Category Archives: Section 1

Youth Champions Crowned at the 2013 Pop & Flo Mini Men Nationals

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The poster for the 2013 Pop & Flo Mini-Men Nationals says it is “where the young guns come to settle their differences.”

There were definitely a lot of young guns on hand on Saturday at Union College for the event, which featured hundreds of wrestlers across the Bantam, Midget, Junior and Intermediate competitions.

“It was an awesome tournament,” said G2 World Wrestling Academy’s Adam Burgos. “The competition was phenomenal and with 10 mats, it was very efficient. The certified officials were great and it was easy to watch and follow. It’s a tournament that our club will definitely have on our calendar in the future.”

The top finishers in each class received prizes such as Brute singlets, Forever Fierce hoodies and trophies. 

For the first through fourth placers in each bracket, see below. 

(Please comment with changes or additions).
 

BANTAM

43:
Aidan Shufelt (FLWC)
Seach Park Hibler (Apex)
Jeffrey Ellert (Underground)
Kaden Rice (Wawc)

48:
Gianni Silvestri (Tioga Central)
Ashton Seymour (Mike’s Garage Grapplers)
Davis Motyka (Rock Solid)
Rylan Padelford (Colonie)

53:
August West Hibler (Apex)
Nicky Callaghan (G2)
Luca Manfredi (Newtown Youth)
Ryder Machado (Underground)

60:
William Henckel (Newtown Youth)
Zak Ryder (Underground)
Luca Duva (Iowa Style)
Andrew Reall (Predator Wrestling)

70:
Sonny Sasso (Dark Knights)
Andrew Filip (Underground)
Jack Richardson (Marcaurele)
Benjamin Shue (Basement Boyz)

95:
Ethan Gallo (Underground)
Eddie Terreri (Njac)

 
MIDGET

50:
Jaden Pepe (Rock Solid)
Isiac Paulino (NE Elite CT)
Evan Kinney (Doughboy)
TJ Morton (NJ Scorpions)

60:
Nicholas Palso Jr (Journeymen)
Carlson Porter (Smitty’s Barn)
Daniel Wask (Scorpions)
Nate Chandler (Doughboy)

65:
Ryan Defoney (Intensity)
Cooper Price (Rock Solid)
Jimmy Harrington (Doughboy)
Will Fish (Dark Knights)

70:
Jayden Scott (G2)
Joshua Sharron (Newport Rec)
Nicky Fea (Goshen)
Hayden Rabideau (Catamount)

75:
Caleb Galloway (Hornell)
Luca Pirozzolo (G2)
Stefan Wade (Hoosick Falls)
Ian Burke (Smitty’s Barn)

80:
Preston Machado (Underground)
Sean Kinney (Dark Knights)
Justin Onello (Olympic)
Mark Thomas (Doughboy)

90:
Cooper Kropman (Penfield)
Jeffrey Crooks (Journeymen)
Tylynn Lukens (Team Dynamic)
Brady Roux (Salem Bulldogs)

100:
Hunter McKenna (Journeymen)
Jamikael Boutin (NE Elite)

 
JUNIOR

60:
Zachary Soda (Doughboy)
Joe Scheeren (Journeymen)
Braeden O’Brien (NE Elite)
Nate Chandler (Doughboy)

65:
JJ White (Rock Solid)
Nico Provo (Team Tugman)
Dylan Cedeno (Scorpions)
Greg Diakomihalis (G2)

70:
Drew Munch (Dark Knights)
Zachary Martinez (Olympic)
Aidan Canfield (Iowa Style)
Gregory Hotaling (Journeymen)

75:
Tyler Sung (Apex)
Ryan Burgos (G2)
David Krokowski (Rock Solid)
Max Kropman (Penfield)

80:
Brock Delsignore (Journeymen)
John Worthing (Tioga)
Dean Shambo (Mexico)
Andrew Laubach (Tioga)

85:
Jackson Erb (Sepa)
Malachy Farrell (G2)
Joseph Simons (Farmingdale)
Keenan Taylor (Catamount)

90:
Julian Chlebove (Dark Knights)
Corey Connolly (Longwood)
Ryan Burgbacher (631 Elite)
Hunter Adams (Fisheye)

95:
Zachary Lawrence (Journeymen)
Reid Colella (Olympic)
Dylan Batlle (Newtown Youth)
Shaun Allen (Cobra)

100:
Noah Call (Catamount)
Stefan Major (631 Elite)
Carson Licastri (Iowa Style)
Bassam Qasrawi (Wobum)

110:
Harrison Shapiro (Mercury Rising)
Sampson Wilkins (Catamount)
Liam Mooney (Journeymen)
Jack Dardia (Delaware Valley)

135:
Shaine Luzietti (Newtown Youth)
Nolan Mcneill (Warrensburg)
Chris Charleston (Farmingdale)
Mason Lazorchak (Cannonball)

 
INTERMEDIATE

73:
Michael Gonyea (Journeymen)
Kevin DePalma (Team Evolution)
Jared Defoney (Intensity)
Zachary Cummings (Salem Central)

78:
Dylan Ryder (631 Elite)
Cameron Enriquez (Dark Knights)
Ruddy Paulino (NE Elite)

83:
Adam Busiello (631 Elite)
Jakob Camacho (Dywa)
Orion Anderson (Hoosick Falls)
Cole Wyman (Dungeon)

90:
Brian Kelly (631 Elite)
Dillan Palaszewski (Journeymen)
Conor Thompson (NE Elite)
John DeRidder (VHW)

