Category Archives: Division 1

Disney Duals Recap: New York Kong Captures Second at the Prestigious Event With an Impressive 10-1 Record

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40 teams began the competition in the All-Star bracket at the AAU National Duals (Disney Duals) in Orlando on Saturday.

When the competition ended at the prestigious event on Tuesday evening, New York Kong captured second place after compiling a 10-1 record with victories over squads from places like Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida and South Dakota.

“It was just a great tournament,” said John Passaro, who made the trip and whose son Travis competed at 120 pounds. “The facilities were great, the experience was great. Taking second shows the direction New York wrestling is going. The team had some amazing wins.”

Indeed, after capturing eighth at this event in 2012, the group made it all the way to the finals, shown live on ESPN3.com. To get to that championship bout, the squad picked up a meaningful semifinal victory over Diesel, a Pennsylvania team that defeated the New Yorkers a year ago at this tournament.

“We wrestled lights out overall and especially in the semifinals against Diesel,” said Steve Hromada, who coached the team along with Anthony Ciolino. “Everyone was amped up and excited for that one, especially since they beat us pretty badly last year.  Getting payback was nice, but it wasn’t just that match.  The kids came together more and more as time went on – the more matches we wrestled, the hungrier and better they looked.”

That semifinal win was a hard fought one, with a 30-12 final score. The Ohio Hawks also provided a challenge in a 30-18 contest in the quarters.

However, the outcome in most of the earlier meets was never in doubt. In fact, the team won at least 12 of the 14 matches in each of the first seven duals, including shutouts.  The dominance wasn’t surprising considering the team featured state finalists at 10 weights and every spot in the lineup was filled by a top five NYS finisher (see roster below).

The first place tilt was a different story, however as the powerful Young Guns squad from the Keystone State came out on top convincingly.

“You never know how good you can be until you see a certain level,” Hromada said. “It was a humbling experience. We have very accomplished wrestlers who were fantastic, but the finals showed that you can always get better. Our state champs want to be more than that – they want to be national champs too.”

One national champion, Spencer Lee of Young Guns (ranked #2 in the country by FloWrestling at 106), began with a major decision for the Pennsylvania squad in the championship dual.

However, Ward Melville’s Nick Piccininni, who was a perfect 11-0 at Disney, responded with a decision over another highly-regarded foe, Luke Pletcher, at 113. (Pletcher sits fourth in the national rankings).

At that point, Young Guns led 4-3 on the scoreboard, but they took over from there, collecting several bonus point wins.

Gaining bonus points of his own was Hofstra-bound Mike Hughes of Smithtown West who ended the dual with a 9-1 major decision over Luke Fleck at heavyweight to complete an undefeated tournament. In addition to Piccininni and Hughes, 152-pounder Joe Mastro, who will attend North Carolina State, also notched an unblemished 11-0 mark on the trip.

“[Piccininni] is a true warrior and he has the attitude and tools needed to be an elite wrestler. It showed when he beat the competition he faced,” Hromada said. “Having Hughes as the anchor of your team is the best feeling. You know that you’re always in a good position at the end of the match and that you’ll end on a positive note. And Joe Mastro is a diamond in the rough. He has great technical skills, endurance and toughness.”

In addition to the unbeaten wrestlers, a number of others picked up “silver status” at the event with a single loss. According to Hromada, those included Eastport South Manor’s Travis Passaro (120), Columbia-bound Matt Leshinger (132) and future Binghamton Bearcat Nick Kelley (138). Despite an injury, Minisink Valley graduate Josh Bonneau (220) also racked up wins.

While the squad was looking for one more victory, the journey was seen as an undeniable success.

“We took out some great teams,” Hromada said. “We showcased ourselves and it was an eye-opening experience for some people. We had a bunch of people walk up and say they didn’t know New York could be that tough. It was a nice feeling.”

Leading the charge were coaches Ciolino and Hromada, who put together the very formidable crew to represent the Empire State.

“Anthony Ciolino and Steve Hromada assembled a great team,” John Passaro said. “There is so much that goes into assembling a team of accomplished wrestlers like this. There were no egos — all the kids, who are competitors with each other back home, were teammates this week. It’s very hard to coordinate schedules, meals and travel for 17 wrestlers and also wrestle at such a high level. The coaches did a wonderful job.”

The same could be said for the New York Kong wrestlers. They went from eighth in 2012 to second in 2013 at the Disney Duals. And they’ll be back for more in 2014.

“We’re working to perfect the system,” Hromada said. “We learned from last year and did things better this year and we’ll be even better prepared for next time. It was an absolute pleasure to be able to coach the elite athletes in New York this week and we’ll up the ante and go back looking to win it all next year.”

