Category Archives: Division 1

Merkin, Cummings, Bethel Undefeated on Day 1 of Cadet Freestyle National Duals

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Team New York took the mat on Friday in Florida at the Cadet Freestyle National Duals, picking up a victory over a squad from the host state. The Empire group went 1-2 on the day, also competing against Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

Leading the way were a trio of undefeated wrestlers.  Poly Prep’s Leonard Merkin was dominant in all three of his bouts, garnering two pins and a technical fall at 138 pounds.  Joining Merkin at 3-0 were 160-pounder Andy Cummings and 220-pounder James Bethel. At 120, Jackie Gold lost his opening match but rebounded with a decision and a tech fall to end Friday with a pair of victories.

Contests against teams from Georgia and North Carolina are on the schedule for Saturday.

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

All-State Wrestler Jimmy Overhiser Ready for New Challenges as He Transfers to Wyoming Seminary

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BY ZAKKARIAH ROLFE

What do the “Walsh Ironman”, the “Beast of the East”, and “The Clash” all have in common? For one, they are all FloMajor wrestling tournaments for the upcoming season. What else? They’re all on the Wyoming Seminary schedule for 2013-14. And they are three of the reasons 2012 All-State wrestler Jimmy Overhiser of Corning is transferring to Intermat’s second-ranked high school program for his junior campaign.

“Have you ever seen a tournament in New York that nationally ranked guys go to and don’t place?” Overhiser asked about the schedule he is determined to dominate. “Well, that’s what happens at those tournaments. The biggest reason I’m transferring to Wyoming Seminary is opportunity. They wrestle the toughest schedule in the USA. If you want to get college recognition, you need to wrestle the top competition week in and week out. That’s something I can’t get in Corning. ‘Sem’ is the perfect fit – but not only for wrestling; for every aspect of my life. I feel it gives me the greatest chance to succeed in whatever I choose to do.”

A big part of that is the coaching he will receive from a familiar face to many New York wrestling fans – Scott Green, a former Binghamton assistant and leader of the Shamrock Wrestling Club.  Green’s list of achievements is long, including being named the USA Wrestling FILA Junior/University Person of the Year in 2009.

“We are excited to have Jimmy on board,” the coach said. “His success in New York shows he has the potential to compete at the national level.  Making a jump to a boarding school like ours is a big step and Jimmy has shown by taking it that he is serious about his academic and athletic goals. I was just as impressed with Jimmy’s academic profile as I was with his wrestling ability in the admissions process. We think we can surround him with the right training partners to help him achieve his goals.”

Indeed, there’s little doubt that Overhiser will have a number of stellar wrestlers to push him.

“I’m going to be surrounded by around 11 state finalists and 10 Prep National All-Americans,” Overhiser said. “I’ve wrestled in hundreds of wrestling rooms, and not one room has ever given me the stability the ‘Sem’ room will give me.”

That stability will also be in place off the mat, although there will be a transition academically and in living away from home.

“It’s going to be great – I’m going to be living thirty seconds from some of the best wrestlers in the country, and I’m going to be living with my friends,” he said. “Who doesn’t want that? As for the academic standards, I’m living on campus right next to a library if I need to study or work on a project, I have a quiet place to work. Seminary has great resources and I’m looking forward to being able to use them to the fullest extent I can.”

It’s something that many others have done before. It certainly worked for two-time National Prep Champion and future Ivy League wrestler Eric Morris.

“’Sem’ helped develop me in ways that I didn’t even realize I was lacking before coming,” Morris said on Facebook. “Suddenly I became more than an athlete; I became a student-athlete. I grew to love learning and as a result I was able to achieve higher grades and test scores than I thought I was capable of. My college ambitions changed from going to a good school to going to a great school. I came to Sem as a talented wrestler and I graduated as a promising Division I athlete and future student at Harvard.”

After a fourth place finish in New York at 106 pounds in 2012 and a 36-5 campaign in 2013 at the same weight, Overhiser has similarly high expectations for himself. (He will likely wrestle at 113 or 120 pounds this year).

He said he is looking to go undefeated and win a Prep National title, and in the long run Overhiser looks to compete for Cael Sanderson and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

“Wyoming Seminary gives me the best opportunity to complete all those goals,” he said. “My job is to take that opportunity and run with it.”

