Monthly Archives: January 2013

First NCAA Coaches Rankings Revealed; 25 NY Wrestlers Included, Dake First at 165

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The NCAA revealed the first Coaches Panel Rankings for the 2012-13 campaign on Thursday.  25 wrestlers from the six Division I programs in New York were included.

There will be two more sets of these rankings this season and the final version will be used as one of the key components of the selection process for the NCAA tournament, along with winning percentage and rating percentage index (RPI).

Here are the wrestlers currently included:

125:

Nahshon Garrett, Cornell (6th)

Steve Bonanno, Hofstra (19th)

 

133:

Jamie Franco, Hofstra (Tie 27th)

Derek Steeley, Binghamton (Tie 27th)

Jordan Thome, Army (33rd)

 

141:

Photo by BV

Mike Nevinger, Cornell (6th)

Luke Vaith, Hofstra (17th)

Connor Hanafee, Army (30th)

 

 

 

 

149:

Donnie Vinson, Binghamton (3rd)

Steve Santos, Columbia (8th)

Chris Villalonga, Cornell (15th)

Daniel Young, Army (18th)

 

157:

Jake O’Hara, Columbia (17th)

Jesse Shanaman, Cornell (30th)

 

165:

Kyle Dake, Cornell (1st)

Mark Lewandowski, Buffalo (17th)

Paul Hancock, Army (22nd)

 

174:

John-Martin Cannon, Buffalo (16th)

Stephen West, Columbia (22nd)

Coleman Gracey, Army (33rd)

 

184:

Steve Bosak, Cornell (4th)

 

197:

Nate Schiedel, Binghamton (5th)

Jace Bennett, Cornell (24th)

 

285:

Paul Snyder, Hofstra (25th)

Stryker Lane, Cornell (27th)

 

For the full rankings, see here.

Rider Hangs On To Top Army, 18-12

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Courtesy of goarmysports.com

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – Four Black Knights won bouts, but it was not enough as the Army wrestling team dropped an 18-12 decision to Rider in a non-conference dual match Wednesday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.

It marked the third consecutive victory for the Broncs, who improve to 8-5 on the season. Rider won four of the first five bouts to open a healthy 12-3 cushion and never trailed en route to the win.

Senior Jordan Thome, junior John Belanger, sophomore Hunter Wood and freshman Bryce Barnes each recorded wins by decision for the Black Knights (4-5).

The match began at 165 pounds and 20th-ranked Ramon Santiago upended Army junior Paul Hancock, 7-4. Rider proceeded to win the next two bouts to establish a quick 9-0 lead.

Army began to cut into the Broncs’ advantage in the 197-pound bout as Barnes took a 12-8 decision from Ryan McNeil. Rider reclaimed its nine-point edge (12-3) with a victory in the heavyweight bout, but Army rallied to within 12-9 as Wood (125 pounds) and Thome (133) rattled off consecutive wins by decision.

Rider made it 15-9 following a victory at 141 pounds, but Army refused to go quietly, creeping to within 15-12 after Belanger slipped past Curt Delia, 6-5, at 149 pounds.

The Broncs sealed the match in the night’s final bout, however, when Zac Cibula defeated Army senior Patrick Marchetti, 4-1, at 157 pounds.

Army returns to the friendly confines of Gillis Field House on Sunday, Jan. 27, when the Black Knights host EIWA rivals Brown and Harvard beginning at 1 p.m.

Match Notes: Army falls to 12-13-1 all-time versus Rider … Bryce Barnes now ranks second on the team with 17 wins (17-13) … Paul Hancock dropped his first dual match of the year, falling to 8-1 in duals this season.

Rider 18, Army 12
125: Hunter Wood (A) dec. Patrick Skinner, 12-6
133: Jordan Thome (A) dec. Jimmy Morris, 5-1
141: Vinny Fava (R) dec. Tyler Rauenzahn, 6-1
149: John Belanger (A) dec. Curt Delia, 6-5
157: Zac Cibula (R) dec. Patrick Marchetti, 4-1
165: #20 Ramon Santiago (R) dec. Paul Hancock, 7-4
174: James Brundage (R) dec. Cole Gracey, 9-7
184: Ryan Wolfe (R) dec. Travis Mallo, 11-5
197: Bryce Barnes (A) dec. Donald McNeil, 12-8
285: Greg Velasco (R) dec. Stephen Snyder, 4-1
* The match began at 165 pounds

Dake, Garrett, Doliscar, Myhrberg Among Leaders in NCAA "Most Dominant" Standings

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At the end of the season, the NCAA will present awards to the Most Dominant Wrestler in Divisions I, II and III as well as the wrestlers with the most pins and technical falls. On Wednesday, the NCAA announced the current standings for each of those categories.

