Monthly Archives: May 2013

High School State Placers Paddock and Busiello Among the NY Champs at the Greco Northeast Regionals on Sunday

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A day after the Freestyle competition, wrestlers hit the mats for the Northeast Regional Greco Roman tournament.  For results from Freestyle, see this link.

For more on Greco, please keep reading.

At the Junior level, New York featured six champions and a slew of additional placers. Taking titles were Matthew Morris (120), Jay Oakes (145), Burke Paddock (160), Roland Zilberman (195), Paul Herrera (220) and Quasar Hampton (285). The lengthy list of other medalists in the Junior competition and in the younger divisions are below.

At the Novice level, Nathan Lehr took gold at 80 pounds with a technical fall in the title bout over Jackson Gray of Pennsylvania after placing third in Freestyle. Shavail Bond was also first at 130 while Daniel Butavicius grabbed fourth at 85 pounds.

In Schoolboy action, Mack Berkowitz made the top two for the second straight day at 136 pounds. After earning runner up status in Freestyle on Saturday, he took first in Greco after pinning silver medalist Jack Wimmer of Pennsylvania in less than a minute and picking up a technical fall over third placer Ian Edenfield (also from the Keystone State). Joining Berkowitz near the top of the standings were second placers Brendan Ryan at 144 pounds and Vito Smolyak at 160.

Photo by BV

2013 New York high school state placer John Busiello of Eastport South Manor led the way in the Cadet competition with a championship at 106 pounds. He wasn’t the only Empire State grappler to shine in that bracket, as Sean Miller (third) and John Luke DeStefano (fourth) also performed well at 106.

Leonard Merkin was also a titlewinner at Cadet 138 pounds. He dropped the first period of his finals bout against Jonathan Ross but rebounded to win the last two stanzas 6-2 and 6-0 to finish on top. Earning second were Jesse Porter at 152 pounds and Logan Brunick at 145. Also at 145, Gino Titone collected bronze.

For the full list of New York placers, see below:

For full results, see http://www.trackwrestling.com.

Novice Placewinners

Novice – 80 Results
1st Place – Nathan Lehr of New York

Novice – 85 Results
4th Place – Daniel Butavicius of New York

Novice – 130 Results
1st Place – Shavail Bond of New York

Schoolboy Placewinners

Schoolboy – 120 Results
3rd Place – Ryan Doyle of New York

Schoolboy – 136 Results
1st Place – Mack Berkowitz of New York

Schoolboy – 144 Results
2nd Place – Brendan Ryan of New York

Schoolboy – 160 Results
2nd Place – Vito Smolyak of New York

Cadet Placewinners

Cadet – 94 Results
4th Place – Brian Kelly of New York
5th Place – Austin O`Reilly of New York

Cadet – 100 Results
4th Place – Nicholas Forte of New York

Cadet – 106 Results
1st Place – John Busiello of New York
3rd Place – Sean Miller of New York
4th Place – John Luke Destefano of New York

Cadet – 138 Results
1st Place – Leonard Merkin of New York

Cadet – 145 Results
2nd Place – Logan Brunick of New York
3rd Place – Gino Titone of New York

Cadet – 152 Results
2nd Place – Jesse Porter of New York

Cadet – 160 Results
3rd Place – Zafar Iskandarov of New York

Junior Placewinners

Junior – 113 Results
2nd Place – Alpha Diallo of New York

Junior – 120 Results
1st Place – Matthew Morris of New York
4th Place – Bryan Arroyo of New York

Junior – 126 Results
3rd Place – Rashid Powell of New York
4th Place – Joseph Paterno of New York

Junior – 132 Results
2nd Place – Cheick Ndiaye of New York

Junior – 145 Results
1st Place – Jay Oakes of New York

Junior – 152 Results
2nd Place – Trevor Hoffmier of New York

Junior – 160 Results
1st Place – Burke Paddock of New York

Junior – 170 Results
3rd Place – Konstantin Parfiryev of New York
4th Place – Justin Yodice of New York

Junior – 182 Results
3rd Place – David Bunn of New York
4th Place – Cedrick Stephens of New York

Junior – 195 Results
1st Place – Roland Zilberman of New York
2nd Place – Nathanael Rose of New York

Junior – 220 Results
1st Place – Paul Herrera of New York
2nd Place – Richard Duermeyer of New York
3rd Place – Allan Michael Rios of New York
4th Place – Patrick Ennd of New York

Junior – 285 Results

1st Place – Quasar Hampton of New York
2nd Place – Mark Ifraimov of New York
3rd Place – Jeffrey Urbina of New York
4th Place – Matthew St. Onge of New York

New York Sees Success at Northeast Regionals in Freestyle, Including Titles by Grey, Malmberg, Simaz, Vallimont and Flores (Among Others)

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Wrestlers in a wide range of ages took the mat on Saturday in Pennsylvania for the Northeast Regional Freestyle championships.  New York had success across the groups, boasting first place finishers in the Novice, Schoolboy, Junior Women and Senior competitions.