New York Goes Undefeated at Freestyle Schoolboy National Duals on Sunday to Capture First in Red/Blue Pool

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Team New York finished the Schoolboy National Duals on a high note on Sunday, winning all four meets to capture first place in the Red/Blue Pool. The squad completed the two-day Freestyle tournament with a 6-2 record.

The 50-28 championship dual victory over Michigan followed a similar pattern as each of New York’s contests on Sunday. After falling behind early with forfeits in the first two classes (70 and 77), the Empire State squad went to work, piling up victories in the lightweights.

Trent Svingala got the ball rolling with a pin at 84 pounds, followed by a decision by Trey LaFlamme at 91 and a technical fall by Jacori Teemer at 98. Michigan bounced back with a win at 105, but New York responded with four consecutive technical falls (Elijah Rodriguez at 112, Hunter Dusold at 120, Hunter Richard at 128 and Tyrese Byron at 136) to take control. The middle and upperweights were solid from there, as New York grabbed five of the last six bouts, finishing well with a pin by David Wingate at 210 and a 9-0 triumph by Larry Baker at 265.

After splitting a pair of duals on Saturday to move into the Red/Blue bracket, New York came out firing on the final day of action, topping Colorado (54-23), Kansas (56-20) and Florida (42-26) before the previously mentioned victory over Michigan.

The squad had numerous standout Freestyle performances in Indianapolis, including unbeaten 98-pounder Jacori Teemer of Long Beach, who tallied a 6-0 mark with three pins and two techs. Dylan Dubuque notched the same record, while several others had six victories. They included 6-1 grapplers Hunter Richard (128) of Holland Patent, who also was a standout in Greco earlier in the week and Vito Arujau (112), who won all his matches by 10 or more points. In addition, both 210-pounder David Wingate and Dan Knapp registered 6-2 marks. Larry Baker led the group in wins, going 7-1 at heavyweight.

Here’s a look at Team New York:

84:
Trent Svingala 2-2
Salvator Jones 1-3

91:
Johnathan Gomez 2-1
Trey LaFlamme 3-3

98:
Jacori Teemer 6-0
Paddy Lupole 0-1

105:
Matt Maquet 3-1
Jonathan Loew 2-2

112:
Vito Arujau 6-1
Elijah Rodriguez 1-0

120:
Charlie Spada 3-1
Hunter Dusold 2-2

128:
Hunter Richard 6-1
(128/136)Tyrese Byron 1-3

136/144:
Eric Bartnick 2-2
Noah Grover 1-7

152:
Colin Lawler 3-3
(152/160)Vito Smolyak 2-3

160/175:
Dan Knapp 6-2

175/190:
Dylan Dubuque 6-0

210:
David Wingate 6-2

265:
Larry Baker 7-1

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

Team New York Completes Greco Competition at Schoolboy National Duals

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Team New York brought over 20 wrestlers to Indianapolis for the 2013 Schoolboy Duals and finished in sixth place in the Red/Blue pool after tallying a 2-6 record over the two-day Greco Roman action.

The Freestyle tournament will begin on Saturday and continue through to Sunday.

A number of grapplers collected five or more victories during the event for the Empire State group. Although the team mostly forfeited at 190, the upperweights got their hands raised quite a bit, with Dylan Dubuque (175), recording a 6-1 mark and David Wingate (210) going 7-1 and Larry Baker (265) coming in at 6-2. In addition, Hunter Richard, who was a Section 3 champion as an eighth grader for Holland Patent last season, was strong at 128 pounds, earning a 5-1 record with two pins and two technical falls. 128 was a solid weight throughout, as Tyrese Byron won his two appearances in that class as well as his other bout at 136 to go 3-0 with two pins and a technical fall.

Also going undefeated was Charlie Spada, who won both of his bouts, via fall and tech, at 120. Registering four wins were Noah Grover (144) and Trent Svingala (84).

On Day 1 of the tournament in Indiana, Team New York began Pool C action with a loss to Ohio before controlling a 54-20 triumph over Oklahoma Blue. After the squad forfeited the opening weights of 70 and 77 (which happened in all duals) to fall behind the Sooners 10-0, Trent Svingala got things on track with an 8-0 victory at 84 pounds. Trey LaFlamme and Jacori Teemer followed up with a pair of falls to put the squad ahead for good. Between 120 and 175 pounds, the Empire Staters captured seven consecutive bouts, with Hunter Dusold, Hunter Richard, Eric Bartnick, Noah Grover, Vito Smolyak, Dan Knapp and Dylan Dubuque all victorious.