95:
Dane Heberlein (Alexander)
Ryan Luth (NE Elite)
James Trezza (631 Elite)
Jake Silverstein (631 Elite)

100:
Sam Sasso (Dark Knights)
Rowan Braga (Journeymen)
Tyler Mitchell (G2)
Thomas Leuci (Newtown)

105:
Hector Colom (Scorpion/Cobra)
Ben Tepperman (631 Elite)
Josh Stillings (Sepa)
Christian Gramuglia (Journeymen)

110:
Michael Venosa (Superior)
Anthony Sobotker (631 Elite)
Edward Lovely (Newtown Youth)
Andrei Steinjann (Newtown Youth)

115:
Tyler Delorenzo (Dark Knights)
Colin Hogan (Cellar Dwellers)
Michael Ross (NE Elite)
Shane Connolly (Olympic)

125:
Tyler Hazard (Journeymen)
Eoghan Sweeney (Journeymen)
Nicholas Robbins (Journeymen)
Darrin Simons (Farmingdale)

135:
Anthony Falbo (Newtown Youth)
Trent Goodman (Wrestlers Way)
Travis Stefanik (Dark Knights)
Tyler Barnes (Journeymen)

150:
Cade Moisey (Dark Knights)
Clifton Wang (ISW)
Jason Hoffman (Journeymen)
David Crow (Thorobred)

175:
Joseph Eiden (631 Elite)
Benton Whitley (NE Elite)
Daniel Knapp (Whitesboro)
Brandon Cousino (Vergennes)

230:
Ryan Pinkham (NE Elite)
Cole McKee (Cellar Dwellers)

Six New Yorkers Win Titles, Over 40 Place at the Ohio Tournament of Champions

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2013 New York state champion Yianni Diakomihalis is very familiar with the top of the podium at the Ohio Tournament of Champions, advertised as the “largest one-day tournament in the world.”

For the third consecutive year, the Hilton standout won a championship at the prestigious event, this time at 110 pounds in the Schoolboy division. The G2 World Wrestling Academy representative was also third in 2010 and second the year before.

But he did more than go undefeated himself.

Diakomihalis, Photo by BV

“Yianni relishes in the experience,” said G2 owner/coach Adam Burgos. “He was running around, keeping track of all our guys. He was doing everything; he’s like a machine. He coached a lot of the kids and then he and his dad coached one of our coaches to a title.”

Burgos was referring to former Spencerport standout and current G2 staff member Mike Collura, who captured first place in the Open Division at 165 pounds with an overtime takedown. According to Burgos, Diakhomihalis and his father manned Collura’s corner during his title bout.

“Mike has been a huge asset to G2 this year, we’re really glad to have him,” Burgos said. “He’s helped out immensely with the kids. He got the itch to compete himself and when he decided to do it, he attacked it. His championship really capped off the weekend for us.”

But Diakomihalis and Collura weren’t alone in bringing gold medals back to the Empire State. A pair of wrestlers from Cobra Wrestling Academy, Dane Heberlein (Cadet 92 pounds) and Nick Jones (Schoolboy 240 pounds), also won their brackets on Saturday.

“Nick [Jones] pretty much always has to go up an age group to compete at tournaments because he’s an eighth grade heavyweight,” said Cobra Wrestling Academy Executive Director Keith Maute.  “He usually has to wrestle against older guys, but this tournament had a solid group of kids for him to compete against and he did very well.”

Heberlein has a bit of experience at the tournament, having placed four times since 2006, including several top four showings. However, it was the first time he won it all.

“It was exciting for Dane because out of all the big tournaments, this is the only one he never won,” Maute said.

Heberlein wasn’t the only New York winner in the Cadet division. In fact, at just one weight class higher, the Empire State boasted another champion – New Hartford’s Kelan McKenna. The 2013 All-State grappler from Section 3 won his second Ohio T of C title in three years, as he earned first place in 2011 and was second at 92 pounds last April.

Another wrestler with some prior history in Columbus is Slate Hill’s Ethan Gallo. A year ago, he grabbed seventh place in the Bantam 80 pound class. Over the weekend he once again entered at that weight and this time, he went all the way to the top, adding another line to his lengthy spring resume. Among his recent accomplishments are capturing titles at the NYWAY State Championships, the Empire Nationals and the Gene Mills Eastern Nationals.

Haas, Photo by BV

Another 13 wrestlers from New York lost just a single bout on Saturday, finishing in the top 3. Those include G2’s Frankie Gissendanner of Penfield at 140 pounds, a champion at this tournament the past two seasons., who was edged 1-0 in the title bout when a penalty point was awarded to his opponent late in the match, according to Burgos.

Gissendanner was one of several state qualifiers who made the finals this weekend in Ohio, along with Spencerport’s Jon Haas (who took third in Albany) and Andrew Shomers of Lewiston Porter. Fellow Section 6 wrestler Hector Colom of Dunkirk also took runner up honors after winning at 90 pounds in 2012.

In addition, a trio of Bantam grapplers, Andrew Filip of New Hampton, Kevin Daskavitz of Lockport and Herman Wooten of Niagara Falls, all went to the finals in their brackets.

In all, New York had over 40 placers at the event, which drew around 3000 wrestlers from all over the country and featured 40 full sized mats of competition.

For the full list of all the top 8 medalists from the Empire State, see below.

With any further additions or changes, please comment below.

