)

6: Zach Buckley (Fredonia)

7: Justin Kellett (NAC)

8: Joe Massaro (Mineola)

9: Austin Weigel (Onteora)

10: Brenden Ward (Gouverneur)

11. Travis Baskerville (Center Moriches)

P: Tyson Simon (Petrides)

A1: Hayden Wagner (South Seneca)

A2: Tyler Silverthorn (General Brown)

A3: Matt Fisher (Oneida)

A4: Brandyn Ainsworth (Johnstown)

170 Pounds

1: John Messinger (Putnam Valley)

2: Brad Burns (Hoosick Falls)

3. Zach Zupan (Canastota)

4: Ryan Wolcott (Waverly)

5: Burke Paddock (Warsaw)

6: Nick Mitchell (Frewsburg)

7: Troy Seymour (Peru)

8: Rob Morgan (Oyster Bay)

9: Mike Rauch (Red Hook)

10: Andrew Cole (Ogdensburg Free Academy)

11: Tomasz Filipkowski (Mattituck)

P: Isaiah Blake (Baruch)

A1: Marcus Dwaileebe (Olean)

A2: Adam Hughey (Watkins Glen)

A3: Mike Green (Cobleskill)

A4: Matt Casullo (Berne-Knox)

182 Pounds

1: Oliver Mold (Pawling)

2: Mike Morris (Salamanca)

3. William Koelmel (Immaculate Heart Central)

4: Keegan Cerwinski (Greene)

5: Tim Schaefer (Warsaw)

6: Tony Lock (Pioneer)

7: Nate Wood (Saranac)

8: Dylan Rankin (Oyster Bay)

9: Andy Martinez (Liberty)

10: Kyle Bigwarfe (Gouverneur)

11. Brian Loskamp (Babylon)

P: Nathanael Rose (Eagle)

A1: Dallas Mesick (Duanesburg)

A2: Cody Houppert (Beaver River)

A3: Mike Beers (Walton)

A4: Jeff Day (Letchworth)

195 Pounds

1: Dan Breit (Nanuet)

2: Zach Diekel (Whitehall)

3. Austyn Hayes (Phoenix)

4: Ryan Todd (Lansing)

5: Bryce Mazurowski (Avon)

6: John Nickerson (Maple Grove)

7: Ben Perry (Saranac)

8: Dave Gorry (Mineola)

9: Dustin MacKenzie (Onteora)

10: Hunter Ayen (Gouverneur)

11. Chris Baglivi (Mattituck)

P: Miguel Perez (Eagle)

A1: Tyler Smith (Midlakes)

A2: Jeffery Lake (Alden)

A3: Mark Viviano (Bainbridge-Guilford)

A4: Kegan Levesque (Norwich)

220 Pounds

1: Matt Acevedo (Pawling)

2: Joe Sprung (Berne-Knox)

3. Travis Conklyn (Canastota)

4: Kyle Stanton (Greene)

5: Zach Bacon (Hornell)

6: Austin Blackley (Barker)

7: Luke McKee (Peru)

8: Ian Estevez (Oyster Bay)

9: Dominique Vales (Eldred-Fallsburg)

10: Brayden Wood (Gouverneur)

11: Kevin Giron (Hampton Bays)

P: Christopher Durazzo (Petrides)

A1: Nick Talcott (Tioga)

A2: Travis Harvey (Alfred-Almond)

A3: Mike Silvis (Holley)

A4: Dillon Hurlbert (Marathon)

285 Pounds

1: Obum Anyichie (Pleasantville)

2: Alex Soutiere (RCS)

3. Brandon Fayle (Lowville)

4: James Merritt (Owego Free Academy)

5: Kacee Sauer (Holley)

6: Matt Montesanti (Medina)

7: Hayden Head (Beekmantown)

8: Ricardo Salinas (Carle Place)

9: Anthony Tufano (New Paltz)

10: Nate Sarkin (Ogdensburg Free Academy)

11: Harrison DeSousa (Bayport-Blue Point)

P: Elvin Gervacio (Brooklyn)

A1: Brian Ervin (VVS)

A2: Derek Wise (Cassadaga Valley)

A3: Dan Ognibene (Alexander)

A4: Reid Castner (Penn Yan)

By Matt Diano

If you are an avid follower of the Long Island scholastic wrestling scene, surely you already know the name Craig Vitagliano.  The accolades earned by this Nassau native are sure to command your attention: three-time Nassau County Champion, the 1990 New York State Champion for Plainedge High School, four-time varsity letterman at Harvard University and University National Freestyle Champion, among others.

