Category Archives: Division 1

Long Island's X-Cel Advances to the Semifinals at Pop & Flo National Duals on Saturday

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X-Cel won the title at the Pop & Flo National Duals last year.  The Long Island group will try to repeat that feat on Sunday after advancing to the semifinals on the first day of competition.

The squad looked completely dominant early, opening with a 84-0 blanking of Kryptonite Wrestling Club, followed by a 71-6 triumph over Journeymen Gold.  The quarterfinals brought a tougher challenge, however, as X-Cel squared off with Dark Knights of Pennsylvania.

Two-time state champion Nick Piccininni got the New Yorkers off to a good start with a major decision at 120 pounds.  However, the opponents from the Keystone State responded with three consecutive victories from 125 to 135 to take a 12-4 advantage.

Fabian, Photo by BV

The two teams then traded wins over the next several matches, beginning with a pin by Sacred Heart-bound TJ Fabian of Shoreham Wading River at 140.  The Dark Knights were victorious at 145 and 160, while state champion Louis Hernandez of Mepham earned a 5-4 win at 152 and Steven Schneider got his hand raised at 170 with an overtime triumph.  After regulation ended deadlocked at 1, and there was no scoring in sudden victory, Schneider rode his opponent out for the entire 30 seconds and then escaped when it was his turn on bottom to make the team score 19-16 in favor of the Pennsylvania squad.

After the Dark Knights extended their advantage to 22-16 with a decision at 182, Chris Chambers put four big points on the board for X-Cel with a major at 195, followed by a 9-3 decision by Steven Mills at 220 to put the Long Island group ahead for the first time since early in the dual.  When a forfeit at heavyweight was tacked on, X-Cel took a 29-22 lead as the meet returned to the lightweights.

At 106, the Dark Knights made things interesting, earning a fall to make it 29-28 in favor of X-Cel with just one match remaining.  In that contest, former Wantagh star Jose Rodriguez took control with an early takedown and got his hand raised to push X-Cel to the 32-28 win and to the semifinals on Sunday against Iron Horse (New Jersey).

The 32-team High School field included many squads from New York, including teams from Ascend, Cellar Dwellers, Cobra, Finger Lakes Wrestling Club, Iowa Style, Journeymen, Port Jervis, Razor and 631 Elite.

Meanwhile, close to half of the squads in the Youth field came from New York as well.

In addition to Sunday’s action to determine placement in the team standings, there will be some great bouts on Saturday night.  At 8:30 p.m., some of the top individuals will take the mat for an All-Star dual.

Included are a number of New Yorkers, for example (matches subject to change):

83: Adam Busiello (631 Elite) vs. Patrick Glory (A&B Core)

88: Dillan Palaszewski (Journeymen) vs. Gavin Teasdale (Young Guns)

106: Yianni Diakomihalis (Cobra) vs. Devin Brown (Young Guns)

120: Nick Piccininni (X-Cel) vs. Mickey Phillipi (Young Guns)

125: William Koll (FLWC) vs. Kevin Jack (Iowa Style)

140: Nick Kelley (Journeymen) vs. Anthony Ashnault (SKWC)

182: Dan McDevitt (Ascend) vs. Luke Farinaro (Iron Horse)

220: Rich Sisti (Apex) vs. Michael Boykins (Rt. 100)

100: Sam Sasso (Dark Knights) vs. Vince Andreano (APEX)

140: Jason Nolf (Young Guns) vs. Scott Delvecchio (Iron Horse)

152: BJ Clagon (Apex) vs. Miguel Calixto (Catamounts)

170: Chris Koo (Ascend) vs. Ethan Ramos (Iron Horse)

195: Reggie Williams (FLWC) vs. Evan Ramos (Iron Horse)

285: Mike Hughes (X-Cel) vs. Jesse Webb (Catamount)

VIDEO: Watch Freestyle Action from the New York State Championships Last Weekend

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Champions were crowned over the weekend in Binghamton at the 2013 New York State Freestyle and Greco tournaments. If you missed the action, you can see the title bouts in the Junior Freestyle competition below plus a bonus match – a pool bout between All-Staters Reggie Williams and Gio Santiago at 195 pounds that featured a number of big moves and lots of excitement.

William Koll, Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, Kevin Thayer and Burke Paddock finished on top in both Freestyle and Greco, adding to the championships they won during the high school season in Albany.

For results from the weekend see here and here.

160 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Burke Paddock vs. Alex Smythe

 

152 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Kevin Thayer vs. Nigel Williams

 

132 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: William Koll vs. Jordan Maynard

 

138 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer vs. Sean O’Hagan

 

145 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Connor Lapresi vs. Rocco Russo

 

195 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Reggie Williams vs. Thomas Murray

 

195 Pound Pool Match: Gio Santiago vs. Reggie Williams

 

170 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Troy Seymour vs. Liam Bass

 

182 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Isaiah Zimmer vs. Tim Schaefer

 

113 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: John Twomey vs. Golan Cohen

 

120 Pound Freestyle Final: Matthew Morris vs. Daniel Murray

 

126 Pound Freestyle Final: Simon Greebel vs. Paul Smoot

 

220 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Joe Nasoni vs. Luke McKee

 

285 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Brad Lucas vs. Nolan Terrance

 

106 Pound Junior Freestyle: Josh LoGuidice vs. Nico Riccio

 

 

Wrestlers Complete Triple Crowns and Many Achieve Double Titles at the Freestyle and Greco State Championships

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(For information and results from Saturday’s competition in Junior Freestyle and Cadet Greco, see this link. Videos will be posted in the next few days).

