Category Archives: Division 1

Big 10 Bound: National Champion Anthony Abidin Talks About His Commitment to Wrestle for Nebraska

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Anthony Abidin will face top-notch competition when he takes the mat in the Big 10 for Nebraska, at 133 or 141 pounds, beginning in 2013-14.  But it’s unlikely that he’ll be intimidated by the impressive credentials of his opponents.

Last year, while wrestling for Nassau Community College, he finished the season ranked 12th at 133 pounds, but defeated several higher-seeded foes to reach the NJCAA national championship bout against Brandon Wright of Iowa Central.   When it came time for the introductions, Abidin listened while the announcer seemingly went on and on about Wright’s achievements.

“I had a good laugh about that,” Abidin said. “My intro was pretty quick, a few tournament results and a New York state championship.  And then with Wright, it was all these national championships, multiple state championships, open tournament championships.  It was like, is this over yet?”

When it came down to it, resumes didn’t matter.  The match was knotted at 4 in the third period, but the Long Island native earned the key takedown and rideout to prevail 7-4.  He was a national champion.

“I am always in it to win,” Abidin said. “I wasn’t expected to place by most people, but I came into the tournament with a goal of at least being top three.  I promised myself that I worked harder than anyone else in the bracket and if I lost it simply wasn’t meant to be.  I was on my game that whole weekend and I didn’t give up an inch.  I surprised myself in the end.”

His impressive showing a year after completing his high school career atop the podium at the New York States at 125 pounds got the attention of several Division I programs.  In fact, he first was interested in attending nearby Hofstra.  However, after a trip to Cornhusker country this past weekend, he gave his commitment to Nebraska.

“I realized that I don’t want to stay home for college.  I want to get away and experience new places and new things,” he said.  “On my visit to Lincoln, I fell in love with the atmosphere right away.  It was a perfect fit for me.  The coaches were nice and straight shooters.  I got to see the football game, wrestling practice and spent time with the team.  I really like how the team was – everyone’s focus was on getting better and helping the rest of the guys get better.”

There have been several people who have helped Abidin get better over the years.  He mentioned Steve Hromada, who played an integral role in transforming him into a state champion at Half Hollow Hills East High.  And he said he has spent countless hours working with Vougar Oroudjov, both in high school and while at Nassau, improving all aspects of his wrestling.

“I can’t thank Steve Hromada enough for all he’s done for me,” Abidin said. “And I feel the same way about Vougar.  I think I’ve developed so much.  I finally picked up the college wrestling style – being aggressive but being smart and knowing how to wrestle well on top.  I’ve gotten better at all of those things.”

Abidin will redshirt this season at Nassau and have three years of eligibility left with the Huskers.  He will no doubt put the next year to good use, including spending time on an activity that was foreign to him until recently.

“I finally started to do something called lifting,” he said with a laugh.  “I never did it in high school.   I really just started lifting this summer.  I will put in another good year of hard work and will do everything I possibly can.”

He’s known for that.  In his semifinal match against Martin Gonzalez at the NJCAA National Championships, Abidin trailed 7-2 late in the second period.  He was frustrated by his opponent backing up and the fact that there was a 20 minute stop in the action as the referees and coaches tried to sort out a dispute.

“That match just about gave me a heart attack,” he said. “After the long break, I was really aggravated because I felt like my conditioning advantage was going away.  I was down by five and I knew I had a lot of work to do.  I kept attacking and even though I wasn’t scoring off my shots, I got three stalling points.  Finally, I hit a throw-by with one second left and scored two points to win it at the buzzer 8-7. It was amazing.”

Amazing.  Just like going from sixth in the county as a high school sophomore to a scholarship athlete in the Big 10 in just a few short years.

Aslanian and Realbuto, All-State Wrestlers and Workout Partners, Seek to End Their Careers on Top of the Podium

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Photos by Boris V

Over the next few weeks, New York Wrestling News will previewing New York’s high school Sections. We begin in Section 1 with a look at two of the top lightweights the Empire State has to offer.

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The 113-pound finals at the state tournament in February presented a bit of a pleasant challenge for Section 1 fans.  Two of the area’s best, John “Trey” Aslanian of Edgemont and Dylan Realbuto of Somers, were on the mats at the same time, each battling to win the championship against a Section 5 opponent a year after finishing second in Albany.

Having both wrestlers make the title bout at the Times Union Center two years in a row wasn’t an accident.  In fact, they helped each other get there.  Although Edgemont and Somers are at least 30 minutes away from each other, the two wrestlers have trained together since fifth grade and have continued to work out quite a bit, often at the Askren Wrestling Academy.

“I feel lucky because it’s such a good situation for both of us,” Aslanian said. “Dylan’s one of my best friends.  Since he’s big school and I’m small school, we know we won’t have to compete with each other at states, so it’s ideal.  Dylan is incredibly hard to score on with his funk, so if I can score on him, I feel like I can score on anyone in the state.  I think we push each other so much because we’re such different wrestlers and seeing a totally different style is never a bad thing.”

Not a bad thing at all.  In fact, it’s a really good thing, according to coach Max Askren.

“They are almost exactly opposite in their styles,” Askren said. “But it’s totally complementary.  Both are very, very technical wrestlers. But Trey wrestles from ties, likes to control things that way.  Dylan really wrestles from out in the open. So it works to have them train together.  If these guys want to wrestle in college, they should be wrestling together.”

Both Realbuto and Aslanian do plan to compete at the Division I level, with Aslanian considering Penn, Princeton and Harvard.  However, they first have some business to take care of at the high school level.

For Aslanian, that means a first state title.  He took fifth as a freshman and second the last two seasons at 103 and 113, respectively.

“Finishing second the last two years was obviously disappointing,” Aslanian said. “I go into every year wanting to win a state championship and when you come so close but don’t get it, it’s really difficult.  Last year, I was more confident because I had already been in the finals before, so I think I was that much more disappointed not to get the job done.”

Aslanian felt he dropped the title bout to Sean Peacock of Midlakes because he was focused too much on his opponent and not on himself.

“I didn’t get to my gameplan and most importantly, I didn’t get to my offense,” he said. “I needed to force my offense – my shots and my takedowns – and instead I was thinking too much about what he was doing and lost sight of what I do well.”

Since stepping off the mat in Albany, Edgemont coach Peter Jacobson believes Aslanian has made significant improvements, partially due to his offseason wrestling.

The outstanding student made a smooth transition to freestyle, getting his hand raised often. At the Junior Duals in Oklahoma City, Aslanian went 7-1 for Team New York and he won four matches at Fargo. (He was an All-American in North Dakota in 2011).