Champions
Ethan Gallo, Bantam 80 (Slate Hill)
Yianni Diakomihalis, Schoolboy 110 (Rochester)
Nick Jones, Schoolboy 240 (Dunkirk)
Dane Heberlein, Cadet 92 (Darien)
Kelan McKenna, Cadet 100 (New Hartford)
Mike Collura, Open 165 (West Henrietta)

Second Place

Andrew Filip, Bantam 65 (New Hampton)
Kevin Daskavitz, Bantam 80 (Lockport)
Herman Wooten III, Bantam 95 (Niagara Falls)
Hector Colom, Schoolboy 100 (Dunkirk)
Frankie Gissendanner, Schoolboy 140 (Rochester)
Andrew Shomers, Cadet 135 (Ransomville)
Jon Haas, Elite 112 (Spencerport)

Third Place

Jaden Crumpler, Bantam 45 (Niagara Falls)
Carson Alberti, Midget 60 (East Aurora)
Cooper Kropman, Midget 85 (Rochester)
Benny Baker, Junior 90 (Newark Valley)
Joe Lupisella, Cadet 160 (Webster)
Dennis Ferro, Elite 153 (Great River)

Fourth Place

Jayden Scott, Midget 68 (West Henrietta)
Max Kropman, Junior 72 (Rochester)
Tyler Barnes, Schoolboy 126 (Rock City Falls)
Trevor Hoffmier, Elite 160 (Newark Valley)

Fifth Place

Connor Day, Schoolboy 96 (Elma)
Drew Schafer, Cadet 85 (Marion)
Tito Colom, Cadet 110 (Dunkirk)
Jimmy Leach, Elite 132 (Manorville)

Sixth Place

Caleb Galloway, Midget 76 (Hornell)
Joseph Dixon, Midget 80 (Niagara Falls)
Jace Schafer, Junior 56 (Marion)
Jake Brewer, Cadet 85 (Orchard Park)
Carm O’Donnell, Elite 153 (Angola)

Seventh Place

Colin Bradshaw, Midget 52 (Liverpool)
Greg Diakomihalis, Junior 64 (Rochester)

Tony Kuhn, Open 220 (Sanborn)

Eighth Place

JJ Lucinski , Bantam 40 (Lockport)
Sam Wolf, Junior 90 (Warsaw)
Keagen Case, Junior 95 (Boonville)
Tyler Castro, Junior 125 (Otisville)
Troy Keller, Cadet 100 (North Tonawanda)
Theo Powers, Cadet 105 (Mexico)
Travis Race, Cadet 171 (Fulton)
Collin Pittman, Elite 190 (Spencerport)
Henry Beaman, Open 135 (Niagara Falls)

Palacio Captures the Championship; Grey, Realbuto, Hudson and Dean All Place at the FILA Junior Freestyle Nationals

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Dylan Palacio captured a FILA Juniors National championship on Saturday at 74 kg (163 pounds) after collecting five victories in Las Vegas, including a three period win in the title bout against Matthew Gray of Bison Wrestling Club.

Joining him on the medal stand were three additional grapplers from the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club – Mark Grey (4th at 60 kg), Brian Realbuto (6th at 74 kg) and Gabe Dean (8th at 84 kg).

Also representing the Empire State with a medal was Blue and Gold Wrestling Club’s Jamel Hudson, who earned sixth place at 66 kg.

Palacio, Photo by BV

Palacio’s title run opened with a pair of pins before he took out returning placer Isaac Jordan of the Badger Wrestling Club 5-2, 6-1.  In the semifinals against Hawkeye Wrestling Club’s Patrick Rhoads, he dropped the opening period 3-0 but rebounded to grab the second 3-1, fueled by some early pushouts.  In the third, he fell behind again but came back to win 6-3 and punch his ticket to the finals.

In that first place contest, Palacio lost the first stanza 3-0, and gave up a takedown early in the second to fall behind.  However, the former Section 8 standout took over from there, tying it up with about 1:30 left.  He then tiptoed the line to avoid a late pushout by Gray to win the stanza 1-1 (by virtue of scoring last).

In the decisive final period, Palacio moved ahead with a takedown and tacked on two points for exposure to grab a 3-0 advantage.  Gray responded with a pushout to make it 3-1, but the Long Beach native shot a single leg and drove his opponent out of bounds to take a 4-1 lead with about 40 seconds to go.  A late takedown made the final score closer, but Palacio got his hand raised and a national title.

His future Cornell teammates Grey and Dean earned their spots on the podium the hard way, as both lost in the opening round before going on long winning streaks during the day.

In a back-and-forth match with a lot of scoring, Grey began the tournament with a loss to eventual champion Ben Whitford of Michigan. However, he bounced back with a technical fall over Jake Marr, followed by six more victories to earn his spot in the third place bout, where he was defeated by Zane Richards.  Along the way, he notched a number of impressive wins, including a 6-1, 6-0 decision over highly regarded Cory Clark of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club.

Meanwhile, Dean also faced a high placer in Round 1 – Sam Brooks of the Hawkeye Wrestling Club (4th). After that tilt, Dean captured five in a row, including four in straight periods, to get onto the medal stand at 84 kg (185 pounds).

Realbuto opened with a win over Patriot Elite’s Ryan Forrest before dropping a decision to Micah Barnes of NWTC.  The Section 1 native then went on winning streak, picking up four consecutive victories on his way to sixth place.

In 2012, both Palacio and Realbuto were New York State champions as seniors in high school.  The same was true of Jamel Hudson, who redshirted for Hofstra this year.

Hudson also stood out in Nevada on Saturday, grabbing sixth at 66 kg (145.5 pounds). The former St. Anthony’s grappler began with a technical fall before falling to eventual champion Jason Tsirtsis.  However, he went on a tear in the consolations, winning six in a row and not yielding a single point in four of those matches.