It isn’t easy to earn the Triple Crown in New York, capturing state titles in all three styles of wrestling.  But you might think otherwise when looking at the results from this weekend’s action at Broome Community College, as four grapplers (William Koll, Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, Kevin Thayer and Burke Paddock) added Freestyle and Greco Roman crowns to the championships they won in folkstyle back in February in Albany.

Paddock vs Smythe, Photo by BV

The quartet of wrestlers all demonstrated dominance on Sunday in Junior Greco competition. Both Thayer (152) and Paddock (160) faced the same opponent in the title bout as they did on Saturday in Freestyle.  This time, both made quick work of their foes, picking up first period pins.  And speaking of rematches, Rodriguez-Spencer (138) not only defeated Sean O’Hagan in the finals for the second straight day, he also did it by the same score – 5-0, 6-0.  Koll also won in straight periods, taking a 2-0, 11-4 triumph against Blake Retell at 132.

Those wrestlers weren’t the only double champions over the weekend.  Both ATWA’s Matthew Morris (120) and Reggie Williams (195) swept both Olympic styles in Binghamton.

On Saturday, Golan Cohen (113) and Rocco Russo (145) made the title bout in Freestyle, but took second place.  One day later, both returned to the finals and came out on top, with Russo’s victory coming by fall.

It was one of many titlewinning pins on the day, including by Sam Eagan at 220 and Jeff Urbina at 285.  In addition, Beat the Streets collected a pair of Junior Greco titles at 106 (Dolan McColgan) and 126 (Cheick Ndiaye), while crowns were also captured by Andrew Psomas of Farrell Lions at 170 and James Schreck of Sachem 3 at 182.

While there were a number of double champions in the Junior division, as discussed previously, there were more in the Cadet brackets, with 10 wrestlers grabbing a pair of titles over the weekend.

The first three classes were won by Drew Schafer (88), Brian Kelly (94) and Vinny Vespa (100).  After that, seven of the next eight weights featured repeat champions, starting with Parker Kropman at 106 and also including Nick Casella (120), Ian Lupole (126), Leonard Merkin (132), Sam Ward (138), Gino Titone (145) and Jesse Porter (152). The only exception was at 113, where Evan Barczak notched the freestyle championship a day after earning runner up honors in Greco.

The additional double titlewinners were Jacob Woolson (170), Aidan Mathews (195) and Peter Strassfield (285).  A day after registering a bronze showing in Greco, Jake Ashcraft stood on top of the podium at 160 pounds, while Jeremy Hughes picked up gold at 182 and James Bethel did the same at 220.

Full brackets are available at http://www.trackwrestling.com.

For the placewinners from Sunday’s action in Cadet Freestyle and Junior Greco, see below.

 

CADET FREESTYLE RESULTS

Cadet FS – 88 Results
1st Place – Drew Schafer of Superior Wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Justin Lopez of Yonkers
3rd Place – Darwingh Alvarez of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Oscar Lainez of Middletown
5th Place – David Ciciarella of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club

Cadet FS – 94 Results
1st Place – Brian Kelly of Kings Park Wrestling
2nd Place – David Wolanski of SCHENECTADY

Cadet FS – 100 Results
1st Place – Vincent Vespa of rock hard wrestling
2nd Place – Anthony Sparacio of North Babylon
3rd Place – John Luke Destefano of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Nicholas Forte of Journey
5th Place – Shane Gibbons of Massapequa
6th Place – Maxim Pasichnik of BTS PS 186

Cadet FS – 106 Results
1st Place – Parker Kropman of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu
2nd Place – Dean Raymond of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Sean Miller of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Johnathon Lauricella of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club
5th Place – Theodore Powers of MEXICO
6th Place – John Devine of Titans

Cadet FS – 113 Results
1st Place – Evan Barczak of rock hard wrestling
2nd Place – Chris Donnelly of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Taylor Picciano of Kings Park Wrestling
4th Place – John Kalinoglu of Massapequa
5th Place – Michael Venosa of Section 5
6th Place – Kevin Kelly of rock hard wrestling

Cadet FS – 120 Results
1st Place – Nicholas Casella of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
2nd Place – Benjamin Lamantia of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
3rd Place – Dominic Inzana of Saratoga Springs
4th Place – Jackie Gold of Rocky Point
5th Place – Hunter Howland of MEXICO
6th Place – Brandon Santiago of Beat the Streets New York City

Cadet FS – 126 Results
1st Place – Ian Lupole of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Christian Briody of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Michael Berkowitz of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
4th Place – Blake Jackson of Superior Wrestling Academy
5th Place – James Rosado of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Nichholas Petralia of Section 8

Cadet FS – 132 Results
1st Place – Leonard Merkin of elite wrestling academy
2nd Place – Freddy Eckles of Buffalo Grapplers Wrestling Cl
3rd Place – Mike D`Angelo of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Da`mani Burns of Newburgh Wrestling Club
5th Place – Jake Colonna of North Babylon
6th Place – Christopher Ladd of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club

Cadet FS – 138 Results
1st Place – Samuel Ward of Ascend Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Kevin Jackson of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Jilling Frank of Lindenhurst
4th Place – Wyatt DeMarree of Section 5
5th Place – Steven Prinston of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Marc Paez of Long beach

Cadet FS – 145 Results
1st Place – Gino Titone of Connetquot Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jakob Restrepo of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
3rd Place – Jordan Bushey of Cellar Dwellers
4th Place – Thomas Wightman of Section 9
5th Place – Steven Culbert of Journeymen Wrestling
6th Place – Brian Bucci of Section 9