After falling against Texas Blue in the next contest, New York was edged 40-39 by Virginia to move into the Red/Blue division for Day 2.

On Friday morning, Michigan prevailed 42-33 over New York in the opening dual of the day, but the Empire Staters responded to top Maryland 37-31. Matt Maquet picked up the first win of the meet for New York at 105 by a 7-0 score and then the team picked up steam, capturing four in a row, beginning with Charlie Spada at 120. In the ensuing match against Missouri, a 56-18 setback, Hunter Richard (128) and Tyrese Byron (136) provided bright spots with falls. The squad finished against Florida, notching six victories.

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

A Win Against Cancer: The Match Against Leukemia Raises Over $10K; Provides Great Competition

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A number of teams hoisted trophies over Memorial Day weekend at the Albany Academies Field House, but perhaps the true winner was the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. That’s because the fifth annual “Match Against Leukemia” tournament raised $10,380 for the organization.

The event, hosted by the New York Titan Wrestling Club, featured 12 teams from states such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Hampshire.  Each squad had an action-packed weekend, with seven dual meets.

“The competition was pretty fierce with a lot of high level wrestlers,” said event organizer Jefferson LaMountain. “There were at least 30 wrestlers who placed at their state tournaments.”

Coming out on top was the host team, Titan Red, followed by the Canastota Raiders from Section 3 in second place. Right behind them in the Gold Division in third and fourth were the Silverback squad from Connecticut and the North Jersey Warriors. (Rockland Force took top honors in the Silver competition, while Excelsior did the same in the Bronze bracket).

But there were many other awards in addition to the trophies awarded to the top squads. A Most Outstanding Wrestler and Coaches Award were selected for each club. (For the championship Titan Red squad those honorees were Tyler Moses and Nolan Foster, respectively).

And the biggest trophy of them all went to Ironman Wrestling of Dutchess County, for raising the most money for the cause ($2100).

“Ironman, under Jim Baker, has been here since Year 1 of the event and we appreciate their support,” LaMountain said.

Helping to make the event successful were around 50 volunteers, doing everything from running the concession stands to ensuring that every match was recorded and posted on the Flowrestling website.

And the weekend included more than wrestling. On Saturday night, the competitors enjoyed a dinner full of pizza, wings and more. Each participant also received a t-shirt with the leukemia ribbon on the back and his club name on the front. There was even a therapist on hand to provide massages for the wrestlers when they weren’t on the mat.

“It went really well with a good number of kids and strong donations,” LaMountain said. “Everyone loved the event – I got 40-45 e-mails from parents saying they enjoyed it and that the community service component makes it special.  Most of the time tournaments raise money for clubs or teams, but this is different.”

It’s different because it is held in memory of the late Sol Kahn, a founding member of the New York Titan Club, who passed away from an aggressive form of leukemia as a high schooler. (He was set to attend the University of Rochester). According to LaMountain, his story was read at the beginning and end of the event.

“Sol possessed more than a willingness to help others; it would be better described as a desire to help others,” the event website said. “He helped his friends, family, teachers and coaches whenever necessary and also went out of his way to help people he did not know. He was committed to his community and his dream was to work in the field of Law Enforcement.”

His community and wrestlers from all over the East Coast showed their willingness to help (and compete) on the holiday weekend.

“Although fierce rivals on the mat, these clubs are working together off the mat to defeat leukemia,” the event website said. “This is a great example of the local wrestling community coming together to support the fight against blood cancers while honoring and remembering one of their own.”

To learn more about the Match Against Leukemia or to contribute, see this link.

To watch the action on Flowrestling, see this link.

The results of the event:

Gold Division

  1. Titan Red (NY)
  2. Canastota Raiders (NY)
  3. Silverback (CT)
  4. North Jersey Warriors (NJ)

Silver Division

Rockland Force (NY), Ironman (NY), Pin2Win Combat (NY), Gate City (NH)

Bronze Division

Excelsior United (NY), Colonie Raiders (NY), Titan Black (NY), Ravena Fury (NY)

————————————————–

LaMountain wished to thank many people for the success of the event.  They include:

Club President Ken Walberg

Strength and conditioning coach/club spokesperson George Featherstonhaugh

Gabrielle LaMountain, the communications director and business manager who organized the corporate sponsors

Frankie Tangora, the head of concessions

Tournament director Bill Shell

Jim Romanski, who ran the film crews and made sure all the matches were placed online

 

The Heart of the Island: June 8 Tournament at Islip to Provide Oklahoma Tornado Relief

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When Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in 2012, support came from around the nation to help with the devastation.