“There’s great translation from strong freestyle skills to folkstyle skills and Trey has taken that to heart,” Jacobson said.  “He wrestled some really strong matches at the Junior Duals and at Fargo went up against some very high level competition.  I know he feels that he didn’t wrestle as well as he could have, but I can see already that the experience has made him better.”

“I think I grew a lot as a wrestler,” Aslanian added. “I got to wrestle some of the best kids in the country and I think I grew, just getting to see that national competition. I hoped to place or possibly win Fargo and I didn’t have my best performance.  But I know I’ve gotten better.”

In addition to the top-notch opposition and additional practices in places like Vougar’s Honors Wrestling on Long Island, Aslanian’s improvement stems from significant time invested in video study.

“I love watching John Smith,” Aslanian said of the multiple-time NCAA and World Champion who now coaches at Oklahoma State. “He’s always attacking and pushing his offense. I also watch a lot of Ben and Max Askren.  They’re so entertaining with their funk.  Not too many people use the techniques they use.  I learn so much by watching.”

“I think Trey’s biggest strength is the amount of time he puts into honing his craft,” Jacobson added.  “He’s very much a student of the sport.  He watches films of himself and standout wrestlers from around the world.  If you line him up against the best in the state, he won’t be the strongest kid or the best natural athlete.   He’s achieved what he has by working hard to play to his strengths.”

Helping him do that are two other members of his family and team – younger brothers Tyler and Kyle.  Tyler, a junior, was one match from placing a year ago in Albany, while Kyle competed at 99 pounds as an eighth grader.

“It really benefits them to be pretty close in weight.  They can work out at home or can drill whenever and wherever they want,” Jacobson said of the three Aslanians.  “It’s not like the 190-pound older brother wrestling the 120-pound younger brother and expecting it to be beneficial.  Having them all in the room couldn’t be better – they’re supportive of each other with totally different personalities.  Tyler has the ability to make the podium this year and Kyle will make a huge jump.  He’s the best natural athlete of the group and most of the matches he lost last year were size and strength related. He’ll be a full-sized 99 pounder this year and will see more success.”

Trey Aslanian believes more success is in the cards for all of the Aslanian brothers in 2013. (A fourth brother, Wyatt, is in elementary school).

“Last year’s Sectional tournament was probably the most memorable moment for me in my career, with Tyler and I both winning titles,” he said. “That’s probably the best I ever felt in wrestling.  The plan for this year is for all three of us to win.”

But that’s only part of the plan.  Trey Aslanian said he hopes to go undefeated after a 39-2 campaign in 2012, but even that isn’t most important.  There’s one thing he can’t get out of his mind.

“I want to be a state champion,” he said.  “I’ve wanted that ever since I started in this sport in fifth grade.  I think about it every second of every day.”

He’s come close twice before and he knows this is the final opportunity before he heads off to the Ivy League.

“This season is the last of a lot of things,” he said. “I really enjoy wrestling with my brothers and it’s the last time to compete with them.  It’s such a unique situation and I’ll miss it. I want to win states and I know there’s a lot of pressure because it’s now or never.”

Now or never was the situation Realbuto was in during last year’s state finals bout. He trailed by a point with just a few seconds left and it looked like he was going to get the silver again.  But in dramatic fashion, he took Hilton’s Vincent DePrez down as time expired to win.

“I thought it was over just the same as everyone else thought it was,” Askren said. “Some people said Dylan was lucky, but if that’s true then he put himself in the position to be lucky.”

Realbuto and his frequent training partner Aslanian will try to put themselves in that gold medal position in February.  Realbuto will make another leap in weight, according to Askren, going either 126 or 132.  Aslanian, according to Jacobson, is still growing and will be at 120 or 126.

If both are at 126, Section 1 fans hope to have to divide their attention between the mats during the state finals, as they did in 2012, to watch Aslanian and Realbuto both try to complete their careers with a state championship.

All-American David Almaviva of Shenendehowa Discusses His Commitment to Binghamton

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After dominating his way through the Section 2 championships, Shenendehowa’s David Almaviva came to the state tournament in February with hopes of a 138-pound title.  When he dropped his first bout against Fox Lane’s Tom Grippi, 4-1, he quickly turned his disappointment into motivation.

“At first, I was pretty upset,” Almaviva said. “But then I realized I couldn’t be upset because it wouldn’t help.  I knew I needed to wrestle back tough and take third.”

Photo courtesy of Anthony Almaviva

He took care of business, winning five straight matches to earn the bronze.  His path wasn’t easy, as he faced the bracket’s top two seeds.  However, he was in control most of the way, outscoring his opponents 21-3.

“I thought the way I handled it could be the deciding factor on whether colleges would look at me,” Almaviva said.

That might have been the case.  Several Division I programs were excited about Almaviva, including Binghamton.

This past weekend, while Almaviva was on his official visit to the CAA institution, he became the third top 10 senior in New York State to commit to the Bearcats.  While he enjoyed playing paintball and participating in other team bonding activities on the trip, he listed many other reasons for his decision.

“I really like the campus and it’s not too far from home,” he said. “I know I’ll get a good education there.  I also feel like I have a pretty close relationship with the coaches and the team feels like a family.  I know the team is working hard to be national champs and that’s what I’m looking to do.”

Helping Almaviva reach for those goals in Division I wrestling will be his longtime teammate Nick Kelley, who committed to Binghamton a few weeks ago.

“We’ve been workout partners since fourth grade.  [Kelley’s commitment] was definitely part of my decision to choose Binghamton,” Almaviva said, adding that he also strongly considered North Carolina State. “We’ve always been around the same weight and we’ve always pushed each other to get better.”

That was true this summer when both wrestlers became Freestyle All-Americans at Junior Nationals at Fargo.  Almaviva took eighth at 145 pounds in North Dakota after defeating eventual national runner up Quinton Murphy at the New York State Freestyle championships.

With those victories behind him, Almaviva is now focused on ending his senior season on a high note.

“I’m looking to be a state champ this year,” Almaviva said. “My high school coaches [Rob] Weeks and [Frank] Popolizio work with me every day to make sure I’m the best I can be.  That’s true for my teammates too – we push each other.  I think if we keep working hard and stay focused our team can win states this year.  And I won’t stop working so that I can finally finish first individually.”

Shenendehowa's David Almaviva Makes Verbal Commitment to Binghamton University

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The commitments keep coming for the Binghamton wrestling program.

After landing Canastota’s Zack Zupan and Shenendehowa’s Nick Kelley, the Bearcats picked up another of the Empire State’s top seniors over the weekend when David Almaviva gave his verbal pledge to the CAA school, according to an e-mail from his family.

Almaviva earned All-America honors this summer in freestyle at Fargo when he took eighth at 145 pounds.  That performance followed a standout showing at the New York State freestyle championships where he defeated Fargo runner up Quinton Murphy, who is now a freshman at Indiana.