FILA Junior Freestyle Placers (Saturday)

60 kg: Mark Grey (Finger Lakes Wrestling Club) – 4th

66 kg: Jamel Hudson (Blue and Gold Wrestling Club) – 6th

74 kg: Dylan Palacio (Finger Lakes Wrestling Club) – 1st

74 kg: Brian Realbuto (Finger Lakes Wrestling Club) – 6th

84 kg: Gabe Dean (Finger Lakes Wrestling Club) – 8th

In Friday’s FILA Junior Greco competition, Columbia University had several representatives on the podium as Connor Sutton, Chris Loew and Matthew Idelson all placed in the top six.  Also making their presence felt were Cheektowoga’s Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, who was fifth at 63 kg and former Section 4 wrestler Jessy Williams, who notched 6th.

FILA Junior Greco Placers (Friday)

60 kg: Jessy Williams (NYAC/USOEC, Windsor) – 6th Place
63 kg: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Buffalo Grapplers, Cheektowoga) – 5th Place
70 kg: Connor Sutton (NYAC Harlem, Columbia) – 4th Place
84 kg: Chris Loew (NYAC Harlem, Columbia) – 6th Place
96 kg: Matthew Idelson (NYAC Harlem, Columbia) – 5th Place

Beat the Streets's "Rumble on the Rails" Will Feature Team USA vs. Russia and Iran in NYC in May

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For years, the annual Beat the Streets event in New York City has featured some of the best wrestling talent around.

2013 will be no exception.

On May 15, Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall will be the host of the “Rumble on the Rails”, involving three of the world’s top wrestling nations – the United States, Russia and Iran.  Action is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. when the United States takes on the Iranians.  Shortly afterwards, Beat the Streets exhibition matches will take place before the US and Russia square off in another dual at 6 p.m..  Following the competition, the annual Beat the Streets Gala will begin at the Bryant Park Grill.

The nations will come together to support both the Beat the Streets program as well as show unity for the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement.

For more information, see Here.

 

 

Fabian and Burgos Capture Championships, Many Others Make the Podium as NHSCAs and FloNationals Come to an End

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A weekend full of national-level competition came to an end on Sunday, with many more trips to the podium for New York wrestlers.

Fabian, Photo by BV

TJ Fabian capped off his spectacular senior year by adding a national title to the state gold medal he earned in Feburary. The Shoreham Wading River wrestler won six matches in Virginia Beach, including a 10-4 decision over Pennyslvania’s Kyle Krasavage in the 126-pound championship bout at the NHSCA Senior Nationals.

He was joined on the medal stand by a number of other Empire State grapplers on Sunday, including fellow Long Islander Michael Hughes of Smithtown West, who was the runner up at heavyweight. For a full list of New York All-Americans at the Senior NHSCA competition, see below.

In addition, a number of Middle School and Elementary wrestlers put their talent on display at the FloNationals in Pennsylvania, with G2 World Wrestling Academy’s Ryan Burgos winning a national crown of his own at 75 pounds. Burgos pinned his way to the finals, where he captured an 8-4 decision over Jimmy Carmany of Ohio.

See below for more information on additional New Yorkers who placed at the event.

For the NHSCA Middle School, Freshman, Sophomore and Junior medalists as well as the FloNationals High School All-Americans, see this link.

NHSCA SENIOR NATIONALS

Champion:

126: TJ Fabian (Shoreham Wading River)

Second Place:

285: Michael Hughes (Smithtown West)

Fourth Place:

106: Steven Lee (West Babylon)

Fifth Place

106: Jake Yankloski (Wayne)
138: Nick Tighe (Phoenix)
170: Carlos Toribio (Brentwood)

Sixth Place

113: Mat Bradice (William Floyd)
126: Chris Araoz (Wantagh)
160: Troy Seymour (Peru)
170: Dan McDevitt (Wantagh)

Seventh Place:

113: Dillon Stowell (Gouverneur)
132: Matt Leshinger (Sayville)
152: Chris Koo (Great Neck South)

Eighth Place:
113: Steven Sewkumar (Long Beach)
126: Dylan Realbuto (Somers)
170: Johnny Vrasidas (St. Anthony’s)

FLONATIONALS – MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY

Champion:

Middle School (MS) 75: Ryan Burgos

Third Place:

MS 126: Louie DePrez
Elementary 68: Greg Diakomihalis

Fourth Place:

MS 119: Matt Grippi
MS 135: Conor Melbourne
MS 145: Andrew Passaro
MS 157: Mike Spallina
Elementary 105: Hunter John

Fifth Place:

MS 145: Ray Cotto
MS 157: Jason Hoffman
Elementary 78: Ethan Ferro

Seventh Place:

MS 95: Sammy DePrez
MS 135: Josh Shamp

Mauriello, Torbitt, Rodriguez-Spencer, Rasheed Earn High School National Titles; Numerous Others Become All-Americans at NHSCAs and FloNationals

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There’s going to be a lot of hardware headed back to New York. On Saturday, numerous Empire State wrestlers earned All-American status, including several who went all the way to the top.

At the NHSCAs in Virginia Beach, two ninth graders earned crowns as Hauppauge’s Chris Mauriello captured the 132 pound title and Whitney Point’s Jordan Torbitt joined him as a gold medalist at 152.