But perhaps you don’t know him from his competitive days on the mat.  Maybe instead you know him as “The Guru” on Flowrestling, a devout student of international competition armed with one of the most extensive video libraries in the world.  If you are one of the 60 kids (and growing) that belong to the Ascend Wrestling Club based out of Hicksville, you might simply know him as “Coach.”  But, the question remains, who really is Craig Vitagliano?

While cognizant of all that he has accomplished in the sport in a short period of time, he much prefers to talk about the student-athletes who have brought a new sense of joy and pride into his life.  Once you get him talking about his wrestlers, you should be prepared to allocate the rest of the day to that conversation; that is how passionately he feels about working with the next generation of Long Island wrestling royalty.  This characteristic is seemingly contagious because when approached, his wrestlers could not say enough about how much the coach has helped them both on the mat and in life.  Thus, in fitting fashion, don’t let me be the one who tells you who Craig Vitagliano is, let’s us hear it directly from the mouth of his disciples.  (Excerpts, full quotes can be found at: http://ascendwrestling.com/testimonials.html).

“Every time Craig and I get together I learn something from him. He is honestly one of the best technicians I’ve ever been around. I haven’t met anyone else who cares for me and this sport as much as Craig. Not only is he a father figure to me but he’s my inspiration.”

–Mark Raghunandan (2011 NYS Runner-up, 2010 Fargo Runner-up)

“Since joining Ascend Wrestling Club and Craig Vitagliano after my sophomore year in high school everything started clicking. Before joining the club I was a pretty average wrestler with a ton of potential and no real technique. Along with my coaches at St John the Baptist I truly owe all my success to Coach Craig. He was able to take this potential and turn it into productivity. Without his desire and determination to make everyone in our room better none of us would be where we are today.”

–Jimmy Gill (2x CHSAA runner-up)

“Craig has drastically improved my wrestling, because he focuses on every little aspect and detail of technique. Craig simply watches you wrestle and in seconds is able to fine tune your every move and put forth some of the moves he knows that he thinks will best suit you.”

— Pat Skinner (2x CHSAA State Champion; 2011 NYS placewinner)

“One of the best things about Craig is he will show you moves that best fit your style. He won’t try to make you into a wrestler you’re not.  All you need to do is show him you want to learn and he will do everything he possibly can for you. He is a very affable person and one of the best technicians I’ve ever met.”

 –Danny McDevitt (2011 Nassau County runner-up)

“The technique that Craig shows is unmatched by any other coach that I have seen. Every single part of the move he is showing is put into specific detail; sometimes it would take him 15 minutes to go over a single move. If you look at the wrestlers that Craig has coached you can see that he has truly influenced every wrestler that goes to his club.”

–Christian Dluginski (2011 Nassau County Champion)

“Craig has not just been a coach for me, but a mentor for all different aspects that I’ve been involved with. He helped me through the recruiting process, dieting and controlling my weight, and transformed my wrestling abilities to where they are today, and I think the biggest impact that he’s had on me is that I’m now really a student of the sport.”

–Chris Perez (2x Nassau County Champion; NHSCA Senior National runner-up; current Princeton Freshman)

“Craig has made a huge impact on my life.  That is what makes a true champion, the person behind the champion, the person who stuck through it with them to the end and never gave up on them, the true champion is the one who trains the champion.  Craig is definitely a person in my book that I will always look up to and be thankful to forever.”