Cadet FS – 152 Results
1st Place – Jesse Porter of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – Ronaldo Rodriguez of Beat the Streets New York City
3rd Place – William Marcil of ATWA
4th Place – John Vouzonis of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Dylan Gifford of Veritas
6th Place – Dylan Studer of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club

Cadet FS – 160 Results
1st Place – Jacob Ashcraft of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – Collin LaBombard of Cellar Dwellers
3rd Place – Andy Cummings of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Max Zhitnik of Tiger Style Wrestling
5th Place – Vance Cuffie of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Zafar Iskandarov of Beat the Streets New York City

Cadet FS – 170 Results
1st Place – Jacob Woolson of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Dakota Wolley of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Richie Jones of Cobra
4th Place – Tom Lane of Section 8
5th Place – Tredd Smith of Section 8
6th Place – Madhur Karki of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu

Cadet FS – 182 Results
1st Place – Jeremy Hughes of Section 8
2nd Place – James Campbell of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu
3rd Place – Marcello Gennaro of Section 9
4th Place – Colby Staley of ATWA

Cadet FS – 195 Results
1st Place – Aidan Mathews of Dark corner
2nd Place – Nick Mcshea of rock hard wrestling
3rd Place – Tyler Hall of Section 6
4th Place – Christopher Halleran of Tiger Style Wrestling

Cadet FS – 220 Results
1st Place – James Bethel of Dark corner
2nd Place – Khaled Abdoun of Journeymen Wrestling
3rd Place – Chris Tangora of Section 2
4th Place – Elijah Sampo of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
5th Place – Chazz Leo of Section 11
6th Place – George O`Mahony of Massapequa

Cadet FS – 285 Results
1st Place – Peter Strassfield of Southampton High School Wrestl
2nd Place – Alex Gonzalez of Geneva
3rd Place – Jordan Keys of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Garyn Huntley of Veritas
5th Place – Victor Palmer-Ortiz of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
6th Place – Jake Lanzillo of Averill Park

 

JUNIOR GRECO ROMAN RESULTS

JUNIOR GR – 106 Results
1st Place – Dolan Mccolgan of Beat the Streets New York
2nd Place – Nico Riccio of Journeymen

JUNIOR GR – 113 Results
1st Place – Golan Cohen of Titan
2nd Place – Chris Cuccolo of Pine Bush
3rd Place – Noah Malamut of Poly Prep High School Wrestlin
4th Place – Matthew Stallone of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
5th Place – alex kellar of Section 4
6th Place – Shamar Griffith of Beat the Streets New York

JUNIOR GR – 120 Results
1st Place – Matthew Morris of ATWA
2nd Place – Pedro Rosales of Bearcave
3rd Place – ryan burns of Cobra Wrestling Academy
4th Place – Alpha Diallo of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Rashid Powell of Beat the Streets New York
6th Place – Kyle Kelly of Team Worldwide

JUNIOR GR – 126 Results
1st Place – Cheick Ndiaye of Beat the Streets New York
2nd Place – Richard Antonacci of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Andrew Taber of North Rose-Wolcott High School
4th Place – Daniel Amancio of Bronx
5th Place – Paul Smoot of Rock Hard Wrestling
6th Place – Ray Konvicka of MVWC

JUNIOR GR – 132 Results
1st Place – William Koll of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Blake Retell of Journeymen
3rd Place – Ryan Snow of Section 3
4th Place – Nathan Hayes of Team Worldwide
5th Place – Carl Rouse of Team Worldwide
6th Place – Thomas Walsh of Titan

JUNIOR GR – 138 Results
1st Place – Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer of Buffalo Grapplers
2nd Place – Sean O`Hagan of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Eric Bergin of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Jay Oates of ATWA
5th Place – Nick Strand of Westhampton Beach High School
6th Place – Nathaniel Vargas of Guilderland HS

JUNIOR GR – 145 Results
1st Place – Rocco Russo of New York Super Six
2nd Place – Codie Gilllette of ATWA
3rd Place – Saidyokub Kahramonov of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Nathaniel Palmer of ATWA
5th Place – Jay Kindlon of New York Titans
6th Place – Colin Hay of Miller Place Takedown Clubcoli

JUNIOR GR – 152 Results
1st Place – Kevin Thayer of Veritas
2nd Place – Nigel Williams of Beat the Streets New York
3rd Place – Max Garkusha of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Askar Raimbek of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Tanner Phillips of ATWA
6th Place – Mirlan Jumabaev of Beat the Streets New York

JUNIOR GR – 160 Results
1st Place – Burke Paddock of Team Ten
2nd Place – Alexander Smythe of New York Super Six
3rd Place – Michael Tropiano of Vougars Honor Wrestling (VHW)
4th Place – Jimmy Marquez of Journeymen
5th Place – Derrick Gardner of Averill Park
6th Place – Jordan Formicola of falcons

JUNIOR GR – 170 Results
1st Place – Andrew Psomas of Farrell Lions
2nd Place – Liam Bass of Westhampton Beach High School
3rd Place – Troy Seymour of ATWA
4th Place – David Bunn of Copiague
5th Place – Garrett Davis of New York Titans
6th Place – Mark Anthony Perez of Unattached

JUNIOR GR – 182 Results
1st Place – James Schreck of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Isaiah Zimmer of Team Worldwide
3rd Place – Cedrick Stephens of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Mark Tracey of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
5th Place – Ronnie King of Islip
6th Place – Alex Moss of MVWC

JUNIOR GR – 195 Results
1st Place – Reggie Williams of Team Worldwide
2nd Place – Giovanni Santiago of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Roland Zilberman of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Nathanael Rose of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Richard Duermeyer of Buffalo Grapplers
6th Place – Maleke Cunningham of Beat the Streets New York