Later in the day, a pair of 2013 state champions – Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (138) and Corey Rasheed (152) added national titles to their resumes when they were victorious in the NHSCA Junior event. Also making it all the way to the finals were Reggie Williams (195) and James O’Hagan (285) in the 11th grade tournament and as well as a trio of freshmen – Kellen Devlin (120), Christian Araneo (182) and Edwin Rubio (285).

But that wasn’t all. The Empire State boasted some gold medalists in the Middle School competition as well – Mack Berkowitz at 127 and Travis Race at 165. (New York grabbed first in the team standings in both the Junior and Middle School competitions).

Tomorrow, two grapplers who stood atop the podium at the Times Union Center – TJ Fabian (126) and Mike Hughes (285) – will try to add their names to the list of champions when they take the mat in the finals of the Senior tournament.

Meanwhile, Virginia wasn’t the only place Empire Staters were showing off their skills. A number of New York wrestlers made the medal stand at the FloNationals, including runner up Nick Piccininni (113) and bronze medalist Tyler Grimaldi (160).

For more information on the placers at all of those events, see below.

FLONATIONALS

Second Place:
113: Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville)

Third Place:
160: Tyler Grimaldi (Hills West)

Fourth Place:
132: Nick Kelley (Shenendehowa)
170: Christian Dietrich (Greene)

Seventh Place:
152: Joe Mastro (Yorktown)

Eighth Place:
120: Travis Passaro (Eastport South Manor)

NHSCA NATIONALS

NHSCA JUNIORS

National Champions
138: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Cheektowoga)
152: Corey Rasheed (Longwood)

Second Place:
195: Reggie Williams (Johnson City)
285: James O’Hagan (Seaford)

Fourth Place:
220: Ryan Wolcott (Waverly)

Fifth Place
170: Adis Radoncic (RKA)

Seventh Place
106: Danny Murray (Brentwood)
120: Sean Peacock (Midlakes)
152: Derek Holcomb (Newark Valley)

Eighth Place
113: Bryan Lantry (Wayne)

NHSCA SOPHOMORES

Third Place
106: Kyle Quinn (Wantagh)

Fifth Place
106: Jesse Dellavecchia (East Islip)

Sixth Place
113: Nick Casella (Locust Valley)
138: Jakob Restrepo (Sachem East)
145: Brandon Aviles (Newfield)
160: Richie Jones (St. Joseph’s)

Seventh Place
113: Ben Lamantia (St. Anthony’s)
160: Trevor Allard (Mexico)

Eighth Place
132: Sam Ward (Locust Valley)
220: Vincent Feola (Whitman)

NHSCA FRESHMEN

National Champions
132: Chris Mauriello (Hauppauge)
152: Jordan Torbitt (Whitney Point)

Second Place
120: Kellen Devlin (Amherst)
182: Christian Araneo (Ward Melville)
285: Edwin Rubio (John Glenn)

Fourth Place
220: Owen Albanese (Canastota)

Fifth Place
170: Wil Hilliard (Phoenix)
182: Ricardo Dawkins (General Brown)

Sixth Place
106: Anthony Argentieri (Kenmore West)

Seventh Place
113: Andrew McFarland (Carthage)
132: Freddy Eckles (Lake Shore)
170: Sonny McPherson (Indian River)

NHSCA MIDDLE SCHOOL

Champions:
127: Mack Berkowitz
165: Travis Race

Second Place:
100: Hector Colom

Third Place:
85: John DeRidder
90: Dane Heberlein
100: Anthony Cirillo
154: Jeffrey Browne

Fourth Place
75: James Langan
85: Mitch Seaver
100: Benjamin Tepperman

Fifth Place

230: Larry Baker

Sixth Place
75: Riley Retell
105: Zachary Ancewicz
112: Hunter Dusold
180: Dominic Pistone

Seventh Place:
95: William Sims
142: Nick Bushey

Eighth Place
80: Christopher Rivera
90: James Trezza
100: Jacori Teemer
135: Nick Coppola
142: Richard Dawkins

NHSCA SENIORS – WRESTLING TO BE COMPLETED ON SUNDAY

Finalists:
126: TJ Fabian
285: Mike Hughes

Others All-Americans:
106: Steven Lee, Jacob Yankloski
113: Mat Bradice, Dillon Stowell, Steven Sewkumar
126: Dylan Realbuto, Chris Araoz
132: Matt Leshinger
138: Nick Tighe
152: Chris Koo
160: Troy Seymour
170: Johnny Vrasidas, Dan McDevitt, Carlos Toribio

In Contention: See the New York Wrestlers Still Battling at NHSCAs and FloNationals

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On Friday, FloNationals began in Indiana, Pennsylvania while the second day of the NHSCA Freshman, Sophomore and Junior events took place. Many New York wrestlers stayed in contention for national championships in both tournaments. All the remaining grapplers at the Freshman, Sophomore and Junior NHSCAs have clinched All-American honors.
Continue below to see who will be wrestling on Saturday both in Virginia Beach and at Flo. (We will update Senior NHSCAs on Saturday as well). Please provide comments below with any additions.

