Category Archives: Section 11

John Keck Commits to Navy After Offseason Success

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Some of the top Empire State wrestlers from the Class of 2012 committed to colleges during or before the early signing period in November of 2011, including Brian Realbuto (Cornell), Quinton Murphy (Indiana), Chris Nevinger (Buffalo) and Tony Lock (Buffalo).  However, in the past month, several more standouts have chosen where they will continue both their education and wrestling career next fall.   New York Wrestling News spoke to some of these grapplers and will post the articles throughout the week.  Earlier in the week, we shared the stories of Ryan Fox and Tom Page.  Today, we discuss Shoreham Wading River’s John Keck.

By Betsy Veysman

John Keck’s December commitment to Navy was a long time in the making.

The Shoreham Wading River senior began the arduous process of applying to the Annapolis, Maryland school at the end of last summer.  After letters of recommendation, physical tests, medical clearance exams, essays, forms, interviews and a nomination from Congressman Tim Bishop, Keck was finally able to give his verbal commitment.

“It was a long and involved process,” Keck said. “But it was worth it because I think Navy offers a good balance of everything.  I really like the structure of the school, the great academics and the wrestling.”

In fact, the 152-pounder had Navy at the top of his list even before the wrestling coaches at the school were recruiting him.

Keck’s third place finish at the Super 32 tournament in North Carolina in the fall of 2011 changed everything.  In a field with highly regarded grapplers from all over the country, Keck went 6-1 and defeated Ohio state champion Kyle Burns, Pennsylvania state runner up Garett Hammond and nationally ranked Garrett Peppelman.

“Super 32 was big for me,” he said.  “I had never won my section or been to the state tournament so I didn’t have the credentials to get noticed by colleges.  My main goal for the tournament was to put myself on the map and it worked.”

When he returned from the tournament, Keck sent Coach Bruce Burnett the Flowrestling link to his match against Peppelman.  He said the coach responded quickly and the relationship began.

Other schools contacted Keck as well.  The strong student said he had some interactions with the Coast Guard Academy, the Merchant Marine Academy, American, Cornell, Duke and Virginia.

But Super 32 did more than just put the future Engineering major on the Division I radar.  It also gave him a jumpstart into his final year on the mats for the Wildcats.

“It was a good boost to my confidence,” he said. “Wrestling the best competition in the offseason helps so much during the season.  After I beat state champs and other tough wrestlers, I felt like I should do really well in my senior year back in New York.”

To this point, he has.  Keck has a 37-1 record, with 23 of those wins coming by pin or technical fall.   His one setback was to eventual champion Dylan Palacio of Long Beach during his run to third place at the Eastern States Classic.

“I was really frustrated by that loss, especially since it wasn’t close,” he said. “I didn’t reach my goal of winning the tournament. But otherwise the season has been going well.  Our team clinched the league title and winning as a team, not just as an individual, makes things so much more fun. I’m focusing on getting bonus points for the team and keeping up my technique, even against less competitive kids.”

Keck, who expects to wrestle at 157 pounds in college, has been learning that technique for years.  Although he said he really started focusing on wrestling in seventh grade, he has been around the sport for most of his life as his father and two older brothers wrestled.

He credited his family and several coaches for his development.

“My dad has spent so much time working with me,” he said.  “We have a 10 x 10 mat in the basement and we go down there, watch tape from matches, critique it and then drill for a while.  I wouldn’t be able to do it without him, I’m lucky to have him working with me.”

He also mentioned the contributions of Mike Patrovich at Razor Wrestling Club, Shoreham Wading River coach Joe Condon and Nick Garone, Steve Hromada and Darren Goldstein at X-Cel Wrestling Club.

All of that training will be put to the test in the coming month.

“Last year, I won the league and I was the runner up in the county to Kyle Wade, who wound up winning states. I didn’t have the criteria points for a wildcard, so I was disappointed that I didn’t get to go to the state tournament.  This year, I want to change that.  I want to win the county and then my goal is to win states.”

Ryan Fox Moves Closer to Division I Goal with Commitment to Binghamton

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Some of the top Empire State wrestlers from the Class of 2012 committed to colleges before or during the early signing period in November of 2011, including Brian Realbuto (Cornell), Quinton Murphy (Indiana), Chris Nevinger (Buffalo) and Tony Lock (Buffalo), among others.  However, in the past month, several more standouts have chosen where they will continue both their education and wrestling career next fall.   New York Wrestling News spoke to some of these grapplers and will post the articles throughout the week.  Today, we share the story of Ryan Fox.

By Betsy Veysman

Ryan Fox’s dream was to wrestle at the highest level in college, but when his career at Huntington High School concluded in February of 2010, he wasn’t recruited by Division I teams.

Now, almost two years later, the Nassau Community College grappler has moved a step closer to his goal, committing to Binghamton University for the fall of 2012.

Fox’s first exposure to wrestling was in the summer before ninth grade when he attended a camp in his hometown.  He said up until that point he “had no idea what wrestling was all about.” He was discouraged after not winning a single match in the camp’s tournament.  However, he decided to try out for the team once school started, largely because of the support he had received from Huntington’s head coach at the time, Lou Giani, at the camp.

“His words and encouragement stuck with me from then through high school,” he said.  “He mentored me through a lot of adversity.”

According to Fox, his first year on the mats wasn’t too promising.  He struggled to a losing record as a member of the junior varsity.