The Shenendehowa senior, who projects at 141 or 149 pounds, has twice made the medal stand at the New York high school state tournament, taking third at 138 pounds this season and sixth as a sophomore in 2011.

For more on Almaviva’s commitment, check back later in the week.

Buffalo Head Coach Jim Beichner Discusses the Lineup, Schedule and More for 2012-13

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NCAA photos by Boris V

Buffalo featured a young team a year ago, as 10 freshmen took the mat for the squad in dual meets during the season.  At the end of the campaign, the Bulls sent two wrestlers – Max Soria (125) and Mark Lewandowski (165) to the NCAA tournament.  Both qualifiers will be back, as will former NCAA participants who redshirted a year ago (John-Martin Cannon and Andrew Schutt).  With the addition of some impact transfers and a solid recruiting class, Coach Jim Beichner and his staff are looking for big things in 2012-13.

Beichner talked to New York Wrestling News about his team’s outlook, beginning with a look at the potential lineup.

125 Pounds – Max Soria returns after his NCAA appearance a year ago.  But he has some competition – notably from his twin brother Mike, as well as Ryan Howes, a Division III transfer.

Coach Beichner: “Max is the frontrunner based on last season, but his twin brother Mike is also there.  Both are very talented and train together all the time.  We’ll have to see how that shakes out when the UB Invitational comes about.  It’s interesting with them – they’re what they call ‘mirror twin’ brothers, which is extremely rare.  If you look in the mirror, everything about them is exactly opposite.  It probably would confuse some people – one wrestles with a right leg lead, one left leg lead. I expect both to see time on the mat and Howes may as well.”

133 Pounds – Justin Farmer is back after holding the 133 job in 2011-12 but he will be challenged by former 125 starter Sean Walton and Pittsburgh transfer Erik Galloway.

Coach Beichner:  “Justin Farmer would probably tell you that he didn’t have the kind of year we expected.  He’s a great kid and a really hard worker who is easy to root for.  We’ll have to wait and see because two other guys are vying for the spot.  Walton will certify at 125 but will be up at 133 at least at the beginning of the season.  He’s been a starter for us and won some matches, including a big match at the Binghamton dual meet.  He cut a lot of weight in the past and we want to see what he will look and feel like up a weight.  Galloway is a redshirt sophomore who is talented and may turn out to be the guy.  It’s a good situation to have.”

141 Pounds – One of Buffalo’s most successful all-time wrestlers, Kevin Smith, graduated after manning this spot a year ago.  However, the Bulls will once again be strong in this class with the return of 2011 MAC champion Andrew Schutt, who redshirted last season.  Freshmen such as Tyler Newton and John Northrup may wrestle at this weight (or 149).

Coach Beichner: “Kevin Smith was a great soldier for us. He cut weight for four years and we wanted him going for his doctorate in physical therapy last year feeling healthy. So we made the decision for him to go 141 and we were fortunate to be able to redshirt a guy like Schutt.  Schutt is a guy we expect to do extremely well.  He’s very dangerous.  That’s worth repeating – very dangerous. He’s probably one of the strongest kids in the program and with the power he has, he can pin you in a number of different ways. We’re really happy to have him back.”

149 Pounds – Blake Ruolo, a four-time champion at the NHSCA Nationals while in high school, went 22-13 in his first season at the college level.   Another accomplished recruit, two-time New York state champion Jimmy Kloc from Iroquois, could push to get on the mat as well.

Coach Beichner: “Blake had a good offseason.  Like a lot of freshmen, he had a difficult transition to college, but he seems to have made a lot of adjustments.  His progress over the summer puts him as the guy to beat this weight class. I think he should be ready to step up.  Jimmy Kloc is one of the most talented kids we’ve ever recruited.  He’ll need to make the transition to the grind, the training with a group of athletes that are better.  It’s so different from being the king of the room, where you can beat everyone, even when you’re a small guy.  We’ll probably wind up redshirting Jimmy to let him get a year under his belt, but if he’s the best guy, he’ll be in the lineup.”

157 Pounds – This will be another competitive weight for the Bulls with a few experienced wrestlers and a young standout in the mix. Wally Maziarz, who captured 13 wins in 2012, will be a sophomore for the Bulls.  He will try to hold onto the spot while former RIT transfer Dom Montesanti, Massachusetts native Matt Dehney, Oklahoma transfer Clay Reeb and rookie Chris Nevinger, a three-time New York state champion, enter the fray.

Coach Beichner:  “I consider Wally Maziarz to be a workhorse.  He didn’t achieve what he wanted to in high school.  In fact, he he didn’t qualify for the states even though he was good enough to be there.  He became such a driven athlete because of that. Last year, he did whatever he could for the team.  He had some flashes of brilliance and he had some flashes of not so great too.  He needs to stay toward the brilliance.

Montesanti is a competitor – wiry, gangly and kind of unorthodox.  You never know what you’ll get, but he’s very capable.  We also have guys like Matt Dehney and Clay Reeb, who have wrestled some good matches.  And there’s Nevinger.  He’s a perfect fit for this weight class — great credentials and very strong.  He’s at the beginning of the learning curve, acclimating to Division I wrestling.  He has all the talent and abilities and it’s a matter of time before he’s out there competing for us.”

165 Pounds: Mark Lewandowski made the Round of 12 in 2011 at NCAAs, leading eventual national champion Bubba Jenkins late into the third period of their match.  He won 32 bouts while dealing with injuries in 2012, and looks to finish his career on a high note.  Jeff Palmeri may see time at this weight or at 174 and freshman Ryan Therrien is doing some good things in open rooms, according to Beichner. Former Top 100 recruit Jake Waste, who wrestled at 174 and 184 last year and went 24-9, is making the transition to 165 as a redshirt in 2012-13.

Coach Beichner: “Lewandowski has been an extremely good leader for us.  He’s a solid student, a hard worker and a good person. I can’t say enough good things about him, but I would like to be able to add “All-American” to his description because he’s good enough.  He had Bubba Jenkins beat two years ago in the Round of 12 match.  With about a minute left, he got cemented and pinned right on the edge. He moved up a weight last year and had some injuries that kept haunting him.  We hope he’s through those injuries because a healthy Mark Lewandowski can beat anyone.”

174 Pounds – John-Martin Cannon took a redshirt for Buffalo and had a lot of success, including a fourth place finish at the Midlands and around 35 wins, according to Beichner.  Expectations are very high for his final college season.