“It was amazing,” Islip coach Joe Patrovich said. “People from all over the country contributed. I remember that there were some volunteers that came from Oklahoma to help out.”

So after a tornado brought havoc to the Sooner State a few weeks ago, Patrovich was among those who felt compelled to take action, not only to return the favor for the aid received during Sandy but because of the connection between the wrestling communities of Long Island and Oklahoma.

“We have a relationship with that area of Oklahoma,” Patrovich said. “El Reno, a neighboring town, came to Islip to wrestle six or seven years ago. We were supposed to go there the next year, but the airport was shut down because of a blizzard and we couldn’t get there. But we’ve known people there for years. Pretty much every town involved in the tornado, we’ve wrestled or were supposed to wrestle. It’s the heart of Oklahoma wrestling. We’ve had our wrestlers go out there for the Junior Duals many times too. When you add it all up, you ask yourself what you can do for the people. We felt it would be a really nice thing to raise some money and help as much as we can.”

That’s how the “Long Island Helps Oklahoma” event came about. In just a few days, the wrestling tournament, which will be held on June 8 at Islip High School, was put together.

All of the funds raised will go to help those impacted by the storm in Oklahoma, including the $25 entry fee for wrestlers and the donations of corporate sponsors. In addition, Patrovich said t-shirts will be sold and a collection jar will be there for anyone who wishes to contribute.

“It’s an awesome cause,” Patrovich said. “We won’t charge to get in, but we hope people will come and help out. We may even have a DJ to make it a little different than a normal wrestling tournament.”

There are other ways it will be different. Participants will wrestle both freestyle and folkstyle in a round robin format, with Patrovich aiming for each competitor to get at least 2-3 bouts.

“We wanted to include folkstyle because some of the wrestlers are most comfortable with that,” he said. “But we thought it would be good to have freestyle too. The international rules recently changed in freestyle and a lot of guys haven’t wrestled with the new rules yet. We want wrestlers and referees to get some match experience with those new rules. We’ll have a clinic before to explain the changes. It will be a great way to prepare for Fargo and Cadet or Junior Duals.”

The Junior Duals are coming up in June. Those who represent New York at the event, which is annually held in Oklahoma, will bring something special with them.

“We’ll be sending a check to the United Way from the Long Island Wrestling Community to help the people in Oklahoma,” Patrovich said. “It will be presented at the Junior Duals. I think it will be a nice touch for the wrestling community and show that we all help each other.”

For more information on the tournament, see the flyer 2013OklahomaFundRaiser.

If you wish to donate to the cause, see the contact information on the above flyer.

'The Right Fit': Monroe Woodbury State Placer AJ Voelker Chooses Buffalo

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AJ Voelker left his recruiting trip to Bloomsburg with an interesting dilemma.

“After visiting and meeting Coach Stutzman [at Bloomsburg], AJ felt the coach was the right fit, but not the school,” said Bob Voelker, AJ’s father.

So Voelker continued to look around, focusing on institutions such as George Mason until he heard that Stutzman was leaving the EWL college to take the reins of the Buffalo program.

“I started looking at Buffalo right away,” AJ Voelker said. “Once I saw the campus and talked to [Stutzman] again, that was pretty much it. The campus is unbelievable. It’s just what I wanted. The facilities are very nice. Coach Stutzman is very intense; his practices are very tough and give me the best chance of placing at Nationals. He reminds me a lot of my coaches now [at Monroe Woodbury].”

Photo by BV

Voelker saw a lot of success for the Crusaders throughout his career, placing in Section 9 multiple times. But 2012-13 was a breakthrough year, as he made the podium at the Eastern States Classic, won the Sectional crown and took fourth in New York in his first trip to the state tournament.

That success came as a result of a lot of offseason effort. After missing out on a spot in Albany as a junior, Voelker wanted to make sure he was ready to make the most of his last chance. He said he worked out at Apex Wrestling, trained with Champion Athletes, lifted on his own and spent a lot of time with Coach Johnny Gartiser.

He also continued his move up in weight, going from 112 as a sophomore to 145/152 as a junior to 170 for his last high school run.