NHSCA Semifinalists

JUNIORS

138 Pounds: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Cheektowoga)
152 Pounds: Corey Rasheed (Longwood)
195 Pounds: Reggie Williams (Johnson City)
220 Pounds: Ryan Wolcott (Waverly)
285 Pounds: James O’Hagan (Seaford)

SOPHOMORES

106 Pounds: Kyle Quinn (Wantagh)
113 Pounds: Nick Casella (Locust Valley)
138 Pounds: Jakob Restrepo (Sachem East)
160 Pounds: Richie Jones (St. Joseph’s)

FRESHMEN 
106 Pounds: Anthony Argentieri (Kenmore West)
120 Pounds: Kellen Devlin (Amherst)
132 Pounds: Chris Mauriello (Hauppauge)
152 Pounds: Jordan Torbitt (Whitney Point)
170 Pounds: Wil Hilliard (Phoenix)
182 Pounds: Christian Araneo (Ward Melville), Ricardo Dawkins (General Brown)
220 Pounds: Owen Albanese (Canastota)
285 Pounds: Edwin Rubio (John Glenn)

NHSCA Wrestlebacks (Wrestling for 3rd-8th)

JUNIORS 
106 Pounds:
 Danny Murray (Brentwood)
113 Pounds:
 Bryan Lantry (Wayne)
120 Pounds:
 Sean Peacock (Midlakes)
152 Pounds: 
Derek Holcomb (Newark Valley)
170 Pounds: 
Adis Radoncic (RKA)

SOPHOMORES

106 Pounds: Jesse Dellavecchia (East Islip)
113 Pounds: Ben Lamantia (St. Anthony’s)
132 Pounds: Sam Ward (Locust Valley)
145: Brandon Aviles (Newfield)
160: Trevor Allard (Mexico)
220: Vincent Feola (Whitman)

FRESHMEN 

113 Pounds: Andrew McFarland (Carthage)
132 Pounds: Freddy Eckles (Lake Shore)
170 Pounds: Sonny McPherson (Indian River)

 

FLONATIONALS

Champions Bracket – Quarterfinalists

106 Pounds: Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton)

113 Pounds: Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville)

120 Pounds: Travis Passaro (Eastport South Manor)

132 Pounds: Nick Kelley (Shenendehowa)

160 Pounds: Tyler Grimaldi (Hills West) and Andrew Psomas (Monsignor Farrell)

170: Christian Dietrich (Greene)

In the Consolations

138: Vincent DePrez (Hilton) will meet David Almaviva (Shenendehowa) Saturday morning

145: Zach Joseph (Shenendehowa), Mitchell Klein (Horace Greeley) will meet Anthony DePrez (Hilton) on Saturday morning

152: Joe Mastro (Yorktown)

170: Michael Green and Joe Piccolo (Hills West)

182: Daniel Norris (Hilton)

195: Collin Pittman (Spencerport)

220: Joe Sprung (Berne-Knox)

285: Alex Soutiere (Ravena CS)

Logan Barcomb (Hudson Falls)

NHSCA Nationals Underway: Who From NY Advanced to the Round of 16?

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On Thursday, the NHSCA Freshman, Sophomore and Junior National tournaments got underway in Virginia Beach.  Championship action ran through the Round of 16, with many New Yorkers making the cut.  The Empire State is well represented throughout, but has four or more representatives alive in the winners bracket to this point in:

  • Juniors 170 (Franky Nassivera of Queensbury, Ronnie King of Islip, Jake Weber of Clarence and state champion Adis Radoncic of RKA)
  • Sophomores 113 (Donny McCoy of Niagara Falls, James Szymanski of Shoreham Wading River, Chris Donnelly of Island Trees and Nick Casella of Locust Valley.  (Donnelly and Casella meet next).
  • Sophomores 160 (Ryan Marszal of Unatego, Richie Jones, Trevor Allard of Mexico, Nick Wentland of Minisink Valley and Anthony Ottaviano of Hauppauge)
  • Freshmen 132 (Connor Remy of Patchogue-Medford, Freddy Eckles of Lake Shore, Nathaniel Grubham of Whitney Point, Chris Mauriello of Hauppague and Holden Pelton of South Jefferson)

Radoncic, Photo by BV

Below is a list of wrestlers who advanced to the Round of 16 as well as those who are in the consolation bracket (as of Thursday evening on the official brackets).  With any additions, or changes, please comment below.

JUNIORS – In the Championship Round of 16:

106 Pounds:

Danny Murray

113 Pounds:

Johnny Stramiello and Paul Capobianco

120 Pounds:

Joseph Russ and Sean Peacock

126 Pounds:

Blake Retell

138 Pounds:

Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer and Matt Caputo (Will meet each other in the Round of 16)

145 Pounds:

Dennis Ferro

152 Pounds:

Corey Rasheed

160 Pounds:

Burke Paddock

170 Pounds:

Franky Nassivera, Ronnie King, Jake Weber and Adis Radoncic

182 Pounds:

Connor Watson

195 Pounds:

Reggie Williams

220 Pounds:

Ryan Wolcott and Matt Kaminer

285 Pounds:

James O’Hagan

 

JUNIORS – Consolations

106 Pounds:
David Yablans

113 Pounds:
Matt Boyle
Joseph Hill
Timothy Johnson
Bryan Lantry

120 Pounds:
Joshua Straub
Thomas Hill
Abdul Fatah Alshawai
Nathan Gilligan and Danny Amancio

126 Pounds:
Jake Lerner
Ryan Snow
Marshall Winston
Paddy Quinlan
Anthony Messina
Tom Reina
Carter Merecki

132 Pounds:
Brandon Hill
Jack Reina
Said Kahramonov
Ralph Cazzetta
JP Ascolese
Mat Lauro
Oran Revivo
Zach Ayen
Eric St. John
Adrian Berry

138 Pounds:
Nick Forget
Matt Langan
Ryan Kromer
Jon Silveri
Anthony Feola
Warren Oderkirk
Daniel Lucey
Corey Ashe

145 Pounds:
Eduardo Ramirez
Marc DChutiis
Zachery Lugo
Raymond Prouty
James Farrell
Trevor Hoffmier
Nate Martin
Vinny Romeo
Jimmy Devine
Frankie Hernandez
Nigel Williams