Coach Beichner:  “[Cannon’s] redshirt year was phenomenal.  He finished higher at Midlands than any athlete we’ve ever had and I think I would say it was the best redshirt year we’ve seen.  When we looked at last year’s rankings and the wins he had, we think he would have been seeded in the top 7 at the NCAAs last year.  I know quite a few other coaches were talking about how impressed they were with him.  We have complete confidence in him.  Working with [assistant coach] Matt Lackey has been a big difference maker and we believe he’s capable of placing high this year.”

184 Pounds – Tony Lock completed his career at Pioneer High School with an undefeated state championship season and then topped it off by capturing the title at the NHSCA Senior Nationals.  A Top 100 recruit according to Intermat, Lock will suit up for Buffalo as a freshman.

Fellow first-year grappler Jarred Lux, a Pittsburgh native who has impressed the staff, may see time at 174 or 184 while Justin Lozano, who competed as a rookie last season despite some injuries, will take a redshirt.  Beichner raved about Lozano’s work ethic and expects him to make an impact in the future.

Coach Beichner:  “Tony Lock is a great kid and he’s deceiving for a big guy. He moves like a small guy when he’s tested and pushed. He’s also a really smart wrestler with great mat sense.  There will be a transition but we expect him to do well.  He came in during the summer, took a course and trained for six weeks.  He came a long way even during that time.  We’re really excited about him.”

197 Pounds – Virginia Tech transfer Angelo Malvestuto will fit in immediately at 197 after winning over 20 matches for the Hokies a year ago.  Zach Ward will compete as well although he also may see time down at 184 pounds.

Coach Beichner: “We struggled a little because of youth at 197 last year.  I’m happy to say that we picked up Angelo, who will be a sophomore.  We think he’ll be an impact player for us right away.  The nice thing is that he can go out and score bonus points for your team and we consider 197 to be a critical weight class for bonus points.”

285 Pounds – Three wrestlers are in the mix to start at heavyweight – veteran Jedd Mason, sophomore Justin Heiserman and Joe Manna.

Coach Beichner:  “Jedd Mason has been a starter and while he hasn’t had the kind of career he wanted, he has the opportunity to step up and make a difference.  Heiserman had good credentials out of high school but throwing him into a schedule like ours at 197 was a challenge.  He’s up around 250-255 pounds now.  He looks like a heavy and wrestles like one.  Joe Manna transferred in after playing football.  He’s working his way back, but isn’t ready for the starting lineup yet.”

A few more questions . . .

You’ve had successful Takedown Cancer events in recent years.  This season’s Takedown Cancer dual will feature Buffalo against Iowa. How did that come about?

“Coach [Tom] Brands and I had been swapping calls for a while.  We were scheduled to go out there to Iowa this year but something happened and it wasn’t going to happen.  Brands is true to his word, though, and since the change happened on their end, he decided to bring his team to our place this year.  We’re looking forward to having the Hawkeyes here in Western New York.   It continues a recent trend that we want to keep of having top teams come into our facility.

We’re also really happy Iowa will be here for the Takedown Cancer dual.  We hope the community shows up in large numbers for that match.  It won’t only be a great day of wrestling but it will be raising money for one or two families who have a child with cancer.   We’ve been able to give thousands of dollars to families in the past so that they can afford to support their child as the child goes through cancer treatments.  We want people to embrace the cause – fill the stands, buy tickets and raffles.  Doing the Takedown Cancer fundraisers has changed my perspective on life and I think if people come to the Iowa match they will feel extremely good knowing the money they spent allowed them to see great wrestling but more importantly went into the pockets of people who really need the help.”

What are some of the other highlights of the schedule?

Coach Beichner: “In the past, critics said our schedule wasn’t strong enough, but we’ve changed that.  I think it’s the most challenging dual meet season we’ve ever put together.  We want our guys to embrace it and win with this schedule and we believe we can.

We’re looking forward to the UB Open, which we’ve turned into an invitational. We will run it like Midlands where redshirts are allowed to pay their own way and transportation, but we will have a team score. It’s new for us and exciting.

We’ll be taking five guys to Midlands while the rest will go to the Lock Haven Invitational.  We want our studs to be at tournaments like the Midlands and after that we’ll be at the Virginia Duals.  We were eighth and seventh the past two years at Virginia Duals and we think we can do a lot better.”

What are some of your team’s goals this year?

Coach Beichner:  “Our goals really don’t change that much from year to year, truthfully.  We want MAC champions and we want All-Americans.  We haven’t had enough All-Americans.  I’d love to see a guy like Cannon on the stand this year, right up to the #1 spot.  I’d love to see the same for Mark Lewandowski and to see Schutt as an All-American.  We have four returning national qualifiers and an awful lot of young, talented guys who are ready to go.  I think with the transfers we’ve added, we have the potential for a great season.”

Head Coach Carl Fronhofer Previews the 2012-13 Columbia Lions

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In 2011-12, Carl Fronhofer’s first season as head coach, Columbia took third place in the Ivy League (losing a 19-18 nailbiter against second place Penn) and sixth at the EIWA tournament.  The Lions sent three wrestlers to the NCAA tournament, where Steve Santos came within one win of becoming an All-American at 149 and 157-pounder Jake O’Hara and now graduated heavyweight Kevin Lester each won a pair of matches.

What’s next for the Ivy League squad in 2012-13?  Fronhofer gave New York Wrestling News a preview of what to expect in the upcoming campaign, beginning with a weight-by-weight look at the team.

125 Pounds – Former Section 1 standout Penn Gottfried returns after taking last season off with a shoulder injury.  He’ll be in a battle with Robert Dyar, who won 16 matches last year, for the starting role in 2012-13.  Adding depth is California state champion Johnson Mai.

Coach Fronhofer: “Penn and Dyar are pretty competitive in the room and at this point, it’s hard to tell what will happen.  Penn’s rehab went great and his arm is strong.  But, he’s only been back on the mat for a couple of weeks.  I think it’s close enough between those two guys that I’ll remove myself from that situation and see how it plays out. As for Johnson Mai, he’s a tremendous athlete who is very skilled.  He’s good enough to find ways to win.  But he’s probably at least a year away from getting big enough to compete nationally.  It’s similar to Dyar when he first came in – he needed time to grow enough to compete at 125 pounds.”

133 Pounds – The departure of starter Kyle Gilchrist, who went 27-15 a year ago, leaves a spot that several wrestlers are hoping to grab.

Coach Fronhofer: “It’s definitely wide open. We have Andrew Grabfelder, who was a starter earlier in his career.  He took a year off, was injured when he came back and is a senior now.  If he can stay healthy and keep it together, he can do well.  We also have some young guys from Ohio – Ryan Murdock and Angelo Amenta who are pretty talented kids who work hard.  Also add in California freshman Joe Moita.  This is the most wide open race for a starting spot in our lineup this year.”

