Category Archives: Division 2

Buffalo Bound: Onteora's Austin Weigel Set to Join the Bulls

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Austin Weigel knows the route from Onteora to the Albany area well.

Extremely well.

At least three times per week, the Section 9 standout made the 1.5 hour trip after school up to Journeymen Wrestling Club practices. And afterwards, he’d get back in the car for another 1.5 hour drive, typically arriving home around 9 p.m. to start his homework.

However, as Weigel talked about his recent commitment to the University at Buffalo, he had no doubt that all the time on the road was worth it, helping him emerge as a Division I prospect.

“I really got into wrestling after my sophomore year,” Weigel said. “Before that I was a three-sport athlete who wanted to get better but wasn’t totally into it yet. As a sophomore, I lost in the Section 9 finals and it motivated me. Wrestling was what I wanted to do and I wanted to win – not just the Section, but everything.”

Courtesy of Austin Weigel

He decided that competing in the offseason, in addition to his training with Onteora, would provide him with a boost.

“Working with Journeymen pushed me to more serious tournaments and competition,” he said. “I went to Super 32 and Fargo. I went to a lot of new and different places and got more experience.”

That experience showed during his 38-4 junior campaign at 160 pounds (after a 26-11 mark as a sophomore).

“It took me a few matches to realize how different things were, how much better I was,” he said. “I wasn’t cutting a lot of weight and I felt good the whole year.”

He captured the Section 9 title with ease, winning all of his bouts by bonus points. And he followed up with a pair of victories at the state tournament, falling one win shy of All-State status.

“Being there in Albany wasn’t good enough,” he said. “I wasn’t seeded but I just wrestled hard and was just one match away from placing. It was a close [3-1] loss [to the eventual bronze medalist] and it definitely motivated me.”

Weigel perhaps used some of that motivation at the Journeymen Classic in the fall, winning a round robin bracket full of accomplished wrestlers – fourth place finishers Daesean Johnson (New Jersey, 160), John Messinger (New York DII, 170) and Dale White (New York DI, 160).

“It was a really tough group up at 170,” he said. “I wrestled really well and had a lot of good wins there.”

He had a lot of good wins as his senior campaign began for Onteora as well, including a major over 2012 All-State grappler Andrew Martinez of Liberty. In the earlygoing, Weigel wrestled up at 170 but wasn’t sure where he would finish the season.

“I contemplated staying at 170 with my coaches but we felt that my best shot at a state championship was at 160,” he said. “I committed to 160 at Eastern States and knew that’s where I would be the rest of the year.”

It looked like a solid choice as he made the medal stand at the prestigious tournament held at SUNY Sullivan. After winning his first two contests, he faced nationally-ranked Burke Paddock in the quarterfinals. In a hard-fought match, Paddock came out on top, 1-0, his closest victory of a dominant season.

Courtesy of Austin Weigel

Weigel then won two of his three consolation bouts, to grab seventh. His setback was to eventual state placer Andrew Psomas in sudden victory.

“I was pretty happy with how that tournament went overall,” he said. “Getting down to weight wasn’t always ideal this year, but I felt pretty good there. I thought I could beat Paddock and wrestled a tough match against him. I was a little shaky afterwards, and had a really disappointing loss to Psomas. I was in on his legs the whole match, but I just couldn’t score. He kept going out of bounds. It was a frustrating loss.”

He rebounded to pin his way to his second straight Section title and picked up his 100th victory during the campaign for good measure.

He began his quest for a state title well, picking up a major in round 1. He then met Greene’s Mike Beckwith, who handed him a defeat in Albany in 2012. One year later, the outcome was the same and Weigel moved into the wrestlebacks where he dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to Section 6’s Gunnar Van Curen.

“It’s hard to think about, but [Beckwith] just wrestled the better match,” he said. “I didn’t get to do anything I wanted to. He got an early takedown and rode me well. I was really disappointed and tried to get my head straight afterwards. In the next one, I don’t know what it was. It was like the Psomas match because I was in on his legs a lot and couldn’t score. It was one of the worst losses of my career because he escaped with 30 seconds left to win 1-0 and I knew my high school career was over. I didn’t perform like I should have and know I could have. For a while, I felt bad about myself but looking back now, I realize I can’t take away from the rest of my accomplishments because of one disappointing weekend. I’ve beaten kids that did much better at states, but that’s the way it went.”