A pair of Cornell wrestlers appear in the Division I rankings. Three-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake sits eighth in the Most Dominant standings and second in pins, with 10. (Ohio State’s Logan Stieber and Kent State’s Dustin Kilgore lead those categories, respectively).

Dake’s freshman teammate Nahshon Garrett is tied for the lead with six technical falls but stands second in that race behind Penn State’s David Taylor because the Nittany Lion has taken less total time to record those tech falls.

In Division III, two New York wrestlers appear in the Most Dominant rankings.  Ithaca’s 174-pound starter Jules Doliscar is seventh while Cortland’s 197-pounder Jared Myhrberg is tied for eighth.

For more details on the standings and the formula for calculating “Most Dominant”, see here for Division I and here for Division III.

 

 

'A Unique Opportunity for NY Kids': SUNY Sullivan Adds Wrestling Program Starting This Fall

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For years, SUNY Sullivan has welcomed some of the best wrestlers in New York to its Loch Sheldrake campus for a weekend in January for the Eastern States Classic.

And grapplers have again ascended on the campus in the summertime for top-notch camps, including the J Robinson Intensive Camp in 2012, run by the longtime University of Minnesota head coach.

Now, wrestling will be a fixture at SUNY Sullivan year round, as President Dr. William Murabito and Director of Athletics Christopher DePew announced earlier this month that wrestling will be one of two sports added, beginning this fall.  (Women’s volleyball is the other).

According to DePew, the move to bring wrestling to Loch Sheldrake was in the making for some time, as he and the institution have become more and more connected to the sport over the years.

“We have developed very strong relationships with the Friends of Section 9 wrestling and also with members of Beat the Streets such as Al Bevilacqua and Bill Crum,” DePew said.  “Those individuals have been suggesting starting a wrestling program here for a while.”

DePew began to look at the possibility but was uncertain whether some of the start up costs, like new mats, might be prohibitive.

But when a new mat arrived, courtesy of Beat the Streets wrestling, the enthusiasm continued to grow.

And when DePew presented the proposal to add wrestling, as well as women’s volleyball, to the leaders of the institution, the Board not only approved it, but demanded that it go forward as part of the college’s five-year growth strategy.

It is believed that the programs will be an important recruitment tool for up to 40 new students in the next year and will be the first step of an overall plan to add four more athletic programs by 2015.

In addition to meeting the strategic needs of the institution, DePew believes there will also be a profound impact on the wrestling community.

“There are limited opportunities for wrestlers on the collegiate level and we’re happy to be providing a great option,” he said. “We believe we offer a unique opportunity for New York kids to get away from home and have the true college experience, but still be close enough to get home if they need to.  There is a bus from the Port Authority in New York City that goes to the flagpole at our school. We know there are so many good high school wrestlers in the state of New York, including in the Beat the Streets program, and we want to offer them a place to continue wrestling.”

There are of course some things currently being worked out.  Student housing is currently at capacity and there is an ongoing initiative to expand on-campus living.

And the leader of the program is still being determined, with the search for the head coach underway.  According to DePew, a number of candidates have already expressed interest and he is hoping to have the coach on board by mid February.

Even without the staff in place, the enthusiasm for the sport came through in conversations with DePew and was very clear during the Eastern States Classic.  In fact, DePew worked in the concession stand from the opening of the tournament in the morning through its close on both Friday and Saturday.  His excitement about making wrestling events a bigger fixture at the Paul Gerry Fieldhouse was palpable.

“I think this is a great opportunity for SUNY Sullivan and for the New York wrestling community,” he said. “We have some work to do, and I would say I’m cautiously optimistic.  We have seen NJCAA programs like Nassau and Niagara do very well in New York and we expect that we can have that kind of success as well. This fits in well with our continued quest to be the very best Junior College Athletic Program in the country.  I believe that the success of our current programs will breed immediate success for our future programs. We expect to become a national Junior College power in year one.”

Back on Top: South Jefferson and Johnson City Capture Dual Meet Titles in Sections 3 and 4

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It had been three years for South Jefferson and a decade for Johnson City, but the wait is over for both. The squads captured the Section 3 and 4 Dual Meet titles, respectively, after living up to their number one seeds.

For South Jefferson, the run had a lot of similarities to the one in 2010.  In that year, the Spartans came into the Section 3 dual tournament undefeated and left as champions.

But the path wasn’t all the same, according to head coach Pat Conners.

“This was a new role for our program,” Conners said. “Instead of being the underdog this year, we were the favorite.  That definitely wasn’t how it was three years ago.  No one believed then that we could beat Fulton in the dual meet finals.  I had people tell me if we even made the finals, it would be great for us.  Then we knocked off Fulton to win it.  There were people who felt that was an ‘on any given day’ kind of thing where the better team doesn’t always win.  This weekend was different because I think our team proved that we are the best in Section 3 this year.”

