Monthly Archives: September 2013

NY's Top Junior High Wrestler Frankie Gissendanner Striving for the Top After Stellar Seventh Grade Season

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Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing some of the top wrestlers in New York for the upcoming campaign.  We begin with our #1 Junior High School grappler in the state, Penfield eighth grader Frankie Gissendanner. Stay tuned for more … the freshman class will be next.

Earlier this summer, Frankie Gissendanner opened the Flowrestling website and next to the main story about the top Junior High School wrestlers in the country was a photo of . . . Frankie Gissendanner.

“I was proud of myself when I saw my picture there,” he said.  “I was excited to achieve one of my goals to be nationally ranked, but I was a little surprised too.”

Courtesy of Nikki Gissendanner

The Penfield star may have been a bit surprised, but most of those who watched him in New York last year weren’t shocked at all.  After an offseason in which he seemed to win a championship just about every weekend, Gissendanner had a stellar campaign in his first year on the varsity squad, racking up a 44-6 mark while capturing multiple tournament titles and placing at the toughest in-season event in the Empire State.  And all of this happened as a seventh grader at 126 pounds.

Did Gissendanner expect so much success so quickly?

“I wanted to win a state championship or at least make the top three,” he said of his expectations for the 2012-13 season. “I thought it was possible as a seventh grader.”

He certainly started off with a bang.  On the first weekend of December, Gissendanner went undefeated at the Mark Stephens Classic, earning the Most Outstanding Wrestler award for the lightweights.  It wouldn’t be the last time he nabbed MOW honors. In fact, he did it again more than once, including later that month at the prestigious Top Hat tournament in Pennsylvania when he grabbed an individual title against tough Keystone State opposition.

“It motivated me when I was facing that kind of competition,” Gissendanner said.

He again faced top talent at the Eastern States Classic in January at SUNY Sullivan.  In fact, the 126-pound bracket included more than 10 All-State wrestlers, including four state champions.  Gissendanner was undaunted, going 5-2 and defeating a pair of New York state silver medalists on the way to the podium.

After dropping his quarterfinal bout to now two-time state champion William Koll, Gissendanner rebounded with an 8-4 victory over 2013 state runner up Keanu Thompson.  And then, in the seventh place match, he defeated 2012 New York second placer Justin Cooksey 3-1 in sudden victory.

“When I took seventh at Eastern States, I thought I had a lot of opportunities to win or place at big tournaments,” he said. “I thought I would do well at the state championships.”

But first, he had to get there.  And he got the job done, earning the right to represent Section 5 by winning the SuperSectional title in Division I.  Among his wins at the event was a decision over James Arao of Fairport, who had topped Gissendanner early in the season.  In the championship contest, Gissendanner bested Schroeder’s Rosario Venniro 3-1 in overtime to punch his ticket to the Times Union Center. He was again chosen as the MOW.

“I think my biggest win last year was my Supers match in the finals,” Gissendanner said. “It qualified me for states and I did it against a senior – I took his position.”

He was excited to make his debut in Albany.  But he was less excited about the way things turned out in his first appearance in the state capital as he went 1-2, with his second setback coming at the hands of multiple-time state finalist Dylan Realbuto.

“I choked at states,” Gissendanner said. “I was really nervous. It was definitely a big change. It was so big with so many people, and it was like, ‘wow’. The atmosphere got to me.  I wish I went to states in sixth grade just to see what it was like to know what I was walking into.  But I hadn’t been there before and it was actually my first time being in an arena like that, ever.  It got to me.  But it will help me for the future.”

It may help this fall as he prepares for the upcoming campaign at high quality preseason events, where he said he plans to compete at 132 pounds.

“I’m going to Super 32 and the Journeymen Classic,” he said. “I’ll be ready. I’m really hyped.”

Gissendanner also gets hyped to talk about some of his favorites – Jordan Burroughs, Jon “Bones” Jones and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

“Iowa is my favorite college team,” he said. “Dan Gable was a great coach and I like the Brands brothers.  I like their motto in wrestling and their attitude. I went to see Iowa wrestle Buffalo last year.  That was a lot of fun.”

Gissendanner has fun on the mat, but also as a member of the Junior Varsity football and lacrosse teams.  Even in the other seasons, however, he can’t stay away from the wrestling room, training with the G2 World Wrestling Academy and Titan Worldwide.