152 Pounds:
Michael Pistone
Angelo Kress
Cory Kostrzycki
Derek Holcomb
Daniel Jones
Vincent Drago
Alex Smythe
Will Jacobs

160 Pounds:
Michael Peterson
Daniel Kerr
Konstantin Parfiryev
Tyler Silverthorn
Erik Adon
Jaison White

170 Pounds:
Isaiah Zimmer
Mark Tracy
Joseph Russo
Jordan Formicola

182 Pounds:
Jake Horton
Dominic Pirraglia
Dominic Holder

195 Pounds:
Nick Weber

220 Pounds:
Bryan Tenny
Luke McKee
Charles Pederson
Sean Ferguson
Caden Watson

 

SOPHOMORES – In the Round of 16

106 Pounds:

Kyle Quinn and Jack Scurti

113 Pounds:

Donny McCoy, James Szymanski, Chris Donnelly and Nick Casella (Donnelly and Casella meet next)

120 Pounds:

Dandre Norman and Mike D’Angelo

126 Pounds:

Nick Toutant, Blaise Benderoth and Mike Raccioppi

132 Pounds:

Tyler Gross, Chris Truglio and Sam Ward

138 Pounds:

Donny Donnelly and Jakob Restrepo

145 Pounds:

Brandon Aviles

152 Pounds:

Vincent Darpino and Nathan Schwab

160 Pounds:

Ryan Marszal, Richie Jones, Trevor Allard, Nick Wentland and Anthony Ottaviano

195 Pounds:
Andrew Rakitzis and Nathaneal Rose

220 Pounds:

Brad Cunningham and Vincent Feola

285 Pounds:

Garrett Rath

 

SOPHOMORES – Consolations

106 Pounds:
Joe Abelgore
Dominick Mazzella
Joe Barber
Lucas Yankloski
Jesse Dellavecchia

113 Pounds:
Hector Guerrero
Joseph Rorick
Logan Robinson
Ben Lamantia
Christian Briody

120 Pounds:
Andrew Taber
Mitchell Shambo
Chris Meloni

126 Pounds:
Dashea Edwards
Austin Whitney
Alan White
Joseph Loconte
Cody McGregor

132 Pounds:

Hunter Hulse
Christian Hollister
Andrew Shomers
Zack Bendick
Nick Nieves
Matt Gund
Naquan Warren

138 Pounds:
Francisco Bisono
Peter Pasqualino
Sheldan Clute
Joseph Demasi
Kevin Jackson
Jordan Bushey
Danny Murphy
Kyle Greene

145 Pounds:
John Donohue
Elias Kokalis
Bailey Phelps

152 Pounds:
Nick Wyckoff
Ricky Panciroli

160 Pounds:
Greg Kleinsmith

170 Pounds:

Brett Lewis
Marcello Gennaro

182 Pounds:
David Hamil

 

FRESHMEN – In the Round of 16:

106 Pounds:

Anthony Argentieri and John Arceri

113 Pounds:

Ryan O’Rourke

120 Pounds:

Kellen Devlin

126 Pounds:

Jack Taddeo and Nick Garone

132 Pounds:

Connor Remy, Freddy Eckles, Nathaniel Grubham, Chris Mauriello and Holden Pelton

138 Pounds:

Joshua Farrar

152 Pounds:

Nick Saporito, Jordan Torbitt and Jack Freischlag

160 Pounds:

Timothy Heitmann and Luke MacIntosh

170 Pounds:

Sonny McPherson, Aaron Paddock and Wil Hilliard

182 Pounds:

Christian Araneo, Ricardo Dawkins and Nick McShea

195 Pounds:

Ryan Gray

220 Pounds:

Owen Albanese

285 Pounds:

Edwin Rubio

 

FRESHMEN – Consolations:

106 Pounds:
Brandon Gould
Derek Spann
Theo Powers
John Kalinoglu
Hunter Olena
Bobby Pease
Dominic Poggoli
Shawn Bourne
Tyler Ayers
Kelan McKenna
Thomas Michel

113 Pounds:
Ramel McIntosh
CJ Archer
Chris Pereira
Zachary Burke
Andrew McFarland
Dakota White
Andrew Hollister
Hunter Owen
Tito Colom
Dylan Wood
Jack Gold

120 Pounds:
Nick Shenck
Michael Berkowitz
Josh Bressette

126 Pounds:
Andrew Garcia
Devin Wrieth
Jeremy Boyle
Zach Bierfeldt
Owen Bachelder
Marc Paez

138 Pounds:

Jordan Kayes

145 Pounds:
Bryce Dusold
Dylan Studer

 

'Pack' Mentality: Yorktown's Joe Mastro Commits to North Carolina State

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Joe Mastro went to the ACC wrestling tournament in March as a fan. He plans on attending in the future as well – but as a competitor.  

The Yorktown senior, a third place finisher at the Times Union Center in February recently committed to North Carolina State.

“It’s a great environment and a great school,” Mastro said, adding that he chose the Wolfpack over Duke and Air Force. “I’ve known Coach [Pat] Popolizio for a while and I think with Coach Beasley and Coach Kelly, NC State is going to do great things.”

Photo by BV

Mastro sees his future team as a group on the rise. His Yorktown squad was the same way during his career, led by the Class of 2013, which boasted a quartet of state qualifiers, including Mastro, Steven Sabella, David Varian and Thomas Murray. The program achieved new heights, including a runner up showing at the Section 1 tournament this year with three champions and a top 15 finish in the team race in Albany.