New York Kong – 2nd Place Disney Duals

106 Kyle Quinn, Wantagh (2013 State Champion)

106 Jesse Dellavecchia, East Islip (2013 State 4th)

113 Nick Piccininni, Ward Melville (2013 State Champion)

120 Travis Passaro, Eastport South Manor (2013 State 3rd)

126 Alex Delacruz, Ossining (2013 State Champion)

132 Matt Leshinger, Sayville (2013 State Champion)

138 Nick Kelley, Shenendehowa (2013 State Champion)

145 Brandon Lapi, Amsterdam (2013 State 2nd)

145 Frank Garcia, Norwich (2013 State 2nd)

145 Jakob Restrepo, Sachem East

152 Joe Mastro,Yorktown (2013 State 3rd)

160 Steven Schneider, MacArthur (2013 State 2nd)

170 Carlos Toribio, Brentwood (2013 State Champion)

182 James Corbett, Wantagh (2013 State 2nd)

195 Nick Weber, Kings Park (2013 State 5th)

220 Josh Bonneau, Minisink Valley (2013 State 4th)

285 Mike Hughes, Smithtown West (2013 State Champion)

New York Kong Earns Spot in the Final Four at Disney Duals After Winning Nine Straight

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Next stop – semifinals.

Team New York Kong took eighth at the Disney Duals last year, but guaranteed a better finish in 2013 after winning for the ninth consecutive time in Orlando this week to make the tournament’s final four.

Photo by Steve Weber

On Monday, the wrestlers once again put on a convincing show, winning nearly every contested match (the squad forfeited some bouts) in their victories over Brawlers Fire and Michigan Freeze in the last two duals of pool competition, according to John Passaro.

Those triumphs led to an appearance in the championship bracket of 16, where the New Yorkers came out on top against the Wrestling Factory (Ohio) 41-19, the group associated with one of the top high school programs in the country, St. Edward’s. The bout began at 106, where East Islip’s Jesse Dellavecchia trailed 4-2 before earning a momentum-building second period fall.

“The match was much closer than the score indicated,” Passaro said. “[The opening pin] set the tone for the match against a very tough team.”

Shortly afterwards, the Empire State squad took the mat again against another foe from the Buckeye State – the Ohio Hawks.  The team built a lead from the start, capturing the first six contests. Coming out on top were Kyle Quinn (106), Nick Piccininni (113), Travis Passaro (120), Alex Delacruz (126), Matt Leshinger (132) and Nick Kelley (138).

And New York finished the job from there, with heavyweight Mike Hughes solidifying the victory with a pin at 285 to make the final score, 30-18 and set up the semifinal meeting with Diesel (Pennsylvania).

That clash will take place Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.

The team is coached by Anthony Ciolino and Steve Hromada.

A Wrestler's Perspective: Tyler Grimaldi's "Whirlwind" Journey through the Recruiting Process (Part 1)

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What is it like to be a top wrestler entering his final year of high school?  The recruiting process is “out of a movie” and a “whirlwind”, according to Harvard-bound Tyler Grimaldi, a 2013 state champion from Half Hollow Hills West High School, and his father Frank.  With July 1 marking the beginning of the official recruiting period for the Class of 2014, we asked the Grimaldis to share some insights on what they experienced as Tyler made his college choice.  

This is part 1 of a two-part article.

 The Beginning

The story of the recruitment of Tyler Grimaldi goes back to the summer of 2011, when he competed at the Junior Freestyle National championships in Fargo, North Dakota between his sophomore and junior years.

Grimaldi, Photo by BV

Frank Grimaldi: At Fargo, Tyler was coached by Columbia’s Carl Fronhofer. Tyler decided to take an unofficial visit to Columbia during his junior year and after he finished second in the state that year [2012], Coach Fronhofer talked to [Hills West coach Mike] Patrovich with a lot of interest. I was ecstatic; I thought it was the greatest thing in the world.  I thought Columbia would be a great place for Tyler.  I sat down with a friend and Tyler’s coaches and they were excited too.  They told me it was awesome; amazing.  But they also told me that we should go through the process fully.  They said, ‘Just wait until July. A lot more will show interest then.’”

Grimaldi continued to bolster his resume, earning All-America honors at the NHSCA Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach where he took fourth at 160 pounds in April (2012).  College coaches definitely took notice.

Frank Grimaldi: In Virginia Beach, it was the quarterfinal round and Tyler was about to wrestle. One of Tyler’s buddies was close to the mat and he was telling me that he almost got knocked over by someone trying to get to the match.  It was really cool – because I saw who it was.  It was [an Ivy league assistant coach], who had run almost across the entire convention center to watch Tyler.  It was really cool to watch.”