JUNIOR GR – 220 Results
1st Place – Sam Eagen of Empire/Titan
2nd Place – Luke McKee of ATWA
3rd Place – Rafael Rokosz of Southhampton HS
4th Place – Endy Nunez of Rams Wrestling Club
5th Place – Sean Fergusan of Rocky Point
6th Place – Allen Michael Rios of Team Worldwide

JUNIOR GR – 285 Results
1st Place – Jeff Urbina of Copiague
2nd Place – Nolan Terrance of ATWA
3rd Place – Matthew Abbott of Team Worldwide
4th Place – Mason Cross of New York Titans
5th Place – Quasar Hampton of Beat the Streets New York
6th Place – Mark Ifraimov of Beat the Streets New York

State Champs Koll, Rodriguez-Spencer, Lapresi, Thayer and Paddock Win Junior Freestyle Crowns

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Connor Lapresi was looking to not only win, but win quickly at the New York State Junior Freestyle championships in Binghamton. After all, he wanted to get back home to attend the prom on Saturday night.

Lapresi delivered, earning a technical fall in the 145-pound finals, 6-0, 7-0 over Rocco Russo.

The future Bucknell grappler wasn’t the only wrestler to win by tech in straight periods in the championship round.

Matt Morris of ATWA did the same at 120 pounds, as did Troy Seymour at 170 and Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer at 138. The Cheektowoga star began his match with a big five-point throw which quickly ended the first period of his 5-0, 6-0 triumph.

Like Rodriguez-Spencer, Burke Paddock, William Koll and Kevin Thayer collected gold medals at the state championships in Albany this February. The trio also won it all on Saturday.

Paddock edged state medalist Alex Smythe 1-0 in the first period before taking the second 6-0 at 160, while Koll was in control the whole way in his 4-2, 7-0 victory against Jordan Maynard at 132 pounds.

Photo by BV

In a back and forth match featuring a number of big moves, Thayer dropped the opening stanza to Beat the Streets grappler Nigel Williams 9-3, but bounced back from a deficit in the second to win 7-6. Thayer then grabbed the decisive final period, 7-0.

In another bout that went three stanzas, Isaiah Zimmer lost period one to state runner up Tim Schaefer of Team Ten. However, Zimmer scored late in the second and third periods to pick up the 182-pound crown.

At 195, fellow Section 4 wrestler Reggie Williams bested Thomas Murray in a clash of All-State wrestlers. Williams won a thrilling match earlier in the day against 2013 state bronze medalist Gio Santiago, coming back from a sizable deficit.

The final two matches flew by, as both were decided by fall in less than two minutes in favor of wrestlers from the Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club. At 220, Joe Nasoni got his hand raised while Brad Lucas did the same at 285.

Also capturing a title by pin was Ascend’s Simon Greebel, who got the fall in the second after dropping the first stanza 2-0 to Paul Smoot at 126.

Coming out on top in the first match of the championship round was Josh LoGuidice at 106. Next up was John Twomey of Vougar’s Honors Wrestling, who was the victor at 113. Twomey topped state medalist Golan Cohen in straight periods to take gold.

In Cadet action on Saturday, a number of champions were crowned in Greco Roman.  To see all the champions and placewinners in Cadet Greco, see below.  (The results from Junior Freestyle are below as well).

For the brackets, see http://www.trackwrestling.com.

 

CADET GRECO

CADET GR – 88 Results

1st Place – Justin Lopez of Yonkers
2nd Place – Oscar Lainez of Middle Town
3rd Place – David Ciciarelli of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
4th Place – Darwingh Alvarez of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 100 Results

1st Place – John Luke Destefano of Beat the Streets New York City
2nd Place – Shane Gibbons of Massapequa
3rd Place – Maxim Pasichnik of BTS PS 186
4th Place – Devin Cohan of The Quarry Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 106 Results

1st Place – Parker Kropman of Titan World Wide Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Sean Miller of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Dean Raymond of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
4th Place – Josh Bourne of Long beach
5th Place – Kyle Aslanian of Edgemont Wrestling Club
6th Place – Joseph Marino of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 113 Results
1st Place – Max Tempel of Section 2
2nd Place – Evan Barczak of rock hard wrestling
3rd Place – Taylor Picciano of Kings Park Wrestling
4th Place – John Kalinoglu of Massapequa
5th Place – Brandon Goddeau of ATWA
6th Place – Jacob Lehr of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 120 Results

1st Place – Nicholas Casella of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
2nd Place – Noah Handy of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Donny McCoy of New York Super Six Wrestling A
4th Place – Matthew Krause of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Ramel McIntosh of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Brandon Santiago of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 126 Results

1st Place – Ian Lupole of Section 4
2nd Place – Christian Briody of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Michael Berkowitz of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
4th Place – James Lamson of Watertown
5th Place – Cole Simmons of New York Super Six Wrestling A
6th Place – William Yee of Brooklyn

CADET GR – 132 Results
1st Place – Leonard Merkin of elite wrestling academy
2nd Place – Mike D`Angelo of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Freddy Eckles of Buffalo Grapplers
4th Place – Damani Burns of Newburgh Wrestling Club
5th Place – Christopher Ladd of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
6th Place – Bruce Cipollone of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 138 Results

1st Place – Samuel Ward of Ascend Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jilling Frank of Lindenhurst
3rd Place – Zachery Bendick of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
4th Place – Marc Paez of Long beach
5th Place – Steven Prinston of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Eugene Khalabudnyak of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 145 Results

1st Place – Gino Titone of Connetquot Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jordan Bushey of Cellar Dwellers
3rd Place – Jason Hoffman of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Kevin Parker of Journeymen Wrestling
5th Place – Thomas Wightman of Section 9
6th Place – Jason Colon of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 152 Results