“This senior class has been together since eighth grade and we’ve been progressing ever since and moving our way up,” Mastro said. “It’s been exciting. We all want to see continued success of the program. We want to see the guys there now break the records we set.”

One of those marks certainly won’t be broken. Mastro will always be the first-ever state placer from the school, albeit by a thin margin.

“It’s funny because right after I took third, I ran over and my teammate Thomas Murray was just starting his [182-pound] match for third,” Mastro said. “I was the first placer, but it was pretty close – I probably got it by about five minutes.”

Given his bronze medal performance, Mastro also currently owns the best-ever finish in Yorktown history (Murray earned fourth). But it wasn’t easy.

In his first trip to the state tournament, Mastro said the nerves got to him in his opening bout with Konstantin Parfiryev of the PSAL. Before he knew it, he was in a 5-0 hole and despite a furious comeback, he dropped into the consolation bracket with a 7-5 loss.

But it didn’t take him long to turn things around.

“I had to regroup,” he said. “I loosened up and told my coach it was time to come back and take third. It was long and grueling, but I was able to get it done. I really turned it up and felt like I wrestled the way I should have in my first match. It was a total 180 from how I started. I had a short term memory about it and put a lot of points on the board.”

He definitely did.

First, a 17-1 technical fall, then a pair of major decisions over the number two and three seeds, Angelo Kress of Columbia and Zach Joseph of Shenendehowa.

Then, in the consolation semifinals, he met Dan DeCarlo of Port Jervis, a grappler who had beaten him at SUNY Sullivan in January in a close decision.

“I felt like I had controlled that whole match at the Eastern States,” Mastro said. “I had a 1-0 lead with about 10 seconds left and gave up a reversal. I really screwed up. I wanted to go out and prove that I was better than him and the first match was a fluke. I was excited to wrestle him again.”

His excitement showed as he blanked DeCarlo 5-0 to advance to the third place bout, where he captured his fifth straight contest with an 8-4 triumph over Johnson City’s Zach Colgan.

So he’ll enter NC State having finished his high school career on a high note. And he’ll join a growing number of New York grapplers heading to Raleigh.

“I’m definitely looking forward to the warm weather,” Mastro said. “But I think what’s really exciting is that I already know people down there. I’ve known [former Section 1 star and 2013 NCAA qualifier] Sam Speno for a long time and it will be fun to compete with him and some other guys from New York. It’s great that it will be a familiar environment even though it’s pretty far away.”

Going With the Flo: Many New York Wrestlers Prepare for 2013 FloNationals

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According to organizers, it will have the “feel of an NCAA championship.” Riding time will be a factor, seasoned college referees will officiate, video review will be used for challenges and many of the nation’s top wrestlers will take the mat.

The scene won’t be Des Moines, Iowa but instead Indiana, Pennsylvania for the FloNationals, beginning on April 5.

Competition will start at 9 a.m. on Friday in the high school division on 12 mats and will continue through the finals on Saturday evening. The action doesn’t stop then, however, as the middle school and elementary tournaments take place on Sunday, beginning at 10.

Kelley, Photo by BV

A year ago, the Empire State featured eight All-Americans at FloNationals. This time, New York will once again be well represented, with over 85 entries as of press time, including state champions such as Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton), Luis Weierbach (Hoosick Falls), Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville), Nick Kelley (Shenendehowa), Tyler Grimaldi (Half Hollow Hills West) and Rich Sisti (Monsignor Farrell).

In addition, a number of medalists, including 2013 top three finishers Vincent DePrez (Hilton), Christian Dietrich (Greene), David Almaviva (Shenendehowa), Joe Mastro (Yorktown), Alex Soutiere (Ravena), Travis Passaro (Eastport South Manor) and Sam Melikian (Fordham Prep) will look to add All-American honors to the All-State accolades they picked up in February.

Registration remains open until Wednesday at midnight here. But for those who won’t be present in person, there are still ways to keep tabs on the New Yorkers as they strive for national titles.

Each match will be streamed live on FloWrestling.org with a Tech Wave subscription, and according to organizers, viewers will be able to see the score and time on the screen to make the bouts easy to track. (In addition, results will be updated throughout the weekend on http://www.trackwrestling.com).

“I think it’s exciting that every match will be shown live on the internet so people back home can watch,” said two-time state champion Nick Piccininni. “It also lets college coaches watch.  I know some coaches will be there in person too and even though I can’t talk to them yet, I want to put myself on their radar for the future.”

Indeed, FloNationals is a place where coaches are on the lookout for potential recruits.  Just ask 2013 New York State bronze medalist Joe Mastro of Yorktown, who recently committed to become a part of Pat Popolizio’s Wolfpack.

“FloNationals was the place that first got the NC State coaches interested in me,” Mastro said. “I’ve been going since my sophomore year and the competition gets tougher each year.  I think it’s really become the premier postseason national tournament.”

Both Mastro (preseeded ninth at 152) and Piccininni (preseeded #1 at 113), fell just short of the podium a year ago.  Both expect better this time.

“Last year, I came within a round of placing,” Mastro said. “The goal is to definitely come home with All-American honors. It’s something I’ve been thinking about since last year.”

“I definitely wasn’t happy with the outcome last year,” Piccininni added. “It doesn’t really matter that I’m preseeded #1. I’m just trying to go out there, wrestle my toughest and dominate each match. It’s a really tough tournament, but my goal is to win the national championship.”