 July 1, 2012

Many know that July 1 is the big day when the first official calls and visits can occur.  But the Grimaldis admitted that what happened during that 24 hours was beyond their imagination.

Tyler Grimaldi: It was totally different than I expected. I expected a couple of calls.  What happened was straight out of a movie.  You wake up and your phone doesn’t stop ringing. Some were from schools I e-mailed with before [Grimaldi said he e-mailed coaches as a junior to introduce himself to programs he might be interested in], but some were from schools and coaches I never even heard of or schools I had no idea had any interest in me.  I really felt like I was in a movie.

Frank Grimaldi:  It was a Sunday and it started at about 9:30 a.m. By the end of the night, Tyler had received more than 25 phone calls.  It continued on Monday.  It was a dream come true. I couldn’t imagine it. It was everything from DI powers to D3 schools to Junior Colleges. It got really, really crazy.  Tyler talked to everyone and listened to what they had to say. We would sit down after each call and write down what the coach said, maybe do some research on the school.

The phone interactions continued throughout the summer.  NCAA rules stipulate that schools can only call once every seven days and for the most part, that’s exactly what they did.

 And It Continues . . .

Tyler Grimaldi: Most coaches would call every week on the dot – same exact time. I wasn’t used to it – all these people calling and pulling in different directions.  They wanted to know what my thought process was and where I stood. It became stressful at times.

Frank Grimaldi: The first calls came on that first Sunday.  Some continued to call on Sunday and some switched to another day, but it was pretty much every seven days throughout the summer.

It wasn’t just calls, however.  The postal service saw a big increase of activity at the Grimaldi house as well.

Frank Grimaldi: The mailbox filled up almost every day and so did the school mailbox.  It was like Christmas morning, every morning.

Tyler Grimaldi: There was a lot of mail, and to be honest, I read every single recruiting letter. It made me feel really good to have all those schools gunning for me. A lot of it was pretty basic, asking me to fill out questionnaires or information on the school.  Some was more personal.  Cornell’s stood out – they had some funny letters and some hand written, personal ones specific to me.

Frank Grimaldi estimated that around 75 programs contacted his son during the process, with at least 40 of them doing so by phone.

Tyler Grimaldi: It was pretty overwhelming at first. The big thing is that we didn’t close off anything early on.  I wanted to hear what all the options were.

Frank Grimaldi: There were many different opportunities. One school said with the classes he was taking in high school, he could come in as a sophomore [academically] and wrestle four years and get a redshirt year.  That way, he’d graduate in three years and have two years of grad school or med school paid for.  Everybody was offering different things – there were different packages and scholarships. Some of that was incredibly tempting.  In the end, I told Tyler that he needed to figure out what college he wanted to go to; what was right for him, and we’d figure out the next steps from there.

One of those key next steps was narrowing down the field to a handful of schools.  How that occurred and the rest of Tyler Grimaldi’s recruiting story is at Link to Part 2 of the article.

Team NY Kong Moves to 5-0 at Disney Duals After Three Lopsided Wins on Sunday

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On Saturday, Team New York Kong cruised through the competition on the way to two dominant dual victories. On Sunday things were even more lopsided in the squad’s three victories over Doughboy Blue, South Dakota Red and Team Ohio Mafia.  In fact, the Empire State grapplers shut their opponents out in the first two meets and overall captured 40 of the 42 individual matches during the trio of dual wins, according to John Passaro.

Day three of action on Monday will begin bright and early for the New Yorkers, as they start at 8 a.m. against Brawlers Fire. After that, it will be a match with Michigan Freeze in the early afternoon.

And then, the “playoff” portion of the event begins as a national championship team will be crowned. Stay tuned for further updates.

Team New York Kong

106 Kyle Quinn

106 Jesse Dellavecchia

113 Nick Piccininni

120 Travis Passaro

126 Alex Delacruz

132 Matt Leshinger

138 Nick Kelley

145 Brandon Lapi

145 Frank Garcia

145 Jakob Restrepo

152 Joe Mastro

160 Steven Schneider

170 Carlos Toribio

182 James Corbett

195 Nick Weber

220 Josh Bonneau

285 Mike Hughes

NY Unbeaten at Two Dual Events on Sat: Freestyle Team Takes First in Pool at Jr. Nationals; Team Kong Dominates at Disney

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Team North Dakota Blue seemed to have New York’s number at the Junior National Duals in Oklahoma. The two squads met in the Greco Roman competition on Wednesday and in Freestyle action on Friday and both times, North Dakota came out on top, by 37-32 and 37-31 scores, respectively.

There would be one more chance for the Empire State wrestlers. Both squads went undefeated on the event’s last day, earning spots against each other in the first place match of the Red/Blue Freestyle Pool. It turned out that the third time was a charm.