1st Place – Jesse Porter of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – William Marcil of ATWA
3rd Place – Karl Weisner of Farrel
4th Place – John Vouzonis of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Dylan Studer of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
6th Place – Elijah Vasquez of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 160 Results

1st Place – Zafar Iskandarov of Beat the Streets New York City
2nd Place – Vance Cuffie of Beat the Streets New York City
3rd Place – Jacob Ashcraft of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Andy Cummings of Journeymen Wrestling
5th Place – Phillip Gray of Team Dynamic
6th Place – Ryan Wilcox of The Quarry Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 170 Results

1st Place – Jacob Woolson of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Dakota Wolley of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Paul Brachfeld of Massapequa Park
4th Place – Madhur Karki of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu
5th Place – Steven Walters of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 182 Results

1st Place – Colby Staley of ATWA
2nd Place – James Campbell of Titan World Wide Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Joe Sabia of Journeymen Wrestling

CADET GR – 195 Results

1st Place – Aidan Mathews of Dark corner
2nd Place – Tyler Hall of Section 6

CADET GR – 220 Results

1st Place – Khaled Abdoun of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – James Bethel of Dark corner
3rd Place – Elijah Sampo of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
4th Place – George O`Mahony of Massapequa
5th Place – Albi Miraka of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Marc Diaz of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 285 Results

1st Place – Peter Strassfield of Southampton High School Wrestling
2nd Place – Garyn Huntley of Veritas
3rd Place – Victor Palmer-Ortiz of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
4th Place – Kyle Kanige of Center
5th Place – Jake Lanzillo of Averill Park

 

JUNIOR FREESTYLE

JUNIOR FS – 106 Results

1st Place – Joshua LoGiudice of JOURNEYMEN WRESTLING CLUB
2nd Place – Dolan Mccolgan of Beat the Streets New York
3rd Place – Nico Riccio of Journeymen

JUNIOR FS – 113 Results

1st Place – John Twomey of Vougar Honors Wrestling (VHW)
2nd Place – Golan Cohen of Titan
3rd Place – Noah Malamut of Poly Prep High School Wrestlin
4th Place – Matthew Stallone of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
5th Place – Tyler Aslanian of Edgemont Wrestling Club
6th Place – Chris Cuccolo of Pine Bush

JUNIOR FS – 120 Results

1st Place – Matt Morris of ATWA
2nd Place – Daniel Murray of Vougar Honors Wrestling (VHW)
3rd Place – Steven Sewkumar of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Ryan Burns of Cobra Wrestling Academy
5th Place – Michael Carr of Team Worldwide
6th Place – Kyle Kelly of Team Worldwide

JUNIOR FS – 126 Results

1st Place – Simon Greebel of Ascend Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Paul Smoot of Rock Hard Wrestling
3rd Place – Cheick Ndiaye of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Timothy Johnson of Vougar Honors Wrestling (VHW)
5th Place – Dillon Stowell of F-10
6th Place – Richard Antonacci of Ascend Wrestling Club

JUNIOR FS – 132 Results

1st Place – William Koll of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jordan Maynard of JOURNEYMEN WRESTLING CLUB
3rd Place – Blake Retell of Journeymen
4th Place – Travis Alexander of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Ryan Snow of Section 3
6th Place – Kyle Maddock of Westhampton Beach High School

JUNIOR FS – 138 Results

1st Place – Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer of Buffalo Grapplers
2nd Place – Sean O`Hagan of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Jay Oakes of ATWA
4th Place – Devon Hoyte of Beat the Streets New York City
5th Place – Anthony Messina of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
6th Place – David Rodriguez of Port Richmond HS

JUNIOR FS – 145 Results

1st Place – Connor Lapresi of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Rocco Russo of New York Super Six
3rd Place – Sean McKenna of MVWC
4th Place – Codie Gilllette of Saranac
5th Place – Saidyokub Kahramonov of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – James McLean of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club

JUNIOR FS – 152 Results

1st Place – Kevin Thayer of Veritas
2nd Place – Nigel Williams of Beat the Streets New York City
3rd Place – Vinny Romeo of Titan World Wide
4th Place – Shaquille Jones of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Marc D`chiutiis of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Derrick Rice of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 160 Results

1st Place – Burke Paddock of Team Ten
2nd Place – Alexander Smythe of New York Super Six
3rd Place – Chris Koo of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Matt Fisher of MVWC
5th Place – Cody Nichols of Veritas
6th Place – Connor Lawrence of Journeymen

JUNIOR FS – 170 Results

1st Place – Troy Seymour of ATWA
2nd Place – Liam Bass of Westhampton Beach High School
3rd Place – Konstantin Parfiryev of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Connor O`Gallagher of Rocky Point
5th Place – David Bunn of Copiague
6th Place – Michael Urso of W.T. Clarke High School Wrestl

JUNIOR FS – 182 Results

1st Place – Isaiah Zimmer of Team Worldwide
2nd Place – Tim Schaefer of Team Ten
3rd Place – Cedrick Stephens of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Jake Webber of New York Super Six
5th Place – Austin Weigel of Journeymen
6th Place – Marcus King of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 195 Results

1st Place – Reggie Williams of Team Worldwide
2nd Place – Thomas Murray of Askren WC
3rd Place – Giovanni Santiago of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
4th Place – Levi Ashley of JOURNEYMEN WRESTLING CLUB
5th Place – Nathanael Rose of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Maleke Cunningham of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 220 Results

1st Place – Joe Nasoni of MVWC
2nd Place – Luke McKee of ATWA
3rd Place – Sam Eagan of Empire/Titans
4th Place – Javaughn Grant of Beat the Streets New York City
5th Place – Rafael Rokosz of Southhampton HS
6th Place – Aaron Gondola of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 285 Results

1st Place – Brad Lucas of MVWC
2nd Place – Nolan Terrance of Massena
3rd Place – Matthew Abbott of Team Worldwide
4th Place – Quasar Hampton of Beat the Streets New York City
5th Place – Mason Cross of New York Titans
6th Place – Ben Newcomb of Titan

"Blessing in Disguise": Robert Person to Start the Next Chapter at Binghamton

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Robert Person called it a “blessing in disguise.”