It certainly looked that way.  Prior to the tournament, (last Thursday) South Jefferson faced off with General Brown in a battle of teams ranked in the latest New York State dual meet poll.  The lower-ranked Spartans came out on top, 40-25.

“Having that huge dual and knocking off General Brown only a few days before actually made me a little nervous,” Conners said. “We were confident going into the weekend, but sometimes it’s tough to get everyone refocused and ready so soon after a big win. But our team has a good mix of veterans and young kids and our six seniors did a nice job of leading.”

Things started off a little slow, according to Conners, in the first meet against Cicero-North Syracuse but the Spartans emerged with a 51-23 victory and followed that up with a 58-22 win over Cazenovia.

The next round brought Baldwinsville.  The Bees took a 10-3 lead after three bouts, but South Jefferson responded, recording falls in four of the next five matches to take a commanding advantage.  Registering pins were Trevor Cowles (160), Daniel Smith (170), Logan LaFlamme (182) and Ryan Charlebois (up a weight at 220). Despite forfeiting the last bout, the Spartans punched their ticket to the finals with a 43-31 result.

“In that case, the 160 to 195 pounders did the job,” Conners said. “They are all good wrestlers and when we get there, we count on bonus points.  We’ve had solid balance all the way through the lineup this year, though. Our 99 and 106 pounders (Jared Carroll and Caleb Beach) are a combined 62-4. [132 pounder] Jon Crast has made a nice comeback from surgery. Many other guys have wrestled very well. What’s been really great to see as a coach this year is that the bigger our matches have been, the better the kids have wrestled.  Our top wrestlers have won with bonus points and the kids who aren’t our top wrestlers have wrestled hard and given up only three points.”

That was true as South Jefferson topped squads such as Northern Adirondack, Victor and Cortland earlier in the campaign.  And it held true in the finals when the Spartans met General Brown for the second time of the week.

In the championship dual, the Lions won five of the first eight matches.  However, all five victories were by decision and with South Jefferson’s two pins and a decision, the score was knotted at 15.  That was the last time it was close.

“Losing five matches but all of them only three point losses was big,” Conners said. “When you wrestle the other team’s top kids and keep it close, it’s as important as a big win on your side.  We were tied and in good shape. And then we got on a roll and poured on points after that.  We only lost one match the rest of the day.”

So a 15-15 tie turned into a 45-19 rout.

“Each week, we’ve been challenging the kids and they’ve stepped up stronger and stronger,” Conners said.  “It’s rare to have a team wrestle well every weekend without real letdowns but this group did that.  It was a total team effort and our depth played a big role.  We had some guys stepping on the mat for the first time in the semis or finals while other teams were exhausted.”

That was one of the reasons Conners cited for the lopsided scores in the event.

“Our goal was to win the duals,” the coach said. “But I never, ever thought we would be as dominant as we were because of the caliber of teams in Section 3.  I was not surprised that we won but very pleasantly surprised that our kids were as dominant as they were.”

Dominant enough to stand atop Section 3.  But will that translate to the top of New York State?

Conners said he might reach out to Midlakes coach Steve Howcroft to see if a dual between the unbeaten Division II powerhouses could be arranged.  (Midlakes is ranked first among small school teams). But whether that happens or not, it’s been a great ride for the Spartans as they demonstrated that they are among the Empire State’s elite.

Johnson City’s Return to the Top

Being among the elite is something Johnson City head coach Jordan Glenn can relate to very well.  When he was a competitor for the Wildcats, he remembers his team being among New York’s best every season.

“In our heyday, from the early 90s to mid 2000s, there was a stretch where we didn’t lose to a Section 4 team for 10 years,” Glenn said.  “I don’t think we finished outside the top 5 at the state tournament very often.  Winning this weekend is absolutely a big deal for us because this is the first event we’ve won as a team in recent years.  The last time we won Section 4 Duals was in 2003.  This builds a good foundation for us and with a team full of juniors and younger wrestlers, we think we can raise the bar for next year and continue to excel.”

They excelled this weekend, beginning with a dominant 50-24 victory over Sidney in the first round of the event. The Wildcats got out to a 31-6 advantage and never looked back.  The second dual was similar, in a 42-27 triumph over Vestal.

“In those first two matches, we were in control most of the way,” Glenn said. “We never take anything lightly because with duals it can come down to matchups and a coin flip. We knew those teams had potential to match up with us, but we were solid all the way through. Our depth also was important. We had a couple of guys injured and we were fortunate to have some other guys fill in and do very well.”

That was the case in the finals match against Union-Endicott.  With the loss of state qualifier Greg Kleinsmith to injury, Johnson City bumped a number of wrestlers up a weight and adjusted the lineup.