“We lost to them twice and didn’t want it to happen three times in a row,” said Johnson City’s Reggie Williams, who wrestled at 195 and 220 during the week. “We knew we needed to get it together and we did.”

In an exciting dual New York prevailed 35-34 — and it all came down to the last bout.

The Empire State got off to a strong start, with a technical fall by Roland Zilberman at 220 and a decision by Sam Eagan at 285. After a 10-0 victory by Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer at 138 and a pin by Jake Savoca at 145, New York led by eight points with five matches remaining. But it wasn’t over, as North Dakota went on a run, capturing four straight contests, including two by bonus, to take a 34-30 advantage into the finale at 195 pounds.

That’s when Williams stepped in, needing a technical fall for the tie or a fall for the win. After defeating his opponent Brandon Rodriguez earlier in the event, Williams was confident he would come through.

“I thought we would win the tiebreaker if it came down to that, but I still wanted to be safe and pin him,” Williams said. “I wanted to put the team on my back and came in looking for the pin right away.”

It didn’t take long as he recorded the fall less than a minute and a half into the bout to give New York the one-point triumph.

Rodriguez-Spencer, Photo by BV

Williams frequently got his hand raised in Oklahoma, as he posted an 8-1 record in Freestyle. 160-pounder Burke Paddock did the same (after going undefeated in Greco). Also starring for the team was Rodriguez-Spencer, who won all nine of his Freestyle bouts at 138, including eight by technical fall, after losing just once in Greco.

“Guys like Burke and Renaldo wrestled tough the whole time,” Williams said. “We knew we could count on them to go out there, score points and get us techs and pins when we needed them.”

In addition, 120 was a strong weight, as Matt Morris and Nick Casella teamed up to go 7-2 in that class while Daniel Smith (170) and the previously mentioned Savoca and Eagan all collected five or more wins in Freestyle. In addition, after an unblemished tournament in Greco, Zilberman won all four of his bouts on Friday and Saturday in the upperweights.

Overall, the squad garnered a 6-3 record in Freestyle, with wins over Minnesota Blue, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Tennessee and the finale against North Dakota.

“I honestly thought we’d do a little better,” Williams said. “But it was a great experience with great bonding time for the team. I think we got a lot out of it to help us get ready to compete for [individual] national titles at Fargo in a few weeks. And we were really happy to end on a good note, winning our last match.”

For full Freestyle results, see Here.

For a recap of the team’s Greco Roman competition, see This link.

For full team roster, see the bottom of this article.

Off to a Great Start at Disney

It wasn’t only an unbeaten day for the Empire State in Oklahoma, as another group of All-Stars – Team New York Kong – racked up a 2-0 mark at the AAU National Duals (aka Disney Duals) in Orlando.

The squad had no mercy on the opposition, winning at least 11 of the 14 bouts in both meets. The first was a 50-9 pasting of Team Kryptonite (Ohio), while the second was a 44-6 decision over New Tampa Wrestling.

Garnering two victories on the day were Nick Piccininni (113), Travis Passaro (120), Alex Delacruz (126), Matt Leshinger (132), Nick Kelley (138), Joe Mastro (152), Nick Weber (195), Josh Bonneau (220) and Mike Hughes (heavyweight). The team will return to the mat for three contests on Sunday.

Team New York Kong

106 Kyle Quinn

106 Jesse Dellavecchia

113 Nick Piccininni

120 Travis Passaro

126 Alex Delacruz

132 Matt Leshinger

138 Nick Kelley

145 Brandon Lapi

145 Frank Garcia

145 Jakob Restrepo

152 Joe Mastro

160 Steven Schneider

170 Carlos Toribio

182 James Corbett

195 Nick Weber

220 Josh Bonneau

285 Mike Hughes

 

Team New York – Junior Freestyle Duals

100: Dom Poggoli

106: Andy Flanagan

113: Alpha Diallo

120: Nick Casella

120: Matt Morris

126: Trey Aslanian

126: Cheick Ndiaye

126/132: Richard Antonacci

132: Freddie Dunau

138: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer

145: Jake Savoca

152: Nigel Williams

160: Burke Paddock

170: Daniel Smith

182: Isaiah Zimmer

195: Reggie Williams

220: Roland Zilberman

220/285: Sam Eagan

 

College Commitments – What are the Destinations for the Class of 2013 Wrestlers?

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On July 1, recruiting season officially begins for the Class of 2014.  With that in mind, we will be bringing some recruiting-related content, including articles from the perspective of college coaches and a New York State champion headed to Division I wrestling this fall.

For now, here’s a list of where New Yorkers are going for the 2013-14 campaign (as well as out of staters who will attend Empire State institutions). These are commitments we have been made aware of, but if you see something that should be added or changed, please contact newyorkwrestlingnews@gmail.com.