The Bellmore JFK wrestler was referring to the interesting path that led to his commitment to Binghamton University last week, a place he feels is a great fit for his future both on the mat in the classroom.

“I’m really happy with Binghamton,” he said. “It’s very good academically and when I visited, I loved the campus.  The kids on the team made me feel welcome and everyone was friendly and approachable.  I got to know Coach [Jasen] Borshoff and Coach [Matt] Dernlan and they’re great.  I didn’t get to meet Teyon Ware, but it’s exciting to have a World Team member in the room. I think it worked out for the better for me.”

Person’s excitement about his future is a bit of a contrast to what he was feeling about a month ago.  On April 1, in the late morning, he dialed the wrestling offices at Boston University.

“I called [head coach] Carl Adams and told him I would be coming to Boston,” Person said. “He was happy and I was happy.  And then six hours later, I went onto Intermat to report my commitment.  On the front page, it said ‘Boston University Drops Wrestling.’  I was thinking, it’s April Fool’s Day, maybe my dad is somehow messing with me.”

But it wasn’t a joke.  The administration at the former CAA institution had announced just a few hours after Person’s call that they would be shutting down the program after the 2013-14 campaign.

“After the biggest decision of my life, there was a huge letdown,” he said. “It was devastating.”

Person and his club coach Craig Vitagliano of Ascend quickly sprung into action, looking into options.

Person said he originally hadn’t considered Binghamton because he was looking to go outside of New York to experience something different.  But when he looked more closely, he realized the school offered all the things he was looking for in a college.  He also connected with American and Franklin & Marshall over the past month and visited those institutions as well.

“I can’t be more appreciative to Coach [Mike] Rogers [of Franklin & Marshall] and Coach Teague Moore [of American],” he said. “They were really good to me and although I didn’t choose to go to those schools, I will forever be grateful to them.”

According to Vitagliano, one of the reasons those coaches were willing to get involved late in the process with Person was because of the potential he has to make an impact at the Division I level.

“He was a two-time state placewinner before this year [sixth in 2011, fifth in 2012] and was ranked number one in the state early in the season,” the Ascend Wrestling coach said.  He’s as good a technician as I’ve coached with amazing level changes and flexibility.  He’s like a Gumby doll.  With all of that, he was expected to place high or win the state this year.  After he went 0-2 a lot of coaches forgot about him or didn’t pursue him.  But most people didn’t know what he was dealing with in Albany and you might not pursue him as a coach if you don’t know the story.”

So, what’s the story?

“This year was disappointing for me,” Person said.  He came into the Eastern States Classic as the number four seed, but didn’t place after going 3-2 while competing with bronchitis.

One of his losses was to Nassau rival Chris Cataldo of MacArthur in an 11-9 contest.

“Not taking anything away from Chris, who wrestled a great match, but that was a wake up call for me,” Person said.  “I started training 10 times harder after that tournament.  I was ready to wrestle and do my thing.  I was so excited for a chance to wrestle him again at [the Section 8 tournament].

Just 15 seconds into the county final match, however, Person felt significant pain in his leg and took injury time.

“I felt something pulling.  I had no idea what it was, but I knew I had to keep going,” he said. “I kept hitting duck unders because it was all I could do.  Adrenaline pushed me through the match.”

“It was amazing how he wrestled through it,” Vitagliano added. “He hit three or four duck unders that were so slick, people are still talking about them.  I thought it would be a close match, but he blew the match wide open.”

He sure did, winning the Nassau crown with a dominant 19-8 major decision to punch his ticket to Albany after a 37-2 regular season record with 23 pins.

There was a problem, though.

“I thought I would wake up the next day and be at 100%,” Person said. “My leg hurt a lot but I thought I probably just tweaked it.  But it started to hurt more and more.  I went to the doctor two days later and found out I tore my hamstring and would be out for six to eight months.”

With the state tournament less than two weeks later, Person knew he had a decision to make.  And it was an easy one.

“I wanted to leave on my own terms no matter what,” he said. “It was rough, going 0-2 at states. I worked so hard all year. But I was proud of myself for going out there and trying to wrestle.”

Months later, Person continues to rehab the injury, going to physical therapy three times per week.  He said he still hasn’t been cleared to get on the mat, but has been working in the weight room and is hoping to be able to start wrestling by July.

“I’m looking to lift into the 125-pound weight class,” he said. “I haven’t been cutting much weight and I think a lot of my success was because of that.  I think my technique is on par, but my strength will be the biggest factor as to how well I do in college.”

Vitagliano agrees.

“He needs to get stronger and we all know that,” Vitagliano said. “He needs to hit the weights hard because that’s all he’s lacking now – strength.  He’s technically as good as anyone I’ve ever coached. He’s also a really good kid with a great sense of humor and a supportive family. It was tough for him to end the way he did because he wrestles with a lot of the guys that placed and is right there with them.  It was a disappointing end, but I think he has a bright future at Binghamton.”

Perhaps it all was a blessing in disguise.