“I cut a lot of weight my freshman and sophomore years,” he said. “Since then, I grew a lot and my coaches recommended that I cut less weight because they thought I wouldn’t be as tired at the end of the season. It worked out. Size wise, I wasn’t the biggest guy out there at 170, but I felt strong and I thought I could wrestle with anyone.”

He set his objectives: to be top four in New York, to control everyone in Section 9 and to join the 100-win club. He accomplished all of them, spurred by his performance at the Times Union Center in February.

After winning his opening two matches against Sonny McPherson of Indian River and Cedrick Stephens of Wingate in Albany, he said he injured his knee in the semifinals in a loss to St. Anthony’s Johnny Vrasidas. In order to make the bronze medal bout, he needed a victory against Franky Nassivera of Queensbury in the consolations.

“That was a really big match for me,” he said. “My knee was all messed up and I was down by four. I had to wrestle different because I couldn’t put pressure on my knee, I couldn’t really shoot the way I normally do. I hit a throw with about 30 seconds left to take the lead and rode him out to win it.”

That 5-4 triumph pushed him into the third place match, where he was defeated by Wantagh’s Dan McDevitt.

So with all those victories, what was the highlight of Voelker’s final high school season?

The future MAC grappler discussed Monroe Woodbury placing at the Union-Endicott Duals and earning a state ranking. And of course, he talked about winning the Section and making the medal stand at his last high school event. However, when asked about the top moment of the year, Voelker mentioned something else.

“The first highlight was seeing Vinny [Vespa] step on the mat,” he said of his teammate, who fought cancer to return to action about six months after being diagnosed with Stage 4 Lymphoma. “I absolutely knew we’d see him wrestling again sometime because he’s the toughest kid I know. But for him to do it this year, it was insane.”

Voelker and his family were deeply involved in the fundraising activities for the Vespa family. At the Takedown Tournament held last summer, Voelker stepped on the mat against Vinny’s older brother Michael in an exhibition match. In an entertaining bout, Vespa hit a “flying squirrel”.

“It was a lot of fun,” Voelker said. “We were just going out there to goof around and [the flying squirrel] happened. It was actually something I was teaching him earlier that week and he did it.”

Voelker clearly did a good job of teaching and that’s something he hopes to do a lot more as he plans to pursue a degree in early education at Buffalo.

In addition to his academic path, Voelker also expects to pursue success on the mat – right away. He said he will compete for a spot in the lineup as a true freshman.

“I don’t plan to redshirt my first year,” he said. “I talked to Coach Stutzman and he thinks I’ll be fine after working out in the room with the way I push the pace on my feet and my top and bottom wrestling. I trust him. I can’t wait to get back on the mat. There aren’t a lot of guys that go Division I from Section 9. I want to rack up wins at the college level.”

Openings on the NYS Cadet Freestyle National Team Set to Compete in Florida

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There are openings at the following weights on the New York State Cadet Freestyle National team which will compete June 14-15 in Daytona Beach, Florida:

88 Pounds, 138 Pounds, 145 Pounds, 182 Pounds, 195 Pounds, 220 Pounds, 285 Pounds

If you are interested, please contact Coach Anthony Servidone (aservidone@yahoo.com) or Dean Zenie (rdzenie@aol.com)

Cowboy Up: Great Neck South's Chris Koo Looking to Peak at Oklahoma State

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The morning that the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals were set to begin in Virginia Beach back in 2011, Great Neck South’s Chris Koo asked Craig Vitagliano, his coach at Ascend Wrestling Club, about a technique he was interested in learning.

“When he was warming up, he wanted me to show him a move – it was a Russian tie to an ankle pick,” Vitagliano said. “It wasn’t like he really practiced it very much – it was like 10 minutes of working on it. Then he went out and hit it in pretty much every match.”

Armed with a new technique in his arsenal, Koo went all the way to the semifinals of the prestigious event, sealing his first All-American honors before finishing in sixth place at 145 pounds.

“He’s a sponge,” Vitagliano said. “Whatever I show him, he can do – even really advanced techniques. He picks everything up on the spot. There aren’t many kids I’ve seen be able to do that, but he can.”

That ability is one the many strengths Vitagliano believes will serve Koo well at his next stop – Oklahoma State.