He got a chance to face some of those that fared better in Albany this spring, at the Journeymen Freestyle Duals. He said he expected to wrestle at 182, but due to team needs, he cut to 170.

In the first dual of the day, Journeymen met Vougar’s Honors Wrestling (VHW), the eventual winner of the event. Weigel was set to face Division I 160-pound state runner up Steven Schneider of MacArthur.

“I was really tired that morning after the cut, but I was excited because we were wrestling a team of Long Island studs first,” he said. “I saw Schneider at Eastern States – he beat Psomas and other guys I lost to. My teammate Jimmy Marquez got a pin at 160 and he came off the mat and slapped my hand and got me all amped up because he lost to Schneider at the state tournament. He told me I could beat him and I got fired up.”

Weigel took the first and third periods to get the victory in what he called an important win for him.

“I was in a funk, still getting over the season and that was a big momentum moment – wrestling to my potential against a great wrestler. I was relaxed and wrestled the match I wanted.”

There wasn’t much time to celebrate, however, as he next faced Matt Fisher, the Sacred Heart-bound senior who earned bronze in the same bracket as Weigel at the state tournament.

“I knew he beat Beckwith to take third at states,” he said. “I was thinking about the win I just had and there wasn’t a time I was worried about giving up points or losing. I got back on track and showed what I didn’t show at the state tournament.”

The future exercise science major hopes to keep showing what he can do at Buffalo, where he believes he will begin at 174 pounds but could go up higher given his six-foot-one frame.

“I took trips to other schools and liked every school I saw,” he said, mentioning Binghamton and Bloomsburg, among others. “I really liked Coach Stutzman when I went to Bloomsburg and when I heard he moved to Buffalo, I felt like I was basically done with the process. I liked everything about Buffalo – the campus, the facilities, the big school atmosphere. I’m really excited to be part of a program that’s going in the right direction and revamping everything. I think Coach Stutzman will rebuild the program strong.”

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Austin Weigel had a long list of people he wanted to thank.

“I want to thank my family, friends, coaches and the community for everything. The support for the program is amazing and helped me to get where I am.”

He mentioned the huge contributions of Journeymen’s Frank Popolizio and his high school coaches Lou Chartrand and Eric Pezzello “who are more than coaches – they are second and third fathers to me.” He also thanked Donnie Van Buren, CJ Goldizen and Dustin MacKenzie for being influential workout partners and his “brother” Avery Leighton who “was my best practice partner because we did everything together. I owe a lot to him. He made me the hardest worker I could be and was a huge part of my wrestling career.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s a look at Team New York:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

160/175:
Dan Knapp 6-2

175/190:
Dylan Dubuque 6-0

210:
David Wingate 6-2

265:
Larry Baker 7-1

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

Team New York Completes Greco Competition at Schoolboy National Duals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

State Champion Drew Hull Ready to Make His Mark at the University of Virginia

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Going into the third period of the 2013 145-pound Division II state championship match, Drew Hull held a 2-0 lead over Norwich’s Frank Garcia.  While a two-point advantage might not seem like a lot, the way Hull wrestled as a senior, it was nearly insurmountable.

Garcia chose down for the final stanza and two minutes later, Hull completed his high school career with a 45-0 campaign and his first state title.

“I consider top to be my best strength,” Hull said. “I had the reversal in the second period and if it wasn’t in that venue, the state finals, I think I would have pushed the pace and tried to rack up the points.  But I didn’t take chances, didn’t want to get pinned in that spot. I knew I could win 2-0 after he took bottom in the third.”

He did just that.  And now, the three-time state placer and NHSCA All-American is focused on the next step – competing at the Division I level for the University of Virginia.

The future engineering major also looked at Princeton, Binghamton and North Carolina State, but chose the Cavaliers, a program he became familiar with after attending a wrestling camp in Charlottesville as a sophomore.

“There aren’t many places to go in wrestling other than the Olympics and even that might not be an option,” Hull said. “So I wanted to go to a school that was really good academically and in wrestling. The UVA team really focuses on both wrestling and school and Virginia gives a ton of academic support to athletes. I feel like the team is moving in the right direction with great coaches and facilities. It’s the right place to make me a champion.”

A champion, just like he was on New York’s biggest stage in February in a season in which he registered double digit wins over state placers. It was the ending he was striving for after coming up with silver in 2012.