The Penfield standout had ambitious goals going into his first varsity season a year ago and he once again has set the bar high as eighth grade approaches.

“I learned last year from the state tournament that every match should be treated like you’re just going live with your partner in the wrestling room,” he said. “You should always be calm and not let the crowd get to you.  This year, I want to win every tournament I step into.  And win every match.”

If he’s able to do that, there’s a good chance Frankie Gissendanner will find his photo on the front page of the national rankings once again. And instead being slotted in the #14 spot nationally, he could be ranked even higher.

From Shut Down to the Garden: Westchester Wrestling Ready to Grapple Again in 2013-14

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Wrestling was back at Westchester Community College for the first time in quite a while.  And then, all of a sudden, the season came to an abrupt halt. The planned trips to national qualifying and then Nationals were no longer possible.

It began in the fall of 2012 for head coach Joe Regan and the squad, operating as a club team out of the student FSA (Faculty-Student Association) office.  Westchester performed well early on, in a tri-meet against Stony Brook and the University of New Haven and then at the Long Island Open and the New York State Intercollegiate ‘B’ event on the campus of Cornell University.

“We had basically three or four weeks to get the guys prepared for the New York tournament, so it was an accelerated process,” Regan said. “Our guys got beat, but were competitive. We had some top five placers at the Long Island Open. I was pretty satisfied with how they competed against a lot of Division I and Division III wrestlers.”

Next up was another tri-meet, this time against Mount St. Vincent and a Division III squad from Ohio.

“We didn’t have a full lineup but it was tough,” Regan said. “We got our butts kicked by the Division III team. We were winning against Mount St. Vincent before we got pinned in two straight matches and wound up losing.  It was frustrating.”

Regan and the Vikings went from being a bit frustrated about the results on the mat to a more significant frustration.

“What happened next – we basically were shut down by the institution because we were being run as a club and clubs needed a faculty sponsor,” Regan said. “It was awful, just terrible.  We were looking forward to going to NCWA [National Collegiate Wrestling Association] qualifying tournament and then the national tournament.  We saw Stony Brook do pretty well at NCWA nationals.  We beat them and I thought we had a couple of guys who could have been All-Americans.  But it was out of our control.  We weren’t allowed to continue.”

According to Regan, the group was determined to find a solution, but didn’t find success initially. In essence, the season was over for the Vikings.

“It didn’t look good for the continuing of our team as a club. There were all these roadblocks,” Regan said. “And then the athletic department called and said they would take us on.  I was flabbergasted. We were working with Adam Frank [the Director of Student Involvement] and he went to bat for us.  He thought we didn’t belong with the Spanish club and all the other clubs – we belonged in athletics.  The Athletic Director told us he didn’t have much of a budget for us, but we could be a part of the department. It was incredible.”

So, according to Regan, the team will return to action in 2013-14.  The Vikings will compete as part of the NCWA, but there’s a different long term plan.

“The next goal is to join the NJCAA [National Junior College Athletic Association] and field a great junior college program in the future,” he said.

Whatever happens next, Regan believes the team has been embraced the surrounding area.

“There’s good support behind us,” the coach said. “We’re excited this is happening for the community. Wrestling is popular in Westchester and Putnam counties and we also draw from Beat the Streets.  It’s a fantastic thing to have an opportunity for wrestlers here.  Not everybody is ready to stop wrestling after high school and only a small percentage go to Division I. With student loans going the way they are, you’ll see more and more kids going local.  Here, guys can go to open tournaments to wrestle Division I and Division III guys but in the end have their own national tournament.”

The nationals won’t be the only big event next season.  The Vikings will also have the chance to take the mat at the World’s Most Famous Arena for the Grapple at the Garden on December 1 alongside some of the country’s top teams.  [Westchester will battle Stony Brook in a dual meet].

“I don’t want to take one ounce of credit for making that happen,” Regan said. “It was all [Stony Brook head coach] Shaun [Lally].  He’s doing a fantastic job and I’m grateful that he wanted to include us as a part of that great event.  He had a good idea to promote local teams at the NCWA level at the Grapple at the Garden and obviously we’re very excited to be a part of it.”

Regan’s also excited about what the future holds.