One of the wrestlers stepping in was one of the squad’s few seniors, Ben Fay. With his team trailing 6-0 (Johnson City forfeited at 132), he took the mat for his first action of the tournament against  Xavian Hughes, the top-ranked wrestler in the Section.  He held the Tiger wrestler to a decision.

“Ben hasn’t necessarily been one of the guys competing for individual championships, but he had a solid performance. He filled a void and allowed maneuverability that we otherwise wouldn’t have had,” Glenn said. “He preserved points when we needed him to.”

Facing a 9-0 deficit, Johnson City took over, capturing the next six bouts.  It started with a decision by Nick Bidwell at 145 and was followed by another three points for Joseph Hamdan at 152.

“Joe Hamdan was out of the lineup for the better part of a month with injury,” Glenn said. “This was his first competition back and he came through with three wins.  The first two were by pin. In the finals, it was tougher.  The lack of mat time got to him a little. But he found a way to win a close match in overtime. That turned out to be huge.”

Photo by BV

Also huge were the flurry of bonus points the Wildcats racked up next with pins by Zach Colgan (160), Dominic Taylor (182) and Reggie Williams (195).  Added into the mix was a technical fall by Conner Halladay at 170.

“When you have anchors you can count on like Zach Colgan and Reggie Williams, it sets the tone,” Glenn said. “We have a very strong core from 138 to 195 and those guys really came through for us.”

After Williams stuck his opponent at 195, Johnson City had a 29-9 lead.

Union-Endicott mounted a comeback, with Lucas Depofi and Andrew Brinser coming out on top at 220 and 285 to cut the team score to 29-18.

But lightweights Tyler Brazinski (99 pounds) and Isaiah Colgan (106) picked up victories by technical fall and pin, respectively, to put their team up 40-18 and clinch the championship.

“Tyler has had a really good week,” Glenn said. “He was bumped out of lineup last year and didn’t place in the section.  But he came back ready this year and this past week alone he’s beaten three of the four top ranked kids in the Section. He didn’t get scored on by any of them. And Isaiah Colgan has been really solid all year. He won three matches at Eastern States and is certainly on a level where he can compete for a Section championship, as he did last year.”

Union-Endicott finished strong as Mikey Carr, Anthony Noce and Zack Bendick recorded falls in the final three matches of the dual to make the final score 40-36.

“We had the dual meet clinched, but their 113, 120 and 126 wrestled really well with three pins in a row,” Glenn said. “We did our jobs to have the lead that we did. We were talking [Saturday] night that we’re starting to develop a little bit of a rivalry with U-E after they beat us in the semis last year at this tournament. We know they are getting better and developing; you can see the progression with their wrestlers.  As for us, we set lofty goals this year and even though we didn’t do as well as we hoped at U-E Duals [in early January], we are excited to be back as the top Dual Meet team in Section 4 this year.”

Back at the top.  South Jefferson and Johnson City earned it after their performances this weekend.

 

Weekend Notes: New Dual Meet Champs in Sec 3 and 4, Fairport Earns First Monroe Title Plus Recaps from Shen, Edgemont, Kohl, Islip Cup and More

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What a weekend. From dual meet championship tournaments to tough individual events, there were great matchups all over the state. The following touches upon some of the notable results and more may be added later.

South Jefferson and Johnson City captured Dual Meet Championships in Section 3 and 4, respectively. The Spartans dominated their finals matchup with General Brown while the Wildcats won a four-point dual over Union-Endicott. 

In individual tournament action:

• Shenendehowa won its own event with five champions, with St. Anthony’s and Yorktown taking second and third. Among the titlewinners for the Plainsmen were highly ranked Nick Kelley, David Almaviva and Levi Ashley.

• Monroe County in Section 5 has a new champion for the first time in 22 years. Spencerport had captured the last 21 titles, but this weekend it was Fairport earning that school’s first county championship. A number of wrestlers who appear in our latest state rankings won titles at this event, including Colton Kells of the champion Red Raiders, who topped Spencerport’s Collin Pittman in overtime at 195.

• At the Islip Cup, a pair of New York contenders at 170 pounds, Joe Piccolo of Half Hollow Hills West and Carlos Toribio of Brentwood, squared off for the second time this season. Toribio took the first meeting by decision but in the rematch, Piccolo recorded an early pin. It continues a strong run by Piccolo, who was third at the Eastern States Classic last Saturday.

• Huntington took first at the Kohl Invitational with five titlewinners, including Most Outstanding Wrestler Joseph Puca at 152 pounds. Puca upset state ranked Dan DeCarlo of Port Jervis.