Photo by BV

As a junior, Hull came into the Times Union Center and dominated his way through his first three contests, with a pin and two shutouts before facing Phoenix’s Tyler Button in the title bout.  After falling behind 6-0 after two periods, Hull bounced back with a vengeance, but it wasn’t quite enough in a 6-5 decision.

“I tensed up and didn’t wrestle well until the third period,” he said. “I think I let the pressure get to me. That match was a huge motivator for this year. But what also really motivated me was to become my school’s second state champion. We’re a small school and don’t have a ton of success athletically.  It really drove me.”

He was driven to do more than finish on top of the podium in Albany in 2013, however.

“I didn’t want to only focus on a state title,” he said. “I wanted to make sure I was ready to compete on the college level right away. I thought if I was shooting for a goal higher than the state title, the state title would come. I also really didn’t want to get scored on at all.”

He almost made it through the entire campaign without surrendering offensive points.  The streak was broken in an exciting state semifinal showdown with familiar foe Jude Gardner of Fredonia – the fourth meeting between the Section 6 stars in the 2012-13 campaign.

“I’ve wrestled [Gardner] a ton of times,” Hull said. “That was one of my toughest matches because he knew me so well. When we were young, in eighth grade, he beat me twice.  Since then, we wrestled at least once, and usually more than once, every year, and I won them all.”

But with a spot in the Saturday night championships on the line, Gardner broke the scoreless streak against Hull, notching a takedown to take a brief 2-1 lead in the second period.  A Hull escape tied it at 2 going into the third.  Gardner chose neutral.

“One of my more common shots is the slide by,” Hull said. “I tried it earlier and didn’t get it, but with time running out, I did it again.  I got the takedown with three seconds left to win 4-2 and get to the finals. I was confident that I would beat him, but I knew he could keep it close. After I pinned him early in the season while I was winning 9-1, we had two 1-0 matches. He has some of the best coaches in the state and they had good strategy.”

As good as the strategy was, Hull found a way to come out on top.  In fact, he got his hand raised more times than any wrestler in the history of the Royalton-Hartland program (184 victories) – topping Olympian Lou Rosselli (currently an assistant coach at Ohio State).

“I came into the season wanting to break [Rosselli’s] record for career wins,” Hull said. “I hoped to pass him to someday be the best in my school’s history. I want to beat him in every aspect. I want to win an NCAA title and place higher at the Olympics than he did.”

Like Rosselli, a member of the Western New York Wrestling Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame, Hull was recognized for his excellence, as he was awarded the 2013 Ilio DiPaolo Scholarship.  The honor goes to Western New York’s top wrestler, but is not only based on performance on the mat.

“I always hoped to win that award,” Hull said. “It was a true honor to win because it was about a lot more than just wrestling.  There are academic and community service components to it also.”

Hull, who holds a 94 average in the classroom, also volunteers at youth wrestling and football programs, helps out with political council members and assists at a nursing home.

“I think the discipline you need in wrestling helps with being disciplined in academics,” he said. “You have to work at all the things you do.  You can’t be one-dimensional. I think that’s true in all aspects of life. A one-dimensional wrestler is easy to beat.”

Drew Hull keeps getting better in every dimension of his wrestling. He’s now ready to make his mark at UVA.

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Drew Hull wished to thank his parents, who “did everything they possibly could to help me.” He also wanted to thank his siblings and the fans and supporters in the community, saying “It was awesome to wrestle for Royalton-Hartland.”

He also thanked all his coaches who have helped him along the way. He discussed Jeff Prescott, Dee Gugel, Jeff Brigham, Jeremy Stopa, Kevin Lawson and Cobra Wrestling (Keith Maute).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To watch the action on Flowrestling, see this link.

The results of the event:

Gold Division

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

Silver Division

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

Bronze Division

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

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

Club President Ken Walberg

Strength and conditioning coach/club spokesperson George Featherstonhaugh

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

Frankie Tangora, the head of concessions

Tournament director Bill Shell

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

From Bronze to Buffalo: Holley's Mike Silvis Stays Close to Home with the Bulls

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Mike Silvis grew up less than an hour from the University at Buffalo, but his first-ever trip to the campus came just a few weeks ago when new head coach John Stutzman took the reins of the Bulls program.

He was sold right away.