Simaz, Photo by BV

Leading the way in the Senior division was the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club (FLWC) which featured three titlewinners and two third place finishers.  Standing on top of the podium were Lucas Malmberg at 55 kg, Mark Grey at 60 and Cam Simaz at 84.  Malmberg didn’t give up a point in his matches, while Grey eased his way through the competition with a technical fall and pin in the semifinals and finals, respectively.  Meanwhile, Simaz defeated Enock Francois of the West Point Wrestling Club for the crown, a wrestler who placed at the U.S. Open recently in Las Vegas.  Grabbing bronze for the FLWC were Alex Cisneros at 66 kg and Gabe Dean at 84.

Blue & Gold Wrestling Club also made a very strong showing, with Hofstra assistant coach Dan Vallimont winning at 74 kg.  He was joined on the medal stand by a trio of Pride grapplers that took second place – Jamie Franco (63 kg), Luke Vaith (70) and Frank Affronti (79).

A number of New York natives also made an impact on Saturday in the Senior action.  Monsignor Farrell alum Kevin Hartnett was the champion at 70 kg. In addition, former state champions Sean McCabe (4th at 60), Maverick Passaro (4th at 63) and Anthony Volpe (third at  79) all placed, as did Shenendehowa graduate Cole Lampman (second at 120) and Buffalo All-American Kyle Cerminara (champion at 96). In the same bracket as Cerminara, St. Anthony’s coach Antoni Walters notched fourth.

In the novice competition, five New Yorkers made the podium, including first place finisher Andrew Grechko at 130 pounds.  Meanwhile, in Schoolboy action, a trio of Empire State grapplers made the finals, with Tyrese Byron defeating Mack Berkowitz for the 136 pound title.

Numerous New Yorkers earned medals in the Cadet brackets, including 145-pound runner up Joseph Clemente.  Taking bronze at the Cadet level were John Busiello (106), Leonard Merkin (138), Jesse Porter (152) and Jacob Woolson (170).

Making trips to the finals in the Junior division were Alpha Diallo (113), Burke Paddock (160), Andrew Psomas (170) and Nick Weber (195).  Paddock defeated 2012 Fargo freestyle champion Anthony Collica of Ohio on his way to the title bout.  Those wrestlers all took silver, while several others notched bronze (Trevor Hoffmier at 152, Daniel Smith at 170, Thomas Murray at 195, Richard Duermeyer at 220 and Quasar Hampton at 285).

While New York didn’t have a gold medalist in the Men’s Junior action, the Empire State had plenty of crowns on the women’s side.  Those titlewinners included Ronnie Green (97), Katherine Sumner (105), Jennifer Juarez (117), Samantha Ouye-Gonzalez (121), Karen Koag (125), Rosemary Flores (139), Idalis Graciano (148), Destane Garrick (159), Fataya Larry (172) and Mariana Olalde (198).

For the full results, see http://www.trackwrestling.com.  For Sunday’s Greco summary, see This link.

For the New York results summary in Freestyle, see below:

Novice Placewinners

70: Logan Gumble, 4th

80: Nathan Lehr, 3rd

85: Daniel Butavicius, 5th

130: Andrew Grechko, 1st

130: Shavail Bond, 2nd

 

Schoolboy Placewinners

136: Tyrese Byron, 1st

136: Mack Berkowitz, 2nd

160: Vito Smolyak, 2nd

 

Cadet Placewinners

106: John Busiello, 3rd

138: Leonard Merkin, 3rd

145: Joseph Clemente, 2nd

145: Logan Brunick, 4th

152: Jesse Porter, 3rd

170: Jacob Woolson, 3rd

 

Junior Placewinners

113: Alpha Diallo, 2nd

120: Ryan Burns, 4th

126: Trey Aslanian, 4th

138: Anthony Messina, 4th

145: Codie Gillette, 4th

152: Trevor Hoffmier, 3rd

160: Burke Paddock, 2nd

170: Andrew Psomas, 2nd

170: Daniel Smith, 3rd

182: Cedrick Stephens, 4th

195: Nick Weber, 2nd

195: Thomas Murray, 3rd

220: Richard Duermeyer, 3rd

220: Paul Herrera, 4th

285: Quasar Hampton, 3rd

285: Mark Ifraimov, 4th

 

Junior Women Placewinners:

97: Ronnie Green, 1st

105: Katherine Sumner, 1st

105: Estrella Velez, 2nd

112: Lissette Ruiz, 2nd

112: Alexandria Salmos, 3rd

112: Ana Salanor, 4th

117: Jennifer Juarez, 1st

117: Susan Yang, 3rd

121: Samantha Ouye-Gonzalez, 1st

121: Keandra Weekes, 2nd

125: Karen Koag, 1st

125: Miranda Gilbert, 2nd

125: Jerra Kohlbrenner, 3rd

125: Leslie Schoberl, 4th

139: Rosemary Flores, 1st

139: Tracy Smith, 3rd

139: Shirley Duman, 4th

139: Shannon Henry, 5th

148: Idalis Graciano, 1st

148: Sashoya Williams, 2nd

159: Destane Garrick, 1st

159: Vivian Vu, 3rd

172: Fataya Larry, 1st

172: April Duncan, 2nd

198: Mariana Olalde, 1st

198: Bria McLaurin, 2nd

 

Senior Placewinners – NY-Related Wrestlers in Bold Italics

Senior – 55
1st Place – Lucas Malmberg of FLWC (Marathon HS)
2nd Place – Desmond Moore of Lehigh Valley Athletic Club
3rd Place – Jan Rosenberg of SKWC

Senior – 60
1st Place – Mark Grey of FLWC 
2nd Place – Jake Calhoun of Modern Day Gladiators
3rd Place – Bryan Heller of Triumph
4th Place – Sean McCabe of SKWC (Connetquot HS)

Senior – 63
1st Place – Vinnie DelleFave of Unattached
2nd Place – Jamie Franco of Blue & Gold WC
3rd Place – Matt Bryer of Mat-Town
4th Place – Maverick Passaro of SKWC (Eastport South Manor HS)

Senior – 66
1st Place – Rollie Peterkin of New York Athletic Club
2nd Place – Mike Depalma of Edinboro Scotsman Club
3rd Place – Alex Cisneros of FLWC
4th Place – Daniel White of White wrestling

Senior – 70
1st Place – Kevin Hartnett of Husky wrestling club
2nd Place – Luke Vaith of Blue & Gold Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Michael Testen of Husky wrestling club
4th Place – Nicholas Maselli of PAWS RTC

Senior – 74
1st Place – Dan Vallimont of Blue & Gold Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Nestor Taffur of Brickhouse
3rd Place – Brandon Rolnick of PAWS RTC
4th Place – Casey Fuller of Edinboro Scotsman Club

Senior – 79
1st Place – Michael Dessino of Husky wrestling club
2nd Place – Frank Affronti of Blue & Gold Wrestling Club (Wayne HS)
3rd Place – Anthony Volpe of Unattached (Rocky Point HS)

Senior – 84
1st Place – Cameron Simaz of FLWC
2nd Place – Enock Francois of West Point Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Gabe Dean of FLWC
4th Place – Scott Gibbons of PAWS RTC

Senior – 96
1st Place – Kyle Cerminara of NYSS
2nd Place – Dan Seidenberg of SKWC
3rd Place – Donald Mcneil of Broncs Wrestling Club
4th Place – Antoni Walters of Quiet Storm East

Senior – 120
1st Place – Billy Smith of Clarkstown
2nd Place – Cole Lampman of PAWS RTC (Shenendehowa HS)
3rd Place – Lex Knapp of SKWC

 

Nick Tighe Wins 2013 Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award for New York

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The National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum chose the 2013 winners of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Awards earlier this week and New York’s recipient was Nick Tighe of Phoenix.

Tighe, Photo by BV

Tighe, a three-time state champion, will wrestle for Binghamton beginning in the fall. The Section 3 senior took fifth as a freshman at 112 pounds for the Firebirds at the Division II state tournament, before going all the way to the top of the podium in Albany at 119, 126 and 138 pounds in his final three high school campaigns. He added several All-American showings to his resume, including a fifth place finish at the NHSCA Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach last month.

According to the press release, the award is based on “excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service.”

The previous two Empire State honorees were Brian Realbuto of Somers High School in 2012 (now at Cornell) and Nick Gwiazdowski of Duanesburg High in 2011 (now at NC State).

For more information on the award, see here.

Taking Flight: Sachem East's Conor O'Hara Ready for the Next Step at Air Force

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Conor O’Hara won 152 matches during his Sachem East career, more than anyone in school history.  But when asked about what matches really stood out to him, he didn’t choose any of the 152.

“I would definitely say the county tournament in tenth grade, the only time I didn’t place, stands out,” he said. “The year before as a freshman, I was second at 96 [pounds] and made it to states.  I was a really big and strong 96 and the flaws in my technique were never really exposed.  When I didn’t place, it was big for me mentally. It made me realize what I needed to do to beat the best guys. I realized there were things I needed to fix and it made me train harder.”