 

Alfred

Zack Bacon, Hornell (NY), Football

Kevin Thayer, Unatego (NY)

Air Force

John Diekel, Whitehall (NY)

Conor O’Hara, Sachem East (NY)

Arizona State

James Brundage, Ossining (NY)/Rider

Kyle Colling, Pioneer (NY)/Oklahoma

Army

TJ Brandt, Altoona (PA)

Christian Doyle, McKinney Christian Academy (TX)

Logan Everett, Williamson (PA)

Nick Frank, Urbana (MD)

Ruben Jurado, Concord (NC)

Mason Kumashiro, Los Alamitos (CA)

Lincoln Mallinger, St. Michael-Albertville (MN)

Tristan Manderfield, Foley (MN)

Mark Marchetti, Father Ryan (TN)

Russell Parsons, Blair Academy (NJ)

Trevor Smith, Ripon (CA)

Troy Taylor, Ironwood Ridge (AZ)

Jack Wedholm, Blair Academy (NJ)

Binghamton

David Almaviva, Shenendehowa (NY)

Thierno Diallo, Duval (MD)

Nick Kelley, Shenendehowa (NY)

Kyle Kelly, Chenango Forks (NY)

Bryce Mazurowski, Avon (NY)

Robert Person, Bellmore JFK (NY)

Nick Tighe, Phoenix (NY)

Zack Zupan, Canastota (NY)

Bloomsburg

Kevin Rodriguez, Patchogue Medford (NY)

Brockport

Jeff Bechen, Whitman Hanson (MA)

Peter Ottaviano, Colts Neck (NJ)

Pete Hailer, Milton (MA)

Dillon Stowell, Gouverneur (NY)

Boston

Lewis Yablans, Jericho (NY)

Brown

James Corbett, Wantagh (NY)

Bucknell

Connor Lapresi, Lansing (NY)

Buffalo

James Benjamin, Vestal (NY)

Jake Campana, Southern Regional (NJ)

Roy Daniels, Olentangy Liberty (OH)

Corey Hollister, Perry (NY)

Alex Francik, Vestal (NY)

Nick Flannery, Cleveland State

Carmine Goldsack, Bergen Catholic (NJ)

Anthony Liberatore, Williamsville South (NY)

Brandon Muntz, Falconer (NY)

Rrok Ndokaj, Monsignor Farrell (NY)/Bloomsburg

Tyler Rill, Mount St. Joseph’s (MD)/Bloomsburg

Mike Silvis, Holley (NY)

Andrew (AJ) Voelker, Monroe Woodbury (NY)

Austin Weigel, Onteora (NY)

Clarion

Quinton Murphy, Holley/Indiana (NY)

Tim Schaefer, Warsaw (NY)

Danny Sutherland, Mepham, Nassau CC (NY)

Coast Guard Academy

Dan Fiorvanti, Commack (NY)

Coker

John Florio, Valley Central (NY)

Columbia

Chris Araoz, Wantagh (NY)

Britain Carter, Maple Mountain (UT)

Mike Fetchet, South Fayette (PA)

Troy Hembury, Muncy (PA)

Matt Leshinger, Sayville (NY)

Justin Mann, Ladue (MO)

Vince Pallone, Mendham (NJ)

Andrew Psomas, Monsignor Farrell (NY)

Garrett Ryan, Wyoming Seminary (PA)

Markus Scheidel, St. Edward (OH)

Cornell

Dan Choi, Syosset (NY)

Jake George, Long Branch (NJ)

Griffin Higginbotham, Union Grove (GA)

Dylan Realbuto, Somers (NY)

Jake Taylor, Bald Eagle Area (PA)

Ty Walter, Mifflinburg (PA)

Cortland

Chris Alianakian, Kellenberg (NY)

Colin Barber, Westfield (NJ)

Nick Bellanza, John Glenn (NY)/Jacksonville

Mat Bradice, William Floyd (NY)

Brian Bulger, Westfield (NJ)

Chris Cataldo, MacArthur (NY)

Lucas Ciancamino, Sayville (NY)

Antonio DeLuco, Rome Free Academy (NY)

Brendan Dent, Connetquot (NY)

Matt Dillon, Nanuet (NY)

Troy Feniger, North Rockland (NY)

Jake Green, Chenango Forks (NY)

Casey Lanave, Chenango Forks (NY)

Tyler Lilly, New Rochelle (NY)

Lance Moore, Johnson City/Binghamton (NY)

Jagger Rebozo, Half Hollow Hills West (NY)

Mark West, Hauppauge (NY)

Duke

Alex Tanzman, Westhampton Beach (NY)