141 Pounds – Last season, Matt Bystol, Ryan Ponte and Elijah Sullivan all manned the 141-pound spot at times, until Bystol earned the nod down the stretch.  He and Ponte will be back, with Sullivan taking the year off. But it may be a three-way race again as Top 100 recruit Alec Mooradian, a Michigan native, will also look for time.

Coach Fronhofer: “We had several wrestleoffs last year at 141 and it went in circles. When the dust settled, it was Bystol who won the job.  He was really steady and consistent and that’s why he found himself in the lineup at the end of the year.  Ponte will battle with him again and so will Mooradian.  [Mooradian] was a four-time state finalist and a three-time champion and lost only a few matches in his entire high school career.   He’s tough and he’ll be fighting for the spot too.”

149 Pounds – Unlike the first three weights, 149 isn’t up for grabs.  Four-year starter Steve Santos will be back a year after making the Round of 12 at the NCAA tournament.  Santos has racked up several impressive victories during his career, including wins over Mario Mason, Donnie Vinson and Edinboro’s David Habat.  In 2011-12, he compiled a 26-11 record and took fourth at the EIWA tournament before winning three bouts at nationals.

Coach Fronhofer: “Last year, Steve was solid.  When he was a freshman and sophomore, he was a little inconsistent. He took some bad losses here and there.  But if he continues to be consistent, he’s a top 10 guy in the country and is capable of more than that.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he took top four at NCAAs this year.  He has what it takes to be an All-American.”

157 Pounds – Like Santos, fellow senior Jake O’Hara got his hand raised at nationals in 2012.  The Pennsylvania native won two matches in St. Louis to cap off a 30-victory campaign.  According to Fronhofer, he and Santos will be the team captains and are the leaders of the squad who “take care of business inside and outside the room and do everything right”.

Coach Fronhofer: “Jake made a big leap last year.  I think the difference between Jake as a sophomore and as a junior was pretty astronomical.  It’s a credit to him.  He works very hard – he stays the course and gets better every day.  I think having [assistant coach] Adam Hall [an All-American at Boise State] to work with was very beneficial.  Without question, Jake’s goal is to be on the podium in March.  There’s no doubt in my mind that he can do it.  The middle weights are always loaded but you have to show up and wrestle.  He’s capable of placing at the NCAAs.”

165 Pounds – NCAA qualifier Eren Civan graduated and a number of young wrestlers are lining up to take his spot.  Michigan native Josh Houldsworth, who started at 141 as a freshman in 2010-11, is moving up a few weights while 2012 spot starter Adam Fondale is in the mix with sophomore Eric Fajardo.

Coach Fronhofer: “Josh Houldsworth is pretty tall and we always thought he could grow. We’ve gotten such consistent work out of Steve [Santos] and Jake [O’Hara] that we asked Josh to move up and he’s making that move. Fondale won about 20 matches last year, wrestling in duals, opens and all over the place. Fajardo is a super talented kid who did a lot of judo growing up.  He didn’t have the pure wrestling experience of a lot of other guys, but he’s a great athlete who has developed well.  He took second at the FILA Junior Nationals this spring in Greco and has made some big gains in a short time.”

174 Pounds – Stephen West joined the lineup as soon as he arrived at Columbia and is ready to enter his fourth year as a starter.   Despite 33 wins last season, he didn’t receive a bid to the NCAA tournament and looks to qualify for nationals and more in his final season in a Lions singlet.

Coach Fronhofer: “It was almost unbelievable that [West] wasn’t at the tournament last year. It was shocking to me after he qualified a spot for our conference and placed only one spot out [of automatic qualifying]. He had the most wins at the weight in the country.   He was completely devastated – we all were.  But he has the right attitude about the sport and life and he snapped out of it pretty quickly and went back to work in the spring and summer.  He has the right focus.  I assume that in March he’ll be competing at a pretty high level nationally.  He’s shooting to be an All-American. He has the experience, the athleticism and the skill set that makes it possible.”

184 Pounds – Shane Hughes came in as a freshman and racked up 22 wins.  He was an exciting wrestler to watch, recording 11 pins and going for big moves at 184 pounds.  Several other freshmen, such as Zack Hernandez, Austin Coniker and Chris Loew are also listed at the weight.

Coach Fronhofer: “Shane is definitely very dangerous in certain positions.  To make a jump this year, he’ll have to be more consistent and tighten up his game a little bit.  You can’t put the reins on guys like him because part of why he’s good is that he’s so open.  But he’ll have to improve a little on fundamentals and managing matches to take the next step.”

197 Pounds – In 2011, Nick Mills made Second Team All-Ivy at 184 pounds and took fifth at EIWAs.  He began last season at the same weight and then transitioned to 197, going 12-15 overall.

Coach Fronhofer: “Nick had a rough year last year. He puts a lot of pressure on himself and was trying to figure out how to compete that way.  If he does that, he’ll be back in a position to get to the NCAA tournament. He’s a great athlete and physically can compete with anyone.  Chris Manna and Matt Idelson are two other guys who will be at that weight.  They haven’t figured out a way to beat Mills yet, though.”

285 Pounds – Wyatt Baker notched a 13-5 record in his first year with the Lions while backing up NCAA qualifier Kevin Lester.  He was busy in the spring and summer competing in the international styles.  Baker represented the United States at 120 kg in Greco Roman at the Junior World Championships in Thailand, taking 10th place.  The native Californian is looking to make his mark in the EIWA and nationally in his initial campaign as a starter.

Coach Fronhofer: “Wyatt has made a huge leap.  He’s a kid that comes from Servite, a major football factory and he was a big time football player.  He only wrestled a few months of the year.  He has a tremendous attitude – he’s a happy kid that gets the most out of every situation.  I think it’s really hard to start right out of the blocks at heavyweight, so he was in a good position last year to come in and develop with Kevin Lester here.  Having that year of development plus the great summer he earned by making the World Team really benefitted him and we expect him to compete at a high level right away.”

A Few More Questions . . . 

What do you feel were the biggest things you took away from your first year as the head coach?

Coach Fronhofer:  I think I learned about managing the guys.  It’s a bit of a balancing act.  A guy like Stephen West probably wrestled too many matches last year.  He’s just so tough and so consistent, you can lose sight of the fact that he could use some time off.  I think you learn as a head coach when to put the hammer down and when to pull back a little bit; how to manage individuals and keep the team’s best interest in mind.  The decision making process is constantly evolving.

I also got to see that as a head coach you manage to wear a lot of hats at once.  You have responsibilities to the team, the administration, the parents, recruiting, alumni and so on.  You’re constantly learning on the job as you go through different experiences.

What goals have you set for the team for 2012-13?