–Ryan Singh (2011 Nassau County Champion)

Such heartfelt sentiments are precisely what Vitagliano was aiming for when deciding to start the Ascend Wrestling club two years ago.  When he returned to the sport circa 2004 it was not necessarily Vitagliano’s plan to form a club.  However, it just happened that way.  Two kids became four, then eight, then 16, and so forth. But now that the wheels have been set in motion, Craig has remained loyal to his vision of what a wrestling club should entail: a spot that not only offers student-athletes the opportunity to train 12 months a year, but also allows them to establish relationships and friendships with peers who will not only enhance them as wrestlers, but as people as well.

“Where else are you going to find the opportunity for a Mark Raghunandan to train with a Pat Skinner, Ryan Singh, or Robert Person?” Vitagliano said.  “It just would not happen if not for the existence of clubs like Ascend.  My goal is to expose these kids to the best workout opportunities possible.  As has become the USA Wrestling motto, steel really does strengthen steel.  Therefore, I do everything I can to make it happen.”

As successful as the results have been on the mat since the inception of the club, Vitagliano is very quick to point out that Ascend stands for much more than just winning matches.  Instead, what he gives him the greatest satisfaction is preparing these high school students for the real world.  The discipline, commitment to craft, and camaraderie that one encounters when stepping into the Ascend Wrestling room are values and attributes that extend behind wrestling. They have purpose in the outside world. Wrestling is the method by which greater qualities and traits are instilled.

From a strictly wrestling standpoint, Vitagliano, ever modest, is the first to tell you that he does not have all of the answers.  He recognizes that there are certain techniques and approaches that he is not as adept at teaching.  Rather than allowing this to be an obstacle, Vitagliano does whatever is required to arrange for guest clinicians to work with his developing wrestlers.   Already, Ascend has welcomed former NCAA Champion Mitch “Make it Happen” Clark to teach leg riding, Long Island icon/4x NYS Champion/NCAA Champion Jesse Jantzen to teach the crab ride, and 2010 NCAA Champion/2012 Olympic hopeful, Max Askren, to give a tutorial on funk and scramble positions, to name just a few.

“Having all of these great guys come into the room is not just valuable to the high school kids; I also learn something from it,” he said. “As good a coach as I may be, I am always learning and looking to improve.  My objective is to help the kids develop a full repertoire as a result of their involvement with Ascend.  I don’t want them to just know how to execute moves.  I want them to incorporate the cerebral elements with the physical actions.  It is just as important to be a student of the sport and understand why a certain technique or strategy will work at a specific moment as it is to be able to hit the move flawlessly.  Wrestling is like chess; it’s a thinking person’s game.  Bringing in the best of the best just reaffirms this message.”

Vitagliano is hesitant to say too much on the growth of club training and personalized coaching, emphasizing that what’s most important is molding and changing the lives of the kids.  Vitagliano wants to work with everyone and thinks that we all have a stake in helping kids to grow as wrestlers.  In his own career, he cited at least a dozen names of people who cultivated him as a wrestler (coaches Terry Haise, Al Bevilacqua, Paul Gillespie Sr., John Hamilton, Ron Abbatelli, John Walter, as well as peers Brett Gould, Eddie Leonard, Tom Sinacore, just a sampling). He believes the club system is just one tool in getting the desired outcomes.  And, from where he is standing, other sports (baseball, tennis, golf) have demonstrated that this nature of instruction is invaluable to facilitating the greatest amount of improvement.  Supporting him in this belief is legendary wrestler/coach John Smith of Oklahoma State.  In sharing a conversation he had with the former six-time World Champion, Vitagliano indicated that according to Smith, thanks to clubs, “Kids are better today than they were 20 years ago. And, regions and certain states that were once weak are now flourishing.”  The club system may be new to the Empire State, but it has been around wrestling for decades.  Hence, if other states have shown the effectiveness of the approach, why not embrace it?