East Stroudsburg

Eric Januszkiewicz, New Paltz (NY)

Edinboro

Terrence Cheeks, Newburgh (NY)

Lester Enriquez, Hewlett (NY)

Franklin & Marshall

Tommy Quinlan, Fayetteville-Manlius (NY)

Gannon

Eric Lewandowski, Lancaster (NY)

Harvard

Tyler Grimaldi, Half Hollow Hills West (NY)

Hofstra

Mike Hughes, Smithtown West (NY)

Kyle Krasavage, Wyoming Valley West (PA)

Ithaca

Travis Berube, St. Joseph’s Collegiate (NY)

Jimmy Kaishian, Yorktown (NY)

Steven Sabella, Yorktown (NY)

Joe Sprung, Berne-Knox-Westerlo (NY)

Carlos Toribio, Brentwood (NY)

Lake Erie College

Keanu Thompson, Grand Street (NY)

Lehigh

Drew Longo, Ardsley (NY)

Thomas Murray, Yorktown (NY)

Life University (Georgia)

Rowdy Prior, Phoenix (NY)

Maryland

Chris Reilly, Half Hollow Hills West (NY)

Mercyhurst

Austin Hedges, Letchworth (NY)

Dan Reagan, Lewiston Porter (NY)

Messiah

Lucas Malmberg, Marathon (NY)

Nassau

Josh Bonneau, Minisink Valley (NY)

Gio Santiago, Sachem North (NY)

Vinny Turano, Wantagh (NY)

Nebraska

Anthony Abidin, Nassau CC (NY)

Niagara CCC

Jude Gardner, Fredonia (NY)

North Carolina

Jacob Pincus, Pittsford (NY)

NYU

Roman Accetta, Poly Prep (NY)

John Messinger, Putnam Valley (NY)

Amit Naik, Providence Day (NC)

Nick Matthews, West Morris (NJ)

Joey Rizzolino, Campbell

Ethan Walker, Heritage Hall (OK)

North Carolina State

Shayne Brady, Carthage (NY)

Joe Mastro, Yorktown (NY)

Oklahoma State

Chris Koo, Great Neck South (NY)

Oswego

Simon Greebel, Hewlett (NY)

Taylor Jones, Palmyra Macedon (NY)

Penn

Dan McDevitt, Wantagh (NY)

Jun Yoo, Jericho (NY)

Princeton

Trey Aslanian, Edgemont (NY)

RPI

Steven Mills, Sachem North (NY) – Football

Roger Williams

Tom Carta, South Glens Falls (NY)

Sacred Heart

Nick Allesandrini, St. Anthony’s (NY)

TJ Fabian, Shoreham Wading River (NY)

Tom Filipkowski, Mattituck (NY)

Matt Fisher, Oneida (NY)

Brendan Goldup, LaSalle (NY)

Daniel Hayden, East Islip (NY)

Patrick Henn, Lindenhurst (NY)

Austin Hulse, Stony Brook School (NY)

Nick Lupi, Huntington (NY)

Zak Mullen, Shoreham Wading River (NY)

Alex Swanson, Smithtown West (NY)

Johnny Vrasidas, St. Anthony’s (NY)

Springfield

Corey Ali, Shenendehowa (NY)

Hunter Ayen, Gouverneur (NY)

Zach Joseph, Shenendehowa (NY)

David Varian, Yorktown (NY)

Stanford

Kevin Tynes, Brooklyn Tech (NY)

Virginia

Drew Hull, Royalton Hartland (NY)

Waynesburg

Tim Raner, Mexico (NY)

Wesleyan

Robert Rosenberg, Hewlett (NY)

Western New England

Andrew Cole, Ogdensburg (NY)

Matt Jarvis, Carle Place (NY)

West Virginia

John Pellegrino, Division (Nassau CC) (NY)

Gunnar Van Curen, Portville (NY)

Wheeling Jesuit

Justin Jimenez-Castillo, Irvington (NY)

Wilkes

Pankil Chander, Lawrence (NY)

Paddock, Zilberman Post Undefeated Records For NY at Junior Greco National Duals

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The Junior Greco Roman National Duals came to an end on Thursday evening with Team New York registering a seventh place finish in the Bronze/Copper pool. The Empire State wrestlers ended the competition on a high note, winning their last meet 40-26 over Pennsylvania.

That final dual started off with a pair of wins from the upperweight duo of Roland Zilberman and Reggie Williams. (The pair shared 195 and 220 pound duties throughout the event and on Thursday combined for a perfect 8-0 record). After the Keystone State group responded with four consecutive victories, New York countered with triumphs in seven of the last nine bouts to come out on top.  Those wins were by: Matt Morris (120), Richard Antonacci (126), Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (138), Jake Savoca (145), Nigel Williams (152), Burke Paddock (160) and Daniel Smith (170).