Coach Fronhofer: I think we’ve done some great work in the offseason.  You saw our guys wrestling a lot of freestyle and Greco.  Our attitude is that if there’s a wrestling tournament, we’re going.  We’re passionate about the Olympic movement in our country and we’re going to wrestle as much as we can.

I think our goal as a team at the EIWA tournament is to finish top 3.  After that, I think we’re capable of sending six-plus wrestlers to the NCAAs.  We have a few guys with very high level individual goals.  They expect to become All-Americans and their goals are to win national titles.  We can achieve some big things this year. I’m always excited in the fall, preparing for what’s coming next.  We’re really looking forward to getting started.

Cornell's Kyle Dake Talks About His Olympic Experience and Wanting a Gold Medal of His Own

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Kyle Dake, Photo by Boris V

Cornell senior Kyle Dake spent a portion of his summer with the United States Olympic Wrestling team.  This included training in Colorado Springs, traveling to Belarus for the pre-Olympic camp and then going to London for the latter stages of the Games.  He briefly talked to New York Wrestling News about the experience.

What was it like to be in London during the Olympics?

Kyle Dake: It was a really great experience.  Honestly, we were mostly training and trying to get the guys as ready as possible for the Olympics, so I didn’t get to spend that much time outside of wrestling.  I got to take a tour in London one day and saw some great things like the Tower of London.

Did you get to attend any events while you were there?

Kyle Dake: I watched all the freestyle and one day of Greco, which got me super motivated.  But I didn’t get a chance to go to any other events in person. We were busy and tickets were pretty expensive.  But there were 30 screens set up at the USA House, where Olympians or past Olympians socialized and watched the events.  I was in London but I basically saw a lot of the Olympics on TV.

Did you meet any celebrities or Olympians at the USA House?

Kyle Dake: I saw some of the female rowers, soccer players and the silver medal beach volleyball team [Jennifer Kessy and April Ross].  I saw Evander Holyfield and got to see his ear, which still looks deformed.  And it was pretty cool to meet the great soccer player Mia Hamm.

Who did you spend most of your time working with in Belarus and London?

Kyle Dake: I was training with [84 kg Olympian] Jake Herbert.  [National freestyle coach] Zeke Jones usually takes an extra person at each weight class as an alternate, just in case.  Jordan Burroughs took Raymond Jordan as his training partner.  [Raymond Jordan] was third at 84 kg at the Olympic Trials, so he was the alternate at 84.  They needed a partner for Jake who could also be an alternate at 74. They chose me.  I had trained with Jake before – at the camps in Colorado and also a little before that.  It was a good experience to work with him.  He has a lot of freestyle experience and I got to see how the bigger guys move.  Jake wrestled well in the tournament.  He had some interesting calls in his matches.

After training with Herbert, do you expect to stay at 74 kg for the next Olympic cycle?  Are you finished with Greco or would you consider that sometime in the future?

Kyle Dake: We’ll see what happens, but right now 74 kg is my weight class.  I’m done with Greco.

What do you think the freestyle training this summer has done for you as you get ready to go for your 4th NCAA title?

Kyle Dake: I think it helped a lot.  It gave me confidence that I could wrestle with the best guys in the world.  Knowing I could hang with Olympians and gold medalists makes me feel really good going into the college season.  My focus is on my fourth NCAA title now and doing whatever I can to help my team win a title too.

What will you remember most about the Olympic experience?

Kyle Dake: It was a huge motivator.  I got really inspired and motivated to get better after watching those guys, especially watching the guys win the gold medals.  I know now how badly I want a gold medal of my own.  After my college career is over, I’ll be shooting for gold.

Team Long Island Dominates on the Way to the Waterway Duals Championship in Pennsylvania

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“Long Island wrestlers have shown lately that we can compete with anyone,” said John Passaro.

This weekend was another confirmation as Team Long Island went to the Waterway Duals in the Keystone State and captured the title in a field of 24 teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Delaware and North Carolina.

The Empire State squad went 4-0 on Saturday, thoroughly dominating the title match, 53-12, against Malvern of Pennsylvania.

“We had a very good finals,” Passaro, one of the team’s coaches, said.  “When we got to the finals, we brought the kids together and told them the tournament really started at that point.  We didn’t want them to do all the work they had done and wrestle well all day and come in second.  It was a good feeling to walk away knowing we got everyone’s best effort in the most important match.”

The team may have given its best effort in the finale, but the efforts were strong throughout the day.  The morning began with a 51-6 victory over Turks Head.  The squad fell behind early but got on the board after a tight 4-3 win by James Szymanski at 115 and rolled from there, coming out on top of 11 matches.

Next up was the quarterfinals meeting with Team Griffin, which proved to be the biggest challenge of the day.  It was a back and forth affair that came down to the last match.  Heavyweight Josh Edmonson, the newest addition to the roster, came through in the clutch, getting the victory to push Long Island to the semis.

“We picked up Josh the day before the tournament and that match was decisive for us,” Passaro said. “He did an outstanding job.  He didn’t have a lot of time to practice.  He had a weight advantage in that match and wore his opponent down.  That was the key win of the weekend.”

From there, Long Island cruised to a 43-19 triumph over Team Pac 10.  While the overall score wasn’t close, some individual bouts were.  One of those featured state champion Nick Piccininni, who was one of the three wrestlers on the New York team that bumped up a weight for the event due to a late lineup change.  Piccininni, who won the Super 32 qualifier a week earlier at 113, competed at 122 against Zack Fuentes and edged the two-time Pennsylvania medalist.

“Nick had a great match,” Passaro said. “He scored his points in the last few seconds of the periods and that’s how you win matches.  He had a takedown with less than 10 seconds left in the first period and then escaped with less than 10 seconds to go in the third to win it.”

It turned out to be the only close contest of the day for the Ward Melville grappler, who went undefeated with falls in his other three bouts.

Piccinnini was one of five unbeaten wrestlers for the squad. Mepham’s Louie Hernandez continued his impressive summer by outscoring his foes 55-10 in his three matches. (He also received a forfeit).

“Louie was an offensive machine,” Passaro said. “I think he only gave up points when he let kids go for escapes.  He was explosive on his feet and just dominant. With Louie and Corey Rasheed, I think we had two of the best 155-pounders in the state on our team.”

Rasheed wrestled at 163 for Team Long Island, sporting a perfect 4-0 mark, including three pins and a six-point decision.

“Corey had a great weekend,” Passaro said.  “When you wrestle in a tournament like this and you’re wrestling up a weight class like Nick [Piccininni], Travis [Passaro] and Corey [Rasheed] did, giving up a lot of weight after weigh-ins the night before, it’s great to do as well as they did.  In the finals, Corey bearhugged a kid and took him right to his back.  It was one of the moments where you just say, ‘Wow.’  It was very impressive.”