——————————————

Robert Person wished to thank Craig Vitagliano, his parents, and his high school coach at Bellmore JFK, Brian DeGaetano.

Down to Durham: State Runner Up Alex Tanzman Decides on Duke University

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With a pair of Suffolk County titles and two All-State showings, Duke University-bound Alex Tanzman is the most decorated wrestler in Westhampton Beach history.

However, when the squad looked to clinch the league title in January, the Hurricanes planned to do it with their star sitting on the sidelines.

“It was our last dual meet of the year against Shoreham Wading River and we needed to win it to win the league,” head coach Paul Bass said. “We were hoping to do it without him because he had hardly practiced in three weeks and was in a lot of pain. He had done his job for us 48 hours before when we upset [then-#3 in the state] Rocky Point and we didn’t want to wrestle him again.”

Things did not go according to plan, however.  When it came time for the 106-pound weight class, instead of being in a solid position to capture the meet, Westhampton Beach trailed by double digit points.

“Alex put his head gear on, took his warm ups off and said he had to go out there for the team,” Bass said.

Tanzman wasn’t facing just an average opponent.  He was set to take on James Szymanski, ranked in the top five in the state at the time after an outstanding third place performance at the Eastern States Classic.

According to Bass, Syzmanski jumped out to a three point lead lead after two periods.  But Tanzman fought back in the third, escaping to begin the stanza and picking up a takedown to tie things up.  In overtime, Tanzman completed the comeback to win 7-5 and propel his squad to the championship.

“It was the gutsiest thing I’ve seen in 31 years of coaching,” Bass said.

Coming from behind late in a match against a top foe takes guts, but Alex Tanzman was dealing with much more.  He always had his mother, Jina Tanzman, and her battle with pancreatic cancer in his thoughts.  And physically, he suffered a painful intercostal rib injury in early 2013 that impacted him the rest of the season.

“It was January 5 at our home tournament,” Tanzman said. “It was a short match.  I just did a wrong motion and twisted the wrong way. After that, I slowed down.  I took three weeks off to try to heal, but it didn’t really work. I wasn’t going to not wrestle my senior year so I just toughed through it.  I had to change the way I wrestled. I just had to adapt.”

Adapt is a good word for what he did, according to Bass, as he moved away being from the ultra aggressive wrestler he had always been.

According to his coach, Tanzman set the Long Island record with 37 pins as a junior and was on pace to challenge that mark with 11 falls in November and December.  However, the injury didn’t allow him to attack the way he typically had.

“He couldn’t be aggressive,” Bass said. “He started using a very defensive style.  He gave up more takedowns in the last three weeks of the season than he had in his whole career combined.  He had to square up his stance and score off of defense.”

That led to falling behind in bouts, something that had not been common for the senior in the past.

“I actually was losing in a lot of matches this year that I ended up winning,” Tanzman said. “I never got too nervous, I just tried to stay focused.  I never expected to lose, even with the pain.”

A great example was in the Suffolk County finals against West Babylon’s Steven Lee.  He trailed early in the contest, but responded with a pin and his second straight Section 11 title.  At that point, he had a 32-1 record with his only setback coming up a weight against nationally-ranked Nick Piccininni of Ward Melville.

A few weeks later, the returning New York State bronze medalist (at 99 pounds) was the top seed at the Times Union Center at 106 and he went all the way to the championship bout before dropping a decision to Wantagh’s Kyle Quinn.

While Bass desired a different outcome, he marveled at Tanzman’s ability to achieve second place.

“To win Suffolk and go all the way to the state finals in that kind of condition is pretty amazing,” the coach said. “Everyone we talked to said that injury shuts most guys down completely.  You can’t really twist certain ways.  Honestly, Alex couldn’t do much and we were nervous about the lack of work he was able to do.  It was touch and go for a while and we had to take one day at a time, one week at a time.  He kept coming through.”

That kind of ‘can do’ attitude was reflected by the entire Westhampton Beach squad this year. Both Tanzman and Bass emphasized how the tight-knit group pulled through a lot of adversity – and on top of that, earned a lot of success on the mat.

“We had a bunch of hard, tragic events going on all around us,” Bass said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years of coaching.  But the kids stuck together.  There was no quit in anyone.  Alex was a perfect example. He was wired from his parents and teammates to keep going no matter what.”

“Our team was really close this year, all of us,” Tanzman added. “We stuck together and encouraged each other through some really hard times.  It was everyone – family, friends, coaches, teachers.  We were proud to win the leagues, which we wanted so bad.  We were able to support each other.”

One of the many evidences of that support came from the T-shirts the team sold.  According to Tanzman, the shirts were purple for pancreatic cancer and there was a “JT” on the sleeve for Jina Tanzman.  The money from the sales of the apparel went to the Lustgarden Foundation, an organization that funds pancreatic cancer research.

Tanzman’s ability to fight through it all was one of the many reasons the Duke coaching staff was excited to welcome him aboard.  His outstanding work in the classroom was, of course, another.

“I was always interested in Duke for the academics,” he said. “I visited a few weeks ago and met with Coach [Glen] Lanham and the wresting team.  It’s a beautiful school with great sports and I really liked the coaches.  It was my number one choice since the beginning of the year.”

The future economics major, who said he weighs about 122 pounds now, will redshirt his first year in Durham, North Carolina with the intention of wrestling at 125 the following season.

“Alex has all the tools,” Bass said. “He’s a very good athlete who is very explosive and strong for his size.  We always knew he was tough, from the time he was in our kid program in fifth grade.  He listens, he’s smart and he learns quickly.  You’re on your own a lot more in college and you need to be self-motivated and independent to succeed.  That’s Alex.  He has his priorities straight. He chose a great university and knows that education comes first.  I know he’ll do awesome.”