Photo by BV

Paddock and Zilberman were a combined 14-0 over the two-day tournament with 12 of those wins coming by technical fall or pin. Rodriguez-Spencer also piled up bonus points, going 6-1 with three techs and two falls. Williams collected five victories while fellow Section 4 grappler Isaiah Zimmer grabbed four wins at 182 pounds. Overall, the New Yorkers went 2-5, topping South Dakota on Wednesday, 40-26.

The team returns to action on Friday as the Freestyle National Duals commence.

For full results, see Here.

Team New York:

106: Andy Flanagan
106: Dominic Poggoli
113: Alpha Diallo
120: Nick Casella
120: Matt Morris
126: Trey Aslanian
126: Cheick Ndiaye
126: Richard Antonacci
132: Freddie Dunau
138: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer
145: Jake Savoca
152: Nigel Williams
160: Burke Paddock
170: Daniel Smith
182: Isaiah Zimmer
195/220: Reggie Williams
195/220: Roland Zilberman
285: Sam Eagan

 

Superior Wins Ragin Raisins Duals as NY Teams Celebrate Father's Day Weekend

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Photos courtesy of Adam Burgos

Quite a few fathers spent the majority of the holiday weekend inside a gymnasium at Mercyhurst University. And loved every minute of it.

“For me, it’s the best Father’s Day there can be,” said G2 World Wrestling Academy coach Adam Burgos. “I wouldn’t trade it for a tie, a dinner out, a gift card to Home Depot or any other typical gift. None of that compares to being with my son, watching him do something he loves. And then spending time with the rest of my family later in the day.”

Burgos and his squad competed at the Ragin Raisins Duals June 15 and 16, along with quality teams from New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Ohio. The event featured 12 squads in both the youth and high school divisions and saw some great competition on Saturday and Sunday.

Capturing the title in the youth bracket was the Empire State’s Superior Wrestling Academy Black. The group went 7-0 over the weekend, earning a 37-21 decision over Ragin Raisins Green in the title bout to win gold.

“We had a very, very competitive all New York team of mostly Superior wrestlers,” said coach Gary Ferro, who led the group along with Ed Schafer. “They put their hearts into it. With each win, the kids kept getting more excited. It was very exciting, with a NY vs. PA final. It was intense and the crowd got into it.”

In the championship round, the first four bouts were decisions, with the Ragin Raisins taking a 9-3 lead. Next on the mat for Superior at 78 pounds was Ethan Ferro, who was set to take on an opponent who had defeated him at the Empire Duals earlier in the spring.

This time, it was different, as Ferro took a sizable lead before recording the pin to tie the dual score at 9 and swing momentum toward New York.

“It was very big for him because it’s an older kid who already beat him this year,” Ferro said of his son. “It meant a lot to him and it really helped the team. It was a great Father’s Day present.”

Superior took over from there, pulling ahead by double digits on the way to victory.

It was the closest match of the event for Superior Black, as the team outscored its opponents by a combined 327-45 in the first six duals. The closest meet prior to the championship was a 31-point victory.

That kind of dominance often comes from a balanced lineup, and that was the case over the weekend. According to Ferro, a number of wrestlers went undefeated – Stevo Poulin (61 pounds), Drew Schafer (84), Dillan Palaszewski (90), Dane Heberlein (98), Mike Venosa (115), Tyler Barnes (135) and Frankie Gissendanner (147). In addition, Ferro said that Jace Schafer (56), Greg Diakomihalis (66), Hammond Raes (106) and Emerson Block (125), all tallied 6-1 records.

At the high school level, one of the host squads, Ragin Raisins Pink, came out on top, besting Lake County, Ohio for the championship.

Placing in the top six for New York were Cobra (third), Superior Black (fourth) and G2 (sixth). G2’s team actually defeated the eventual champions earlier in the competition, 37-23, but finished third in the pool on criteria.

On the youth side, the Empire State was also very well represented as all three squads placed in the top six – Superior Black (first), Super Six (fifth) and Superior Gold (sixth).

The weekend wasn’t only about wrestling, however. On Saturday evening, the Superior wrestlers and their families went to a campground and had a picnic with around 80-90 people.

“It was just a good time, a great time to bond,” Ferro said. “It made it a really special Father’s Day weekend. We love wrestling, so this weekend was a great present.”

Courtesy of Adam Burgos, a number of videos from the event are available, including coach Jason Locke of Ragin Raisins previewing the event, wrestler interviews and a number of heartfelt Father’s Day messages. (Match videos to come).