Also impressive in winning all of their matches were Johnny Vrasidas and TJ Fabian. (Jackson Mordante, Tommy Dutton, Travis Passaro and James Szymanski all went 3-1).

Vrasidas went 4-0 at 174 pounds, including a pin and a 10-0 victory.  He also earned an important 8-6 decision in the quarterfinals.

TJ Fabian, Photo by Boris V

Meanwhile, Fabian battled with several accomplished opponents, such as Zach Ulerick, a Pennsylvania state placer.  The Shoreham Wading River senior earned a 3-0 win at 133 pounds in that tilt.

“TJ wrestled very tough,” Passaro said. “Being able to win the close ones is the sign of a good wrestler.  He’s had a great offseason, blowing people out.  So it was great to see him come out on the right side of some close ones. Like last season, TJ will be right there at states with the top guys.”

Seeing the top guys was the objective for the weekend, according to Passaro.

“To me, the main goal of going to the Waterway Duals was to get these kids ready for Super 32,” Passaro said. “In order to do that, we wanted to face the best competition possible.  PA is known for hard nosed wrestlers who are great on top.  A lot of these kids wrestled last weekend in Shippensburg and will be going to the Journeymen Classic [September 30] and the Ironhorse event [in October].  That’s a schedule conducive to getting ready to face the best in the nation at Super 32.  This is the only dual event we’re doing in that time, though, so it was great to put it together and win it representing Long Island.”

According to Passaro, it wasn’t just those who traveled to Oxford, Pennsylvania this weekend that made the results possible.  He wished to thank his fellow coaches, Teddy Fabian and Ralph Mordante, as well as Carlos Restrepo.

“People make the difference,” Passaro said. “Our practices were run by Carlos Restrepo whose son originally was going to compete.  But even when he knew his son wasn’t going to be able to wrestle because of an injury, he still ran every single practice and did a magnificent job getting the kids ready.  I had the easy part of putting the team together.  The hard work is done by the high school and club coaches on Long Island.  I don’t want the hard work done by lots of people to go unnoticed.”

Full Results: (courtesy of John Passaro)

Team Long Island 51 Turks Head 6

107 – Jessie Dellavecchia  (L)  4-0 vs Anthony Petril
115 – James Szymanski (W)  4-3 vs Austin Petril (SE Regional Qualifier)
122 – Nick Piccininni (W)  Fall vs Donte McCarthy (4th War, Dist 1 Q)
128 – Travis Passaro (L)   5-0 vs Mike Marino (2x Beast of East Place)
133 – TJ Fabian (W)  4-2 vs Josh Nichter (3rd War at the Shore)
138 – Sam Ward (W)  8-3 vs Gary Pizzuto (19-1)
143 – Tommy Dutton (W)  Fall vs Matt Venit
148 – Jackson Mordante (W)  6-1 vs Sean Lyons
155 – Louie Hernandez (W) 19-1 vs Hazty
163 – Corey Rasheed (W)  Fall vs Zurere
174 – Johnny Vrasidas (W) Fall vs Dan Sauselein (District 1 Qualifier)
194 – Christian Araneo (W) Fall Mark Morey
220 – FFT
290 – Josh Edmonson (W) 10-2 vs Josh Yaboah

QUARTERFINALS
Team Long Island 34 Team Griffin 26

107 – Jessie Dellavecchia (L) 5-3 vs Levi Sterner
115 – James Szymanski (W) 16-3 vs Levi Witmer
122 – Nick Piccininni (W) Fall vs Todd Hauser (PA D3 Qualifier)
128 – Travis Passaro (W) 4-1 vs Zach Clingan (PA D3 Qualifier)
133 – TJ Fabian (W) 3-0 vs Zach Ulerick (6th PA, Beast of East Placer)
138 – Sam Ward (L) 6-1 vs Sam Kilian (Super 32 Placer)
143 – Tommy Dutton (L) 4-1 vs Patrick Duggan (4th PA, Beast & Fargo)
148 – Jackson Mordante (L) 19-2 vs Tyson Dippery (2nd PA, 1st NHSCA)
155 – Louie Hernandez (W) FFT
163 – Corey Rasheed (W) 9-3 vs Steven Cain (PA D3 Qualifier)
174 – Johnny Vrasidas  (W) 8-6 vs Austin Barkey (PA D3 Qualifier)
194 – Christian Araneo (L) Fall vs Stephen Loiseau (PA State Qualifier)
220 – FFT
290 – Josh Edmonsen (W) Fall vs Espinoza

SEMIFINALS
Team Long Island 43 Pac 10 19

107 – Jessie Dellavecchia (L) 3-0 vs Lucas Miller (3rd MAWA)
115 – James Szymanski (W) Fall vs Garret Mauger (2nd War at the Shore)
122 – Nick Piccininni (W) 6-4 vs Zack Fuentes (2x PA State Placer 4/5)
128 – Travis Passaro (W) 5-4 vs Eddie Kritzvky
133 – TJ Fabian (W) Fall vs Hunteer Vogel
138 – Sam Ward (L) 2-1 vs Joe Staley
143 – Tommy Dutton (W) Fall vs Adam Dombrosky
148 – Jackson Mordante (W) 9-1 vs Ruben Maldonando
155 – Louie Hernandez (W) 21-6 vs Greg Harvey
163 – Corey Rasheed (W) Fall vs Garrett Abare
174 – Johnny Vrasidas (W) 10-0 vs Mike Fretz
194 – Christian Araneo (L) 10-2 vs Gordon Bolig (PA State Qualifier)
220 – FFT
290 – Josh Edmonson (L) 7-1 vs Tracey Green

FINALS
Team Long Island 53 Malvern Prep 12

107 – Jessie Dellavecchia (W) vs Nick Lattanze (3rd PJW’s)
115 – James Szymanski (L) Fall vs Wade Cummings (5th PJW’s)
122 – Nick Piccininni (W) Fall vs Matt Lattanze (2nd PJW’s)
128 – Travis Passaro (W) Fall vs Michael Beard (1st PJW’s)
133 – TJ Fabian (W) 4-3 vs Tommy Stokes (1st PJW’s)
138 – Sam Ward (W) 3-2 vs Greg Konezcny (SE Regional Qualifier)
143 – Tommy Dutton (W) 16-5 vs Joseph Galasso (5th PA, 2nd Flo National)
148 – Jackson Mordante (W) 5-0 vs Petrelli
155 – Louie Hernandez (W) 15-3 vs Demetri Darsaneo (SE Regional Qualifer)
163 – Corey Rasheed (W) Fall vs Connor Burns (3rd Prep Nationals)
174 – Johnny Vrasidas (W) FFT
194 – Christian Araneo (W) 6-5 vs Alfredo Ginniccari (7th Prep Nationals)
220 – FFT
290 – FFT

 

Olympic Bronze Medalist Coleman Scott, NCAA Champion Bubba Jenkins Coming to New York in September

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Coleman Scott

Some great clinics are coming to New York in the next few weeks to help wrestlers get ready for the upcoming season.