Nine New York Wrestlers Win Championships at MAWA Eastern Nationals While Numerous Others Place

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Thayer, Photo by BV

While many New Yorkers wrestled at the Northeast Regionals in Freestyle and Greco over the weekend, a large group traveled South to Maryland to compete for folkstyle titles at the MAWA Eastern Nationals.

The Empire State grapplers brought a lot of hardware back home, with 17 wrestlers making the finals, including nine champions. Many familiar faces captured gold, including 2012 or 2013 All-Staters such as Port Jefferson’s Matteo DeVincenzo, Mexico’s Theo Powers, Walt Whitman’s Joe Calderone, Johnson City’s Reggie Williams and Unatego’s Kevin Thayer and Ryan Marszal. In addition, at the Midget level, Norwich’s Troy Spratley won it all at 62 pounds, while Nassau County lightweight Peter Pappas did the same at 105 pounds in the Intermediate competition. Meanwhile, Johnny Miller of Shirley took the crown in the Open division at 142 pounds.

A number of other wrestlers who stood on the podium in Albany this year earned silver, including Norwich’s Tristan Rifanburg, Stony Point’s Matt Caputo and Johnson City’s Zach Colgan. Joining them in the runner up position were Nolan McGregor of Hornell and Braiden Woodward of Canisteo in the Bantam class, Connor Hamilton of Forestport in Intermediate action and Elite competitors Richie Burke of Ithaca and Conner Halladay of Chenango Forks.

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

Champions

Troy Spratley (Norwich), Midget 62
Peter Pappas (Plainview), Intermediate 105
Matteo DeVincenzo (Port Jefferson), Advanced 100
Theo Powers (Mexico), Advanced 105
Ryan Marszal (Unadilla), Advanced 171
Joe Calderone (Huntington Station), Elite 118
Kevin Thayer (Otego), Elite 160
Reggie Williams (Johnson City), Elite 220
Johnny Miller (Shirley), Open 142

Second Place

Nolan McGregor (Hornell), Bantam 48
Braiden Woodward (Canisteo), Bantam 56
Connor Hamilton (Forestport), Intermediate 220
Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich), Advanced 152
Richie Burke (Ithaca), Elite 135
Matt Caputo (Stony Point), Elite 145
Zach Colgan (Johnson City), Elite 160
Conner Halladay (Chenango Forks), Elite 171

Third Place

Brody Oleksak (Afton), Midget 75
Elijah Rodriguez (Norwich), Junior 74
Trentyn Rupert (Newark Valley), Junior 166
Derek Spann (Boonville), Advanced 105
Holden Pelton (Adams), Advanced 135
Josh Burge (Beaver Dams), Advanced 171
Nick McShea (Highland Mills), Advanced 189
Simon Greebel (Woodmere), Elite 130
Codie Nichols (Otego), Elite 152
Nate Silverthorn (Watertown), Open 158
Brian Slattery (Mount Sinai), Open 295

Fourth Place

Max Morris (Norwich), Bantam 52
Andrew Brown (Norwich), Midget 50
Haiden Burns (Bainbridge), Midget 80
Lucas Scott (Binghamton), Midget 134
Micah Roes (Lowville), Junior 62
Corey Connolly (Shirley), Junior 91
Benjamin Bivar (Sidney), Intermediate 120
Troy Feniger (Stony Point), Elite 135
John V. Hoke (Nanuet), Open 158
Jason Lichtenstein (Middletown), Open 295

Fifth Place

Bryson L. Terwilliger (Hornell), Junior 58
Chandler Merwin (Walton), Junior 70
Ryan Burgbacher (Medford), Junior 86
Evan Barsczak (Central Valley), Advanced 115
Howie Nolan (Bermus Point), Advanced 160
Brett Johnson (Cornwall), Elite 145
Shaquille Faison (Shirley), Open 295

Sixth Place

Hudson Evingham (Bolivar), Midget 105
John DeRidder (Westbury), Intermediate 90
Zachary Floitz (Canisteo), Intermediate 105
Michael Bryden (Delhi), Intermediate 115
Jacob Robinson (Hornell), Intermediate 175
Thomas Cox (Deer Park), Advanced 93
Dylan Wood (Trout Creek), Advanced 120
Kobe Garrehy (Binghamton), Advanced 125
Riley Hanrahan (Unadilla), Advanced 189
Colton W. Arcangeli (Burdett), Advanced 285
Ian Ammons (Fairport), Open 177

Seventh Place

Lucas Riley (Pine City), Midget 66
Caleb Galloway (Hornell), Midget 75
Scott Barnhart (Walton), Midget 134
Sam Wolf (Warsaw), Junior 91
Kiegan Brown (Endwell), Intermediate 105
Dean Raymond (Deposit), Advanced 105
Caleb Beach (Rodman), Advanced 120
Corey McCormick (Johnson City), Advanced 130
Matt Gund (Bethpage), Advanced 135
Anthony Rundell (Lisle), Open 125

Eighth Place

Mason Drew (Hornell), Midget 58
Bryce Bracchy (Delhi), Midget 85
Bradley A. Cheek (Canisteo), Junior 70
Caleb Robinson (Franklin), Junior 74
Gianno Silba (Newark Valley), Intermediate 90
Dakota Coffey (Walton), Intermediate 128
Bobby Pease (Medford), Advanced 105
Ryan O’Rourke (Boonville), Advanced 110
Paul Smoot (Monroe), Elite 125
Nick DiDio (Tomkins Cove), Elite 171
Christopher Rundell (Jenksville), Open 135

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

 

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.