When asked to reflect on what his time at Ascend has meant to him, Vitagliano paused before saying, “It’s made me a happier man, as well as a better husband and father to my two young girls.  Professionally, I was doing quite well while working in New York City.  But, you can’t put a price tag or a value on the emotions that overcome you when you see a kid like Ryan Singh make such dramatic sacrifices to achieve his dream, or when you watch as [Chris] Perez reads his acceptance letter to Princeton.   You can’t make enough money to replace these feelings.  And, best of all, I know there will be many awaiting me in the future.”

So who is Craig Vitagliano?  He is the selfless, never tiring, enthusiastic gentleman who cares more about your success than he does his own.  He is the man who will sit with you in the wrestling room till midnight so that you make weight the next morning.  He is the man who may be able to teach you more about life than he will about takedowns or tilts and, he is the man who if given the chance, can make you a better wrestler than you ever thought you could be.   Before our interview, I had never met Craig Vitagliano; now I consider him a man who I will go to bat for any day of the week and twice on Sundays.  He’s the kind of man you’d be lucky to have mentoring your son or daughter.

By Betsy Veysman

Matt Leshinger was voted the Champion of Champions at the Suffolk County Championships on Saturday night on the campus of Stony Brook University.  According to his coach Gary Pesko, he didn’t vote for himself, but he was in the minority, as his performance clearly impressed his fellow title winners.

The unseeded Sayville junior also attracted the attention of the coaches, who named him the Most Outstanding Wrestler (MOW).

“I wasn’t sure whether the wrestlers would vote for him for Champion of Champions because you don’t know what the kids are going to do,” Pesko said. “But I knew that if he didn’t get MOW, something was wrong.  There were other tough weight classes at the tournament, but no one else had to go through what Matt did this weekend to win a title.”

To capture the 120-pound crown, Leshinger defeated three of the top eight ranked grapplers in the Empire State.  The gauntlet started in the quarterfinal round when he faced Sean McCabe, who took third at the state tournament in 2011 at 112 pounds.  The Connetquot senior was 32-1 coming into the weekend and was the top seed.

“I knew he was a great wrestler and I had to be at my best to beat him,” Leshinger said. “He beat me in the semifinals at this tournament last year.”

This time, Leshinger turned the tables, securing a takedown on a high crotch late in the third period to earn a 3-2 victory.

It didn’t get easier from there for Leshinger as he next squared off against Mark West of Hauppauge, the 2010 state champion at 96 pounds.   At the Eastern States in January, West topped Leshinger 5-3.

Once again, Leshinger avenged a defeat, edging West 3-2 on another third period takedown to move on to the finals.

In the championship bout, the Sayville grappler faced a familiar foe, TJ Fabian of Shoreham-Wading River.  The two wrestlers split a pair of one-point decisions this season, including Fabian’s 3-2 triumph over Leshinger a week ago.  On Saturday night, it was another tight bout, which Leshinger captured in double overtime.

“I knew it would be another tough match against him,” Leshinger said.  “I was down 3-2 in the third period but I knew eventually, if I kept shooting, I would take him down.”

Leshinger did just that, but Fabian was able to escape to send the bout to the extra session.

In the tiebreakers, Leshinger rode Fabian for the entire 30 seconds and then was able to escape to grab the 5-4 victory.

“We knew [Fabian] is tough in all positions,” Pesko said. “Matt did a great job riding him.  [Fabian] never was in a position that was close to getting out.  I think Matt tired him out a little bit which allowed him to get the escape when he needed to.  It was really exciting.”

“It was probably the greatest feeling in my wrestling career,” Leshinger added. “I want to thank my coaches and my family for helping for me through.”

The work doesn’t stop now for Leshinger with his first trip to Albany for the state championships approaching.

“I’m very excited,” Leshinger said.  “I wrestled the best I have all season this weekend and I’m hoping to wrestle that way again at states.”

“It was the best he’s ever wrestled in his life,” Pesko agreed. “He’s always been a competitor but to put it all together in the toughest weight class this weekend was amazing.  It was quite an accomplishment. Now there are two weeks to recover and build back up and get ready for great competition again.  He has already proven himself against some of the better guys in the state.  If he wrestles the way he did this weekend, anything is possible.  If he does that, we expect him to come out as a state champ.”