For the full playlist, see Ragin Raisins Video Link

Here’s a number of wrestlers with Father’s Day wishes:

And event organizer Jason Locke

 

Final Standings – Youth Bracket

1 Superior Black (NY) 37
2 RR Green (PA) 21
3 Gladiator Swords (PA) 34

4 AWC (OH) 22
5 Super 6 (NY) 41
6 Superior Gold (NY) 15
7 Gladiator Shields (PA)45

8 RR Pink (PA) 18
9 Mt Men (PA) 41
10 Lancaster (PA) 19
11 RR Tye Dye (PA)

Final Standings – High School Bracket

1 RR Pink (PA) 29
2 Lake County (OH) 26
3 Cobra (NY) 84

4 Superior Black (NY) 0
5 AWC (OH) 25
6 G2 (NY) 18
7 Excelsior United 35 (NY)

8 North Shore Edge (IL) 29   9 Falconer (NY) 35

10 Roughnecks 9 (NY) 11 RR Purple (PA) 29
12 Superior Gold (NY) 27

Youth Champions – Superior Wrestling Academy Black Roster (as provided by Gary Ferro)

56 – Jace Schafer
61 – Stevo Poulin
66 – Greg Diakomihalis
72 – Brennan Roe
78 – Ethan Ferro
84 – Drew Schafer
90 – Dillan Palaszewski
98 – Dane Heberlein
106 – Hammond Raes
115 – Mike Venosa
125 – Emerson Block
135 – Tyler Barnes
147 – Frankie Gissendanner
160 – Brandon Cousino
180 – Ryan Flaitz
Alternate-Brian Sharkey

Who from New York is Currently in the 2013-14 National Rankings?

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Flowrestling has been posting updated high school rankings, removing wrestlers from the graduating Class of 2013 to give a glimpse of what next season could look like. Many New York grapplers made the cut, including eight state champions from February of 2013. Ward Melville’s Nick Piccininni is the highest ranked of the Empire State representatives, sitting fifth at 120 pounds.

To see which competitors have been included in the national top 20, see below:

Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton, Section 5) – 11th at 106

Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville, Section 11) – 5th at 120

Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich, Section 4) – 19th at 132

Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Cheektowaga, Section 6) – 10th at 138

Louis Hernandez (Mepham, Section 8 ) – 9th at 152

Corey Rasheed (Longwood, Section 11) – 10th at 160

Burke Paddock (Warsaw, Section 5) – 11th at 160

Christian Dietrich (Greene, Section 4) – 9th at 170

Adis Radoncic (RKA, PSAL) – 17th at 170

Reggie Williams (Johnson City, Section 4) – 16th at 195

Rich Sisti (Monsignor Farrell, CHSAA) – 16th at 220

James O’Hagan (Seaford, Section 8 ) – 7th at 285

Although not in the latest edition, two-time state champion William Koll of Lansing and 2013 third placer Travis Passaro of Eastport South Manor were recently in the rankings as well.

Rasheed, Photo by BV

New York Wins Two at the Cadet Freestyle National Duals As Merkin and Bethel Go Undefeated

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Team New York spent Father’s Day weekend in Daytona Beach, Florida, competing at the Cadet Freestyle National Duals. The squad picked up two victories in five meets, despite forfeiting six weight classes in each contest.

Merkin, Photo courtesy of gothamcitywrestling.com

On Friday, the team opened with a pair of setbacks at the hands of Pennsylvania and Oklahoma, but finished the day strong with a 37-31 win over Florida. Saturday began with another triumph, this time a 41-19 result against Georgia. In the finale, the Empire State wrestlers won six of the 10 contested matches, but fell to North Carolina by a 40-33 margin.

There were a number of standout performances in the Sunshine State, including two undefeated grapplers. Both Leonard Merkin (138 pounds) and James Bethel (220) went 5-0 and piled up bonus points in the process. Merkin had two pins and three technical falls, while Bethel had a pin and two techs in the upperweights. Also getting his hand raised often was 160-pounder Andy Cummings, who went 4-1.

Collecting three victories over the course of the competition were Justin Lopez (88 pounds), Jesse Dellavecchia (113), Jackie Gold (120) and Dakota Woolley (170).

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

Team New York Records:

88 Pounds: Justin Lopez 3-2

100 Pounds: John Luke DeStefano 2-3

106 Pounds: Sean Miller 2-3

113 Pounds: Jesse Dellavecchia 3-2

120 Pounds: Jackie Gold 3-2

132 Pounds: Marc Paez 1-4

138 Pounds: Leonard Merkin 5-0

145 Pounds: Kale Gilbert 1-4

160 Pounds: Andy Cummings 4-1

170 Pounds: Dakota Woolley 3-2

220 Pounds: James Bethel 5-0