“I didn’t think I would like a large school and I originally wanted to move away from home for college,” Silvis said. “But when I visited, I really liked it. It’s a strong school academically and I really want to be part of what Coach Stutzman is going to build.”

Courtesy of the Silvis Family

Silvis developed a strong relationship with the coach during the recruiting process when Stutzman was at Bloomsburg. In fact, the Holley senior gave a verbal pledge to the Huskies in the spring and was ready to wrestle in the EWL.

However, when Stutzman was brought on board as the new leader at Buffalo, Silvis began to reconsider.

“When I heard about [the coaching change], I was a little surprised, but I immediately got into contact and arranged my visit,” Silvis said. “Coach Stutzman is a very straightforward guy. He’ll tell me how it is and how it will be and I really believe he’ll build this team into a top notch program. He’ll help me achieve my dreams, even though I didn’t accomplish all my goals in high school.”

While the 220-pounder said he didn’t collect the state title he wanted while competing in Section 5, he did achieve plenty in a Holley singlet. Silvis reached the 150-win milestone and was a two-time state qualifier and placer, taking fifth as a junior and third as a senior at the Times Union Center.

That bronze showing in his final campaign was a highlight for the future MAC grappler, allowing him to not only get his hand raised in his last high school bout, but also to avenge an earlier loss against Nanuet’s Dan Breit.

“I lost to [Breit] in the finals at Eastern States,” Silvis said. “It meant a lot to get another chance against him. It felt really good to win a match I should have won the first time around and also to end my career on a win. That was really important to me.”

It wasn’t the last “big” match for Silvis as a high schooler, however. Although it was an exhibition, Silvis took the mat once again at the Long Island vs. Upstate Challenge at the end of March in Ithaca.

“It was truly an honor to be part of that event,” Silvis said of the All-Star meet. “I was really glad to be asked by the coaches. I met a lot of guys I never otherwise would have met and the atmosphere was great. All the Cornell guys were there, cheering us on, and it was a really good feeling. You had a four-time national champ [Kyle Dake], an Upstate guy, waving his arms, cheering in the crowd.”

Silvis gave Dake and the others in attendance something to clap for, capturing a 7-3 decision over Division I state runner up Steven Mills of Sachem North. Right after the bout, Team Long Island lost a team point in a dual that ended in a 27-27 deadlock.

“[Mills] was substantially taller than me and had a bigger build,” Silvis said. “I think a lot of kids look at me and don’t think I look very intimidating. I don’t think he expected the match to go the way it did. But I always go hard for six minutes and leave it all out there on the mat. It showed. I felt strong and wrestled really well to win.”

That’s exactly what he plans to do next year for the Bulls, likely at 285.

“I think I’ll be at heavyweight to start off with because that’s where the team needs me,” Silvis said. “After that, I may go to 197.”

Wherever he wrestlers, Silvis said he’s excited to be surrounded by other New Yorkers. Since Stutzman’s hire, a number of Empire State competitors have announced their intentions to attend Buffalo, including James Benjamin (Vestal), Alex Francik (Vestal), Anthony Liberatore (Williamsville South), AJ Voelker (Monroe Woodbury) and Corey Hollister (Perry). All, like Silvis, were state placers.

According to Silvis, it didn’t always seem like All-State status was in the cards.  The three-sport athlete, who also plays football and baseball, said he started to realize that his future was on the mat around 10th grade.

“As a little kid, I wanted to be a pro football player, but then I stopped growing,” he said. “Around my freshman year, I knew football wasn’t a fit for me long term. I didn’t really become a solid wrestler until I was a sophomore. I matured a lot the summer before and had a breakout season, beating kids that killed me the year before. That’s when I knew I wanted to keep wrestling.”

Helping with his transition to become one of the best in the Empire State were his coaches and teammates, especially assistant Andrew Grillo, a former state champion.

“Andrew Grillo has been my right hand man,” Silvis said. “I’m really thankful. He’s always there to practice with me and has made me into the wrestler I am today.”

The wrestler he is today is someone getting ready to take on the challenges of Division I.

“I am truly excited about the opportunity I have at Buffalo, being part of a rebuilding of the program,” he said. “I think we’ll do great things over the next few years and personally, I’m looking forward to showing everybody that I have a lot left in me. I wasn’t a state champion like I wanted to be, but I have a lot of room to grow and I believe Coach Stutzman will build me into a champion.”