2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist Coleman Scott will be visiting Brentwood High School on September 22, courtesy of Ascend Wrestling Club, for a four-hour clinic.

The cost will be $50 per person.  Coaches are welcome to attend.

Scott wrestled for Oklahoma State University where he was a 4x All-American and an NCAA Champion in 2008.  He also was a World Cup Champion, Dave Schultz Memorial International Champion and a three-time Pennsylvania state champion.

Session I with Coleman Scott will begin at 9 a.m. and run until 11.  Then, at 11:30, there will be instruction, drilling and live wrestling until 1:30.

For more information, please contact Craig Vitagliano at craig@ascendwrestling.com or see the event flyer:

http://longislandwrestling.org/liwa/camps/2012%20Coleman%20Scott%20Clinic.pdf

On September 15, another NCAA champion will be in the Empire State, as the 2011 157 pound national champ from Arizona State, Bubba Jenkins, will be coming to the Pin2Win Wrestling Club in Phoenix for a clinic from 10-12:30.

With a purchase of a ticket to the clinic, you get a free ticket to the World Kickboxing Associations event Modern Warfare at the Holiday Inn Electronics Blvd in Liverpool that night. Doors open at 6.

Tickets for the clinic are $30. For more information, call Eric Rose at 315-857-6576.

What Was It Like to Be an Olympian? Brandon Escobar Talks About His London Experience

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When we contacted Brandon Escobar, he was, not surprisingly, on his way to wrestling practice.  The 21-year old Suffolk County resident didn’t take much of a break after competing in the 2012 Olympics at 55 kg for Honduras. Now back in the United States, Escobar talks about stepping on the mat in London, sharing a meal with famous athletes and his plans for a long future in the sport.  For more on Escobar’s journey to make the Olympics, see here.

A big part of the Olympic experience is the Opening Ceremonies.  What was it like to be a part of that?

Brandon Escobar: It was really something else.  All of the hype about it made sense.  It was so exciting. I was taking it in, enjoying it.   But after that, it was all business. I wanted to enjoy my time, but I had my goal in mind.  I wanted to get a medal.

After the Opening Ceremonies, you had around two weeks until you competed.  What was your schedule like for that time?

Brandon Escobar: I stayed in London and trained with Team Cuba since I was the only wrestler from Honduras.  Cuba didn’t have anyone at my weight — they had mostly heavier guys so there was no issue with me working out with them.  It was great.  I felt that I was in great shape and ready to go.

Did you get a chance to see any of the other events during that time?

Brandon Escobar: I saw some of the events on TV.  My choice was to either go see an event or rest before my next practice. For me, it was easy to pick resting because I needed to be as ready for practice as possible. Wrestling is a sport where you need to be working harder than the next guy.  Hard work is a confidence booster for me – so to be able to work out 2-3 times a day made me feel better.  So I rested and watched the other sports and used it as downtime before the grind.  It was something I needed for myself.  I watched weightlifting, judo, a little basketball and soccer.  I really enjoyed watching the gymnastics – those girls are amazing.  Mostly, I had to stay focused on my own event.

Did you get to meet any other athletes or celebrities while you were there?

Brandon Escobar: I actually got to meet a lot of the USA men’s basketball team.  I was eating and found myself at the table with them.  I got to talk to LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, James Harding and Anthony Davis.   They were really cool people, good company.  It was cool to see people at that level be humble and just talk to everyone.  That really showed me something.  Even when they were eating, they were doing interviews and taking pictures with people.  They were so smooth about it, so nonchalant.  Everyone knows they’re great athletes but I saw that they were good people too.

After being in London for several weeks, you finally got to wrestle, against Mihran Jaburyan.  (The Armenian won in two periods).  What was it like to be on the mat at the Olympics?

Brandon Escobar: It was really interesting. At first, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I didn’t know if I should be worried or wrestle cautiously.  But right before I walked out there, I just felt relaxed.  I’ve been doing this for so many years and I thought it would just be doing the same thing on a much bigger stage.  I wanted to beat the guy in front of me and show what I could do.  I went out and attacked and it was definitely a good experience.  Now I know what it’s like to wrestle at that level on that stage.

What’s next for you?  Are you taking any time off from wrestling or are you already back on the mat?

Brandon Escobar: I think I took four days off.  After I finished wrestling, I went out and had a little fun in London.  Then, there was the Closing Ceremonies night and the flight back.  I was really tired.  But the next day, I was back into training.  I haven’t stopped working out.  Right now, I’m running in the mornings, wrestling in the afternoons and lifting in the evenings.  I’ve been wrestling at Rocky Point, Eastport South Manor and anywhere that’s open and has a place for me to roll around.  That’s my day, every day.  I’ll also be working out at the NYAC and might go out to Penn State to the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club.

When do you next wrestle competitively?

Brandon Escobar: There are so many tournaments coming up. In a month, I’m going to Brazil for the first tournament. Then I’ll be in Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Cuba, Europe – all over the place.  I’ll also be in Hondruas every once in a while to stay in touch.  I’ve gotten so much help in Honduras and I’d like to promote the sport of wrestling there and make it bigger.

You wrestled freestyle in the Olympics.  Will you be focusing just in freestyle going forward?

Brandon Escobar: No, I want to do freestyle and Greco.  I want to do both styles at the next Olympics.   My goal right now is to get a gold medal at both styles at every level – the Worlds, Olympics, Pan Americans.

My plan is to go for another 10 years – through the 2022 World Championships.  That gives me two more Olympic cycles and a bunch of Worlds.  In this sport, I’m considered really young (21).  An infant.  There weren’t too many guys my age in Olympic wrestling. I want to see it through, wrestle through my prime, have fun and on top of it all, I want to be #1 in the world.

I understand you got another souvenir to remember the Olympic experience – a tattoo of the Olympic rings.

Brandon Escobar: I got it on my ribs about a week ago. I wanted it there because I knew it would hurt and I wanted it to be something that I remember.  It’s a pain I’m not going to forget just like I won’t forget my first Olympics.

Looking back, what was the best part of the Olympic experience?

Brandon Escobar: I would have to say just being there and being around amazing athletes and seeing the level that they are at.  I got to know what the unknown is a little bit.  I’m familiar with the environment and it will help me out in the future.  I can go the tournaments now with a chip on my shoulder and a new level of confidence.  I know where I have to be to get what I want.  I want to be the guy, to show what I can do.  I’m so fired up right now just thinking about it.