Courtesy of the O'Hara Family

He has been praised by his coaches for the way he trained throughout his high school years. That work ethic will certainly come in handy as he takes the next step in his academic and wrestling careers at a place where hard work is essential – the Air Force Academy.

In fact, there won’t be a break for O’Hara.  Just a few days after graduating high school, he’ll be off to Colorado Springs for Basic Cadet Training, a six-week program labeled “rigorous” and “serious” by the institution’s website.

So although he won’t be on the beach or relaxing the summer before college like some of his peers, O’Hara wouldn’t have it any other way.  He’s been excited about going to a military environment for some time.

“When I started looking at colleges, I was attracted to the service academies,” he said. “There are so many opportunities to do cool things you can’t do anywhere else.”

He thought about the Naval and the Merchant Marine Academies as well, but a few factors drove him to the Air Force, especially after he thoroughly enjoyed his recent visit to the campus.

“I might be interested in civil engineering, but I’m still undecided,” he said. “So I really liked that there are more majors at Air Force to choose from.  I thought it gave me more options.”

And the wrestling component was key as well.

“I felt that [head] Coach Joel Sharratt and the whole coaching staff really believed in my potential,” he said. “I’m thankful to Coach Sharratt for giving me the opporuntity to continue my career.”

It was a career that included record breaking moments, one of which was passing Sean O’Malley on the all-time Sachem list for victories.

“I knew before the season that I wasn’t too many wins away,” he said. “I knew it was within reach and that I could do it pretty early in the season.  Having that record was a nice milestone along the way, but it wasn’t my focus.  My goal was to be a champion.”

O’Hara began the campaign at 138 pounds and racked up a 14-3 record at that weight before moving down to 132 in January, where he said he “felt really good and got into the swing of things.”

It sure looked that way.  He won his first 23 bouts at the lighter class, with all but two of the victories by bonus points.

“In the beginning of the year, I was struggling on my feet with motion and taking good shots,” he said. “I did a lot of work with Isaac Ramaswamy getting my shots better, getting the first takedown.  That’s a big part of scoring bonus points for me.  If I can get the first takedown, I have a lot more time to work on top, where I was wrestling really well.”

O’Hara came into the county tournament at 132 looking to get an elusive Suffolk title.  In addition to his runner up finish in Section 11 as a ninth grader, he was fourth as a junior.  He began by winning his first two matches, but dropped a decision to Hauppauge’s Chris Mauriello in the semifinals, his first setback in 2013.

A second trip to the state tournament seemed in jeopardy.

“The night I lost in the semis, I actually didn’t think I had a good chance of getting a wildcard to states,” he said. “But once I looked into it a little more and figured out the points, I started to feel pretty confident.”

To get to the Times Union Center he needed to take third – and he fought back to do just that. He wasn’t the only one from Sachem East.  Five of his teammates (Jakob Restrepo, Michael Pistone, Mark Tracy, Cristian Nunez and John Vigh) also made it to the bronze medal match.  So despite having only one finalist (Jackson Mordente), the Flaming Arrows captured the Suffolk tournament title for the first time since 1992 by 18 points over East Islip.

“I think after the end of last season, we all had our minds set on winning a county title,” he said of the Sachem East squad. “We worked through the spring and summer to get ready.  We had a goal in mind as a team. We also wanted to be unofficial New York dual champions [the team finished second at the Union-Endicott event to Wantagh]. The way we won the County showed our heart.  No one packed it in after the semis.  We were disappointed, but we came back and wrestled even better the second day when we needed every win in a close team race.  My goal was to be a county champ individually.  That was the goal of other guys on the team too, but it winning as a team made it feel better.”

Courtesy of the O'Hara Family

It felt even better when he was officially informed that he had a bid to Albany for the state tournament.  O’Hara won his opening match by major decision before dropping a tight 7-5 contest to a familiar foe – Sayville’s Matt Leshinger – the eventual New York champion.  He was later eliminated in a one-point bout in the consolations to complete his high school career as a five-time all-league and three-time all-county competitor.

There’s no doubt that the future 141-pounder left his mark on Sachem East wrestling.  And he’s now ready to tackle some new goals, on and off the mat, for the Falcons.

“It definitely meant a lot to me to have one more shot at my goal of being a state champion,” he said. “I didn’t get there, but I’ll definitely use it as motivation going to the next level of college wrestling. I am really thankful and excited for the opportunity.”

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Conor O’Hara wished to thank his uncle (and Sachem East head coach) Sean O’Hara, coach Isaac Ramaswamy, and his dad Dennis O’Hara for all the things they’ve done for him over the years.   He also wished to thank Air Force head coach Joel Sharratt.