• Edgemont, led by 120-pound winner Trey Aslanian, was the team champion at its tournament over the weekend, finishing ahead of Section 1 foe Pearl River.

• Clarence took the ECIC Championship, led by champions Ryan Burns (106), Jake Weber (160) and Nate Ward (285).  Taking MOW honors was Cheektowoga’s Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, who won the 132 pound class with a pin.

• At the Beacon, Valley Central won a close team race by three points over Arlington. Leading the way was top ranked Alex Delacruz of Ossining, who notched a technical fall in the finals.

For more details on these stories, read on:

Section 3 and 4 Dual Meet Championships

Johnson City, the top seed in Section 4, opened with a 50-24 victory over Sidney before defeating Vestal by a 42-27 score in the semifinals. In the championship dual, Johnson City took a commanding lead, clinching the dual with three matches remaining. Union-Endicott’s late rally made the final score 40-36.

In Section 3, the conclusion lacked drama. Top seeded South Jefferson, ranked seventh in the latest state dual poll, looked like one of New York’s elite squads throughout the competition. The Spartans began with a 51-23 result against Cicero-North Syracuse before topping Cazenovia 58-22. In the semifinals, the team had its closest meet of the event, 43-31, over Baldwinsville. In the finals, South Jefferson left little to chance, emerging with a dominant 45-19 score.

Earning wins in the opening three duals for the champions were Jared Carroll (99), Caleb Beach (106), Trevor Cowles (160), Dan Smith (170), Logan LaFlamme (182) and Ryan Charlebois (220).

For more on the championships by Johnson City and South Jefferson, check back tomorrow for a more detailed story.

Shenendehowa Tournament

The host team collected 209.5 points, well ahead of St. Anthony’s at 149 and Yorktown’s 95. The Plainsmen received championship performances from five grapplers – Kevin Parker (120), Nick Kelley (138), David Almaviva (145), Chris Naccarato (160) and Levi Ashley (195).

A host of additional wrestlers ranked statewide took the mat in Section 2. At 113 pounds, returning state runner up Cheick Ndiaye edged St. Anthony’s Ben Lamantia 3-2 and Joe Mastro of Yorktown grabbed gold at 152.

A pair of ranked wrestlers were upended in the finals – Luis Weirebach of Hoosick Falls topped Eastern States medalist Golan Cohen of Colonie at 106 while Elliot Antler of Xavier edged St. Anthony’s Johnny Vrasidas at 170. In a battle of 182-pound wrestlers we expect to make some waves in Albany, Thomas Murray of Yorktown topped Hoosick Falls’s Brad Burns.

For further results from the event, see here.

Monroe County Tournament

As mentioned previously, Fairport won its first Monroe County league title after 21 consecutive years of championships for Spencerport. The Red Raiders had a large number of placers, including titlewinners Colton Kells at 195 and Jordan Seidel at 170.

Courtesy of Jason DePrez

This event featured a number of grapplers who are featured prominently in the latest individual state rankings. Among them were top 99 pounder, Yianni Diakomihalis of Hilton, who earned a major in the title match and took lightweight Most Outstanding Wrestler honors. He was joined on top of the podium by teammates Vincent DePrez (138), Anthony DePrez (145) and Mike Spallina (152), an eighth grader. Spallina wasn’t the only young wrestler to take top billing. After impressing nearly everyone in attendance at the Eastern States last weekend, seventh grader Frankie Gissendanner of Penfield put up another outstanding performance, taking the 126-pound crown over top seed Rosario Venniro, 3-1.

Spencerport was well represented among the titlewinners as well, with champions Jonathan Haas at 106, Trent Egenlauf at 182 and Austin Coleman at heavyweight. Grabbing heavyweight MOW honors was 160-pound champion Josh Powell of Churchville-Chili.

For more details, see here.

Islip Cup

Brentwood sat atop the team standings at the Kris McDonald Islip Cup, ahead of Sachem North and Islip. Leading the way for the top squad were champions Alex Romero (145), Luis Rodriguez (152) and David Rodriguez (285).

Photo by BV

Several state title contenders also picked up first place as the Half Hollow Hills West duo of Tyler Grimaldi (160) and Joe Piccolo (170) were victorious. As mentioned earlier, Piccolo avenged an earlier season loss to Brentwood’s Carlos Toribio with a first period pin. Both will be in the podium picture in Albany. Sachem North’s Gio Santiago has experience on the medal stand at the Times Union Center, as he took sixth a year ago. He continued his solid campaign with a fall over Jagger Rebozo in the 182-pound final.

For more results, see here.

Kohl Tournament

Huntington racked up 268 points, outdistancing Monroe Woodbury (201.5) and Port Jervis (166) for the title. The Blue Devils were led by Most Outstanding Wrestler Joseph Puca, who upset state-ranked Dan DeCarlo of Port Jervis for the 152-pound crown, 1-0. Also making the top of the podium for Huntington were John Arceri (99), Corey Jamison (126), Nick Lupi (220) and Anthony Puca (285).