From Wildcard to Triple Crown Winner: Kevin "Comeback" Thayer Does it Again

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BY ZAKKARIAH ROLFE

In the 152-pound Section 4 semifinals in February, Unatego’s Kevin Thayer trailed 2012 state placewinner Dan Dickman of Greene 10-1.  But, he battled back with several takedowns in the third period, including a wild side flip over the top to send the match into overtime, where Thayer prevailed.

“Kevin just trained for that match,” said Unatego assistant coach Jake Benedetto. “Kevin put a lot of work in. He loves being in those kinds of situations.”

He found himself in a similar situation again in the Sectional finals, where he fell behind by six, and again mounted a comeback before falling 9-7 to two-time Section champion Kyle Halliday.  However, the Unatego wrestler received a wildcard to the state tournament and earned the number three seed.

Thayer vs. Prior, Photo by BV

The senior started strong in Albany, surrendering only four points on his way to the championship bout against Section 3 champion and top-seeded Rowdy Prior from Phoenix.

In that Saturday night title contest, Thayer gave up a takedown halfway through the first, but was close to getting a reversal right as the period ended.

“Kevin can scramble out of anything,” Benedetto said. “I wrestled in college for four years and we’ll be scrambling for five minutes with no one getting a takedown. He’s one of the most dangerous wrestlers I’ve ever seen because he can just throw anybody. He’s never out of a match.”

Thayer picked neutral to start the second and bounced back strong from the deficit, grabbing a takedown and two back points early.

For the third period, Prior chose to begin on top, where the Phoenix wrestler is well known to be dangerous with the cradle.

“We knew if Kevin were to make it to the finals it would be Prior he would see. We drilled just standing up and clearing for a cradle,” Benedetto said. “They went out of bounds with 34 seconds left and I looked over to [Thayer] and said,  ‘Just clear your arm. Let’s get up, no cradle.’ No sooner do I say that, and he’s in a cradle.”

Thayer began rocking, trying to get free.  He was able to do more than just get a one point escape, however.  He reversed Prior to pick up two points and the lead with short time left on the clock.

“I knew once [Thayer] broke that grip, he would get the one and tie it, but when he got the two I just lost it,” Benedetto said.

Thayer would hold on to a 6-5 lead to win the state title.  It turns out, it would be only the beginning of the championship run for the Unatego wrestler.

Thayer vs. Williams (Freestyle), Photo by BV

Ever since that unbelievable reversal, Thayer accomplished a MAWA National championship and added Freestyle and Greco state titles to complete the New York Triple Crown. He won the last two titles in Binghamton on May 11 and 12, beating Beat the Streets wrestler Nigel Williams in both international disciplines.

In Freestyle, Thayer had to battle from behind once again when he dropped an opening period full of big moves, 9-3. He bounced back, taking the second by a narrow 7-6 score. The third period seems to be Thayer’s best no matter what style of wrestling it is and this match was no exception. It was all Thayer from there as he blanked Williams 7-0 in the third to win his second state championship.

Thayer’s third NYS title, in Greco Roman, seemed to be the easiest of them all. He capped off his season in dominating fashion, pinning Williams in the first period to seal the deal.

So after receiving a wildcard to the Times Union Center and battling from behind to beat quality opponents like Dickman, Prior, and Williams, Thayer can officially be named “the Comeback Kid”. He can also be called a 2013 New York State Triple Crown winner.

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Editor’s Note: Kevin Thayer was one of four Triple Crown winners in the Empire State this year, along with Lansing’s William Koll, Cheektowoga’s Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer and Warsaw’s Burke Paddock. 

Kyle Dake Wins Sports Illustrated's College Athlete of the Year Award

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The awards just keep on coming in for Kyle Dake.  On Tuesday night, he received the Charles H. Moore Outstanding Senior Varsity Athlete award at Cornell, along with Rob Pannell (widely considered the best lacrosse player in the country).

On Wednesday, Sports Illustrated announced that Dake was the winner of its inaugural College Athlete of the Year honor.  The four-time NCAA champion from Lansing came out on top in fan voting against Khaled Holmes (USC football), Drew LeBlanc (St. Cloud hockey), Trey Burke (Michigan basketball) and Tyler Thornton (Duke basketball).

To read Sports Illustrated’s story and watch the video, see here.

For a look back at Dake’s journey to his four titles, see here.