The Nassau County senior said that before the season, going to the tradition-rich Big 12 program “seemed like a fantasy.” As did his recruiting visit, during which he was in constant contact with some of the greats in the sport.

“When I was there, Coleman Scott was training with Eric Guerrero. Also Chris Perry and Tyler Caldwell were working out and John Smith and Zack Esposito were there. It was crazy. It was a room full of All-Americans, national champions and Olympians. It was pretty cool to just watch and then have everyone come over to talk to me.”

Soon, it will be more than just talking. Koo mentioned how lucky he’s been to have great training partners like New York state titlewinner Louis Hernandez, Penn-bound Dan McDevitt, Jaison White and Dan Tracy over the past few years at Ascend. But it will be a whole new ballgame when he begins in Stillwater.

“Chris doesn’t just want to wrestle in college,” Vitagliano said. “He wants to do really well there. His goal is to be a national champ and what better place to do that than Oklahoma State? He’ll be able to work out right away with [2013 NCAA bronze medalists] Alex Dieringer and Tyler Caldwell. [NCAA champion] Chris Perry too. It’s a great situation for him. I’ve had a number of coaches tell me how perfect his style is for Oklahoma State and that he has the potential to be really special in college.”

Koo has fairly quietly already accomplished plenty over the past few years. With the previously discussed sixth place medal at Virginia Beach in 2011, he became Great Neck South’s first-ever All-American. He followed up with two more podium finishes at the NHSCA Nationals, grabbing seventh as a junior and senior.

However, on his way to the seventh place showing as an 11th grader, Koo tore both MCLs, forcing him to spend the summer rehabilitating rather than training the way he wanted to and leaving him unable to compete in Fargo.

The time off the mat also gave him more of an opportunity to think about the disappointing loss he endured at the Nassau County championships to MacArthur’s Joe Cataldo, a setback that prevented him from qualifying for the state tournament.

“I knew I had to do something different and put in a lot more work,” Koo said. “That loss killed me. I was so disappointed to take third and felt like I was starting from square one. I started to stay after practice and watch a lot of film with Craig. He takes everything apart and breaks it all down. I learned a lot of new technique and was ready to excel in my wrestling.”

He did, putting together an outstanding senior campaign in which he won his first 41 bouts (34 by bonus points) to earn his first Section 8 crown. His streak also led him all the way to the 152-pound state title bout, where he lost by fall to Longwood’s Corey Rasheed, currently ranked third in the nation at that weight by Flowrestling.

“A lot of people didn’t know who Chris was, but I was really confident that he would at least get to the finals,” Vitagliano said. “He was a little nervous and was really devastated after the match, especially because he had been dominating his matches most of the season.”

“I was happy with almost all of my senior year – except the state finals,” Koo added. “That was the first time I wrestled Rasheed and I would definitely want another chance. I didn’t get to be a state champ, but I have new goals for college. The only way to get better is to wrestle with the best guys.”

The future 165 or 174 pounder will have that opportunity when he travels to Oklahoma this summer to take a few classes and train with the team prior to beginning school in the fall.

“I can’t wait,” Koo said. “I know there’s a big gap from high school to college and I want to get started. It’ll be so exciting to be in that room, working in that environment.”

Vitagliano believes that the environment will vault him to the next level.

“I think he’s only scratched the surface of what he can do. I’ve talked to a number of coaches who agree with me that Oklahoma State is going to be pleasantly surprised because the kid is special,” Vitagliano said. “I think he’ll peak in college. With the coaches and workout partners there, I really believe the sky’s the limit.”

————-

Chris Koo wished to thank Craig Vitagliano and Ryan Pingitore, his coach at Great Neck South.

Pop & Flo National Duals: X-Cel Takes Third … and Much More from Lake Placid

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A year after winning the tournament championship, X-Cel once again made a strong impression at the Pop & Flo National Duals with a third place showing.

“I really feel that the kids showed tremendous heart to come back and win against a team full of PA studs to take third,” said X-Cel coach Nick Garone. “But we felt that we went up there with the best team and still feel that way. The guys are really disappointed, but to go out of the tournament with a win in our last match was nice, especially for all of our seniors.”

The squad opened with three consecutive triumphs on Saturday to make the semifinal round against Iron Horse, the eventual champions.

In the semis, the New Jersey club got off to a fast start, capturing four of the first six bouts, including two pins, to take a lead that would never be relinquished in a 30-25 result. (One of those falls for Iron Horse was by Section 1 star John Muldoon of Pearl River, who was joined by fellow New Yorker Dale White on the title-winning team).