For full brackets, see here.

Edgemont Panther Tournament

Photo by BV

Edgemont won its own tournament by five points over Pearl River on Saturday, spurred by champion Trey Aslanian at 120 pounds. Also making the finals for the host team were Kyle Aslanian (99), Chris Kim (170) and Jason Worobow (182). One of the top 145 pounders in the Empire State, Tom Grippi of Fox Lane, pinned his way to the title.

For more results, see 2013 Edgemont Bracket FINAL RESULTS

 

ECIC Championships

In Section 6, Clarence won the title by almost 100 points over Lancaster.  Clarence had eight finalists, including three title winners.  For full results, see here.

Beacon

In addition to the dominance of Ossining’s Alex Delacruz, there were many standout showings at this tournament. One of those was the 195-pound championship for Horace Greeley’s Scott Wymbs. When Wymbs, named the Outstanding Wrestler, beat Kingston’s Deon Edmond for the title, he became his school’s all-time wins leader.

Dual Meets

For additional dual meet results from the weekend, see here.

Cornell and Army Win on the Road; Hofstra and Binghamton Each Take Two of Three at CAA Duals

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Cornell moved to 3-0 in the Ivy League with a pair of road victories on Saturday in New England. The Big Red began the day with a 35-6 win at Brown before traveling to Cambridge for a 24-15 triumph over the Crimson.

Leading the way for Cornell were five wrestlers who went 2-0 on the day, including four grapplers who registered a pair of bonus victories.  Kyle Dake didn’t spent too much time on the mat as he recorded two first period pins.  Fellow returning NCAA champion Steve Bosak earned a fall against Harvard’s Josh Popple after majoring Ophir Bernstein of Brown a few hours earlier.  Meanwhile, 125-pounder Nahshon Garrett picked up two major decisions while 149-pounder Chris Villalonga had a successful return from injury, pinning Grant Overcashier of Brown before notching a technical fall against Todd Preston of the Crimson.  Stryker Lane ended both duals with decisions for the Big Red at 285.

Cornell will return home for two meets next weekend, hosting Penn and Oregon State.  For more on Cornell’s wins, see here.

 Binghamton and Hofstra Each Take Two of Three at CAA Duals

Undefeated performances by Donnie Vinson (149), Nate Schiedel (184), Derek Steeley (133), Tyler Deuel (285) and Mike Sardo (125) spurred the Bearcats to wins in two of their three matches on Saturday in Virginia.   Binghamton defeated Drexel (29-14) and George Mason (29-13) while falling against Rider (19-15).

With his third triumph of the day, Vinson moved into a first place tie with Josh Patterson for the most all-time wins in Binghamton history.  The Marathon native will attempt to become the sole record holder when the Bearcats take the mat next weekend.

For more on Binghamton at the CAA duals see here.

Meanwhile, at the same event, Hofstra also went 2-1, topping George Mason and Boston while dropping a dual to Old Dominion.

Leading the way for the Pride were Steve Bonanno (125), Jermaine John (174) and Paul Snyder (285).  All three were undefeated and each picked up crucial bonus points for the team during the course of the day.

 Army Wins Big Over Bucknell

Bucknell got out to a 6-0 lead at home early in Saturday’s dual with Army, but the Black Knights took over from there, winning eight of the nine remaining bouts in a 28-9 victory.  Putting up bonus points for the squad from West Point were Paul Hancock (major decision at 165) and Cole Gracey (injury default at 174).

For more on the dominant win, see here.

 

 

From Friday Night . . . To find out more about Buffalo’s first dual win of the season on Friday night against Eastern Michigan or Columbia’s loss against Bucknell, see Friday’s College Roundup here.

Friday College Roundup: Buffalo Earns First Dual Win of the Season; Bucknell Tops Columbia

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Courtesy of buffalobulls.com

BUFFALO, NY – Last weekend was a frustrating one for the Buffalo wrestling team, with two of the three matches wrestled at the Virginia Duals being lost in the final bout of the match – heavyweight – to fall to 0-7 on the season. On Friday night, though, both monkeys were taken off UB’s back and thrown to the mat, as the Bulls (1-7, 1-1 MAC) beat the Eastern Michigan Eagles (6-10, 0-2 MAC) 19-14 at Alumni Arena.

Heiserman, Photo by BV

It was not just the team’s first win of an injury-riddled season, but the dual fittingly came down to heavyweight Justin Heiserman. The sophomore won 3-1 over Khodor Hobollah to seal the win. After going up 1-0 with a quick escape in the second period, Heiserman then came out on top of a scramble to finish the second period up 3-0 and held off his opponent for the final two minutes.