“We have a lot of work to do,” the coach said earlier in the summer. “We need to recruit and fill some spots. But we have some very good wrestlers back too.”

Among the grapplers that Regan mentioned were David Rivera (149), Justin James (157) and Ray Ramos (174).

Regan had positive things to say about the performances of those wrestlers on the mat and about their development throughout the course of the year.  And, they were also significant in another way, according to the coach.

“Those guys were a huge part of pounding the pavement on campus, fighting for our survival,” Regan said. “They were completely essential in fighting the good fight.”

Regan also thanked Dave Colagiovanni and Dominick Oddo for their help and acknowledged all the work of Alex Yntriago, who worked with the program from the start with initial head coach Joe Boxer, originally as an assistant and heavyweight coach and now in some other capacities as well.

“Alex [Yntriago] has a history with some of the kids from the Beat the Streets program and does a really good job with his relationships in the New York City area,” Regan said. “He likes the promotion side of things and does very well for us in that regard too.”

“Promotions is something I do for a living,” Yntriago added. “I like to work on ways to get coaches and wrestlers interested. My objective is to expand the program by getting New York City hyped about it. I think this program can be a launching pad for New York City, Long Island and local kids. My efforts are also on teaching guys how to be champions in life.”

His efforts also may be spent on the mat, as Yntriago has a year of eligibility left and could compete at heavyweight this season.

So, after a dramatic year, Westchester looks forward to competing again.  Regan discussed a solid schedule, including events such as the Grapple at the Garden, meets with Yeshiva and Bergen Community College, an invitational at the University of Southern Maine and the New York State Championships at Cornell.

“We didn’t think we were having a team for a while, so to be where we are is fantastic,” Regan said. “We have a lot to look forward to here at Westchester.”

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Westchester CC is working to raise funds to continue moving the program forward. (For more information on how to help, see this link).

Super 32 Qualifier Recap: Restrepo and Feola Win Titles; Calderone Takes Third and Several NYers Earn Fourth

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It’s less than 60 days until some huge national preseason tournaments begin, including the Super 32 Challenge in North Carolina.  After Sunday’s qualifying event in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, we know some of the New York wrestlers that will be heading down to the Tar Heel state in late October to battle for the Super 32 championship belt.

Jakob Restrepo of Sachem East is one of them.  Representing Vougar’s Honors Wrestling (VHW), the Section 11 grappler went 5-0 to take first place at 145 pounds.  Along the way, he outscored his opponents 20-4, including a 3-0 victory in the title bout over Frank Carrozza of Pennsylvania.

Also winning his weight was Walt Whitman’s Vincent Feola at 220 pounds.  Feola made quick work of the competition, registering pins in 1:08 and :43 to capture the crown. (Carter Cooper of Falconer was third).

Feola’s high school teammate Joe Calderone also saw success, nabbing third at 113 pounds with a 5-1 mark.  Three of those wins were by bonus points (two majors and a fall).  To capture bronze, Calderone topped fellow New Yorker Jesse Dellavecchia of East Islip.  Dellavecchia also had five victories on Sunday on his way to fourth.

A number of other Empire State grapplers took fourth in the high school division as well.  They included several wrestlers representing Ascend, such as Mike D’Angelo (Commack, 132), Sam Ward (Locust Valley, 138) and Christian Briody (126) as well 631 Elite’s James Szymanski (Shoreham-Wading River, 120).  D’Angelo and Briody won five matches apiece while Ward traveled a different path.  The Section 8 standout began with a sudden victory loss in his first bout to Travis Roper of Pennsylvania.  He then responded by winning seven in a row in the consolations, including a 9-3 triumph in a rematch with Roper, before notching fourth.

The top four placers in the high school action qualified for early entry into the Super 32 Challenge.  Just missing top four status were the following grapplers: Matteo DeVincenzo (106), Danny Murray (113), Ben Lamantia (120), Joe Russ (126), Derek Holcomb (170), and Jeffrey Lombardi (170).

At the middle school level, a pair of New Yorkers grabbed top three spots, as 631 Elite’s Zachary Redding was the runner up at 70 pounds and VHW’s Ryan Meisner was third at 80.

The Super 32 Challenge takes place October 26-27 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

For the brackets from the event, see here.