In the bronze bout, X-Cel rebounded to defeat Pennsylvania’s Young Guns despite dropping the first four bouts to fall behind 14-0. (The dual began at 130 pounds).

However, X-Cel took over from there, beginning with a 7-3 win by Connetquot’s Brendan Dent at 152. It was the first of seven consecutive victories for the Long Islanders, as Corey Rasheed picked up a forfeit at 160 and Steven Schneider (170), Gio Santiago (182) and Steven Mills (225) notched decisions. Putting up key bonus points were Chris Chambers (195) and Mike Hughes (285), who both recorded falls. After the heavyweight bout, X-Cel had turned a large deficit into a 30-14 lead.

“Brendan Dent started us off with a win, and that was great,” Garone said. “All our guys stepped up. Chambers had a really nice throw to get the pin and Hughes just worked the kid, kept working and working. At the end of the second, he closed it out with a really big pin for us. We knew were in good shape going into the lower half, even if we lost a few. Travis Passaro (125) ended the match with a really big one, beating the NHSCA National champ Josh Patrick in overtime, 1-0.”

It was one of many quality wins Garone pointed to from the two-day event. Those triumphs and the overall experience had Garone already talking about the return trip to Lake Placid in 2014.

“Everyone played a key role for us,” Garone said. “It’s a great bunch of guys. To take third at that tournament – it’s nothing to sneeze at. But it’s not what we wanted. Trust me when I tell you that we’ll work all year to get back to the top of the national scene.”

———

X-Cel was the highest placing team from New York in the field, but many other Empire State squads had success over the weekend.

The 32 teams in the high school competition were split into four divisions after the opening round matches. Here’s a rundown of the results for New York:

X-Cel wasn’t the only New York team in the “A” bracket, as Journeymen Black took eighth. The host squad won its first two duals against Pioneer and Doughboy Black on Saturday to make the quarterfinals before falling to a pair of Pennsylvania groups – Young Guns and Dark Knights. In the seventh place dual, Smitty’s Barn came out on top 41-22.

“B” Bracket (For the teams that lost in the first round of the “A” Championship bracket)

631 Elite began the experience in Lake Placid with a setback against the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club 39-28, but then went on a winning streak, taking three in a row over Atlas, Razor and Catamount to earn a spot in the title bout of the “B” Bracket. During that run, the team’s smallest margin of victory was 22 points.

The Long Island-based group kept it going, besting Apex II for the top spot in the “B” Division and finished the weekend with a 4-1 record. Picking up wins in the final dual for 631 were Matteo Devincenzo (106), Jesse Dellavecchia (113), Joe Calderone (120), Jack Taddeo (130), Jimmy Leach (135), Dennis Ferro (152), Dylan Kane (160) and Vincent Feola (225).

Also placing in the same bracket were Iowa Style Black (fourth) and Razor (eighth). Iowa Style notched triumphs against Barre Wrestling Club and Doughboy Gold by a commanding combined score of 102-43 after an initial loss.

Razor was eighth, collecting a win over Metrowest United in Round 2, led by a pin by Chaz Leo at 225 and four major decisions.

“C” Bracket (For the teams that won in Round 1 and lost in Round 2 in the “A” Championship bracket)

In this bracket, Empire State teams claimed third through eighth places.

Cobra took the bronze after getting past Finger Lakes Wrestling Club 33-28, winning nine of the bouts. The contest featured a pair of two point decisions between All-State wrestlers as William Koll topped Kellen Devlin 2-0 at 125 and Vincent Deprez edged Connor Lapresi in sudden victory, 3-1, at 152. Both of those squads were 2-2 heading into their clash in the third place tilt.

Meanwhile, Ascend recorded fifth with a 55-9 victory over Journeymen Gold. It was the third dual win of the weekend for the Nassau County-based club, led by undefeated wrestlers Chris Koo and Jaison White.

In another battle of New Yorkers, Cellar Dwellers picked up seventh with a 53-10 decision over Iowa Style Gold. The Cellar Dweller squad began and ended the tournament with wins.

“D” Bracket

Port Jervis grabbed third, finishing with a 37-33 triumph over Metrowest United. The Section 9 squad also topped Powers Forty High 33-15 in its third meet of the weekend.

For full results, see tournaflex.com.