“We have had a lot on his (Heiserman’s) shoulders this year, and it’s nice to see him come up on the good end of it,” head coach Jim Beichner said. “As the heavyweight, a lot of times it comes down to you, and he handled it well tonight.”

The dual started on a similar note the team has seen for the past month, with the two teams trading decisions in the lower weights. Max Soria controlled the pace in a 10-5 win over Alexander Calandrino to open the dual, and after a UB loss at 133, Erik Galloway and Blake Roulo won close matches at 141 and 149, respectively. Eastern cut into the 9-3 lead with a win at 157, but the senior leaders for UB would help extend the lead back out.

For more, see here.

Bucknell 24, Columbia 14

Courtesy of gocolumbialions.com

LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Columbia wrestling team rallied from a 15-point deficit to within one point of Bucknell Friday night, but the Bison were able to hold on with victories in the final two matches to knock off the Lions, 24-14, inside Davis Gym.

Bucknell rushed out to an early 15-0 advantage on Columbia, taking three decisions and a pin in the opening four matches. No. 18/18 Jake O’Hara got the Lions on the board in the 157-pound match, earning a 10-2 major decision over Vincent Favia. After building a 7-1 lead in the first period with two takedowns and a near fall, O’Hara would stay in control through the remainder of the match to secure the win giving Columbia four points.

Josh Houldsworth followed suit in the 165-pound bout, picking up his fourth major decision of the season over Ray Schlitt. Houldsworth notched four points in each of the first two periods and added another for riding time to raise the final tally to 9-0 and bring the team score to 15-8 in favor of Bucknell.

For the third straight match, the Lions came out on top, as No. 17/- Stephen West garnered a 4-2 decision over Stephen McPeek. The match entered the third period scoreless, but West used an escape, takedown and the riding time point to tally his 16th win of the season and get the Lions within four, 15-11.

In the loudest match of the night inside Davis Gym, Drew Rebling took advantage of the full time allotment, scoring a reversal in the final seconds of the third period to tie the match at 6-6. Having maintained the top position throughout much of the second and third periods, Rebling earned the riding time point and the win, 7-6, for Columbia. The victory, Rebling’s seventh of the year, got the Lions within one, 15-14.

For more, see here.

Eastern States Pick Your Champions Contest – Who Won?

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Congratulations to our Pick Your Champion Contest winner from Eastern States . . . who chose to be identified as “John Stamos”.  He correctly picked 11 out of the 15 titlewinners.  There were a number of people right behind him – 8 entrants accurately predicted 10 of the 15 champions.

A quick look at the contest results:

There were a number of weights where the champion was dominant in the voting, as well as on the mat.

Johnson City’s Reggie Williams was the top vote getter at any weight, picking up close to 75% of the tallies in the 195-pound class.

Coming in not too far behind were a pair of Long Island wrestlers who cruised through the weekend – Corey Rasheed of Longwood (152) and Nick Piccininni of Ward Melville (113). Both were just shy of 70% of the vote.

In addition, around 60% of the respondents chose returning state champion Zack Zupan of Canastota (182), Nick Kelley of Shenendehowa (138) and Columbia’s El Shaddai Van Hoesen (285).

On the flip side, some of the champions were more of a surprise to the participants in the contest.

A Section 9 wrestler collected over 40% of the votes at 99 pounds – but that was Monroe Woodbury’s Vinny Vespa. Champion Chris Cuccolo of Pine Bush received around 7% of the tallies.

The votes at 106, 120 and 126 were quite fragmented with more than 10 wrestlers getting support in each of those weights.  None of the winners of those classes, Nick Barbaria of New Rochelle, Kevin Jack of Danbury or TJ Fabian of Shoreham-Wading River were the top vote getters in their bracket, however they all gathered between 12 and 20% of the vote (as did Tristan Rifanburg at 132 and Dan Breit at 220).

Thanks to everyone that participated.  We appreciate your input and opinions!

 

 

 

At Full Throttle: Sacred Heart-Bound TJ Fabian Takes Over Top Spot After Eastern States Championship

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Earlier this week, TJ Fabian explained how his two passions are similar – the competition, the drive, the practice, the adrenaline as he works toward the finish line.

However, there is a big difference.

“I’m not that good at dirt biking,” Fabian said of one of his favorite activities. “I love to do it and I’ve gotten a lot better, but I don’t think I’ll ever be the #1 racer around.”

That may be true.  But after his championship in a loaded bracket at the Eastern States Classic last weekend in his other passion, wrestling, he is now the #1 126-pound grappler around.  Not only in Long Island — but in the state of New York. Rankings are here.

Photo by Josh Conklin

The Shoreham Wading River senior won all five of his matches at SUNY Sullivan, topping a weight class that featured four former state or national champions as well as at least three other placers and several additional qualifiers.

In fact, he had to overcome New York titlewinners in both the semifinals and finals, William Koll of Lansing and Dylan Realbuto of Somers, respectively, to earn what his father Ted called “probably the biggest tournament win of his life.” His efforts didn’t go unnoticed as he was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the lightweights as well as the Champion of Champions at the event.

He can thank his mat wrestling.  After all, Fabian is known as a pinner. According to Ted Fabian, TJ has amassed 168 wins in his career, with 113 coming by fall.

And it’s not just his work turning opponents from the top.  Many of those results have come from underneath, where Fabian typically works for the defensive fall.

That was the situation on Saturday, where he changed the course of his matches against both Koll and Realbuto from the bottom, which he calls his best position.

All of his points in his 5-1 victory over the Lansing wrestler came when Fabian reversed Koll to his back.

And against Realbuto, Fabian trailed late in the third period 2-1, but earned a key reversal with little time left on the clock to capture the title bout 3-2.

“When [Realbuto] was riding me, I was thinking the whole time of trying to do a reachback for the defensive pin,” Fabian said. “He was a crab rider and it actually helped me because he rolled himself and allowed me to get the reversal.  Then, I was able to hold on for the win.”

According to TJ Fabian, it was the first time he defeated the Somers senior after losing to the Section 1 wrestler in eighth grade by five and later at the Eastern States by a point.

“I was just so excited,” Fabian said. “He beat me before and he is one of the tougher kids I’ve beaten in my career.  It’s also the first big tournament I ever won.”

That may the case. But it was an incredible performance at an event in which he didn’t even place that set the stage for his 25-0 start to the 2012-13 campaign.

Back in October, Fabian had high hopes going into one of the nation’s most prestigious tournaments, the Super 32 Classic in North Carolina.

In a bracket of more than 60 competitors, however, he began with an opening round loss.

“I barely remember my first match,” Fabian said. “It took a lot to drop the weight at the time and my body wasn’t up to its normal fitness.  I remember just sitting around and thinking of what was ahead of me.”

What was ahead was a long road back.  And Fabian got to work.  He won his next bout. And then another.  And another.

In fact, in a grueling event, Fabian won seven consecutive contests, including a triumph over nationally-ranked Ken Bade of Michigan to get to the round of 12.  It was there that his streak finally ended against Pennsylvania’s Colby Ems.

Photo by Josh Conklin

“He was down in the dumps after his first match after he came in expecting to place,” Ted Fabian said. “Lots of kids would have packed it in, especially knowing what it would take to place after that. For him to win seven in a row – that shows the heart he has and what he’s all about. He has that quiet drive; he knew he could do better and he was determined to do better. After that he started to truly believe in himself 100%. I think the Eastern States made him believe that even more.  He was always confident, but I think this weekend was fulfilling for him. It’s like he knows that he can compete with the best because he is one of the best too.”

The staff at Sacred Heart certainly thinks so. Fabian has given a verbal commitment to the Connecticut-based institution and looks forward to continuing his wrestling career in Division I as a 133 pounder.

“I am excited about Sacred Heart,” he said. “The coach [Andy Lausier] there believes in his wrestlers and their potential.  I feel like he really wants me and all the wrestlers to reach our goals and mine are to become an All-American and then a national champion.”

He knows that it won’t be easy.  Ted Fabian was a Division I wrestler at Wagner and said that it was challenging.

“I was a big fish in a small pond in high school but once I got to college, it was physically more demanding than I ever expected,” Ted Fabian said. “I got beaten up a lot, which never happened in high school. But I did enjoy it. It was a good experience, but it definitely takes a special breed to wrestle DI for four years.”

Fabian believes his son is part of that special breed, especially given the trajectory his wrestling career has taken.

“I really like his progression,” Ted Fabian said. “Each year, TJ has improved, record wise and status wise.”

Indeed, he has. He took fourth at the state tournament at 120 pounds last year after earning third in the county two years prior.

Those results came after a youth career which Fabian labeled as “okay” where he once took seventh in the Suffolk kids tournament but “never really placed in kid counties or states otherwise.”

Like in his early years of wrestling, Fabian is in the learning stages in dirt biking.

“I pretty much do it for fun,” he said. “I haven’t gotten great results.  I think I got second in a race once and another time, I think I was third.”

Fabian said he was satisfied with those results, for now, on the bike.  But in his other passion, it’s a different story.  Because after last weekend, Fabian isn’t second or third as a wrestler – he is at the top.

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TJ Fabian wished to thank his father Ted as well as coaches Joe Condon, Darren Goldstein, Steve Hromada and Nick Garone, among others.