“It was an uphill battle,” he said.  “It took me a long time to get anywhere.  My freshman year, I got beaten on so badly on JV that at first I didn’t come back to the team sophomore year.  Some teammates encouraged me to return and I did, but sophomore year wasn’t that much better.”

Yet he persisted, and as a junior, things really started moving in the right direction.  Fox started working more intensely with assistant coach Stephan Sair, a former national champion for Cortland. He fell in love with the sport and committed to doing whatever it took to get better.

“I felt that I had the athleticism but not the wrestling skill set,” he said.  “I started studying, watching matches and learning from everyone I could.  I decided I would put 100% into it because I really wanted to succeed.”

His objective that season was to win the Suffolk County title.  However, he needed a top three finish in his league to go to the county event, and he placed fourth.

In his senior campaign, Fox demonstrated how far he had come with a 37-2 record at 171 pounds.  His two losses came to the two New York state champions that year, Billy Coggins (Division I) and Tyler Beckwith (Division II).  However, Fox’s year ended abruptly when his 9-6 setback against Coggins in the County title match ended his season since he did not have enough wildcard points to qualify for a trip to the state tournament.

“I would sum up my high school career as huge improvement but extreme disappointment,” he said.  “It was heartbreaking to end my high school career with that loss to Coggins without even going to states.”

Fox’s success in his final high school season, despite the painful conclusion, convinced him that he only wanted to wrestle at the Division I level.  That desire was one of the main reasons he decided to attend Nassau as a part-time student for 2010-11.

“Nassau has a lot of advantages,” he said. “It’s close to home and I knew junior college was the best way for me to get to Division I.  I also was so focused on wrestling at the end of high school, I put aside my schoolwork and my grades weren’t where they needed to be.”

The Huntington native refocused both on the mat and in the classroom, spending significant time working with Vougar Oroudjov at his club in Syosset as well as taking courses.

During this time, Fox believes he made huge strides; the most important ones mental.

“A problem with me was my mental attitude and my anxiety,” he said.  “In high school, I put so much pressure on myself to get better, I sometimes froze up in big matches.  Vougar helped me focus on myself and my mental toughness and having confidence in the things I could control on the mat.  The technique comes, but the level of mental toughness you need to do well is a big difference I see from high school to college.”

During that first “greyshirt” year at Nassau, Fox had some impressive victories, including a win over Penn State’s James Vollrath.

Now in his first official campaign with the Lions, Fox has continued to see success, taking second at the recent New York State championships held at Cornell University, third at the Wilkes Open and second at the TCNJ Open.  He has registered triumphs over Columbia’s national qualifier Eren Civan and Nick Visicaro of Rutgers (who also beat Fox this year).

“Visicaro and I were the same graduating class in high school,” he said.  “He was a top ranked recruit and I wasn’t on anyone’s radar.  I wasn’t on his level in high school but I feel like I’ve been catching up to guys who were way ahead of me.”

Fox attributes a large portion of that development to Nassau head coach Paul Schmidt.

“I think the support Coach Schmidt gives is so important,” Fox said.  “He believes I can be a national champ and having someone else believe it is the encouragement I need to keep improving.”

After taking a visit to Binghamton in early January, Fox knew where he wanted to spend the next several years.  He plans to study Engineering and he expects to spend his three seasons of eligibility (plus a possible redshirt year) at 165 pounds.

“I am so excited about going to Binghamton,” he said. “The coaching staff is great and it’s a place where everyone has the same mindset of getting better every day.  I liked that it’s close to home and that it’s an up and coming program.  Coach [Pat] Popolizio has brought the program from not even close to being ranked to a really tough team. I can’t wait to be a part of that.”

Fox’s ultimate goal is to be an NCAA champion at the Division I level.  But he would like to earn a national crown for Nassau this February first.

“I think I’m progressing at the right pace this year, but I haven’t been wrestling to my potential yet,” he said.  “I’ve had some good wins and a couple of tough losses, but I expect to peak at the right time and turn it up for nationals. I don’t want to just be a national champion this year, I want to win while dominating.”

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Off to an Undefeated Start, Hofstra Looks Forward

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By Betsy Veysman

Hofstra, the 24th ranked team in the country in the latest USA Today/Division I Coaches Poll, is off to an 8-0 start, including victories last week over American and CAA squads Old Dominion, George Mason and Boston.  Dating back to last year, the Pride wrestlers have won 13 duals in a row.

This weekend, Hofstra puts that unbeaten streak on the line against two tough foes, Rutgers on the road and Pennsylvania at the Mack Sports Complex.

“We’ll be facing two very good teams,” said head coach Rob Anspach. “We know that in this sport everything is about March.  But you don’t do well in March if you don’t really challenge yourself during the season.  Rutgers had a great year last year with close to 20 dual wins and they have some very good individuals.  Penn has a returning All-American at 141 and a highly ranked 197 in Micah Burak. So we will definitely be challenged.  We need to continue to do the things we’ve been doing like dictating the pace and winning hand fighting battles and if we do, we should be able to come away with two more wins.”

One of the bouts Anspach is looking forward to this weekend is at 165 pounds where senior PJ Gillespie will face ninth ranked Scott Winston of the Scarlet Knights.  Gillespie, a returning All-American from nearby Long Beach High School, sports a 19-5 record and some strong placements in tournaments this year – first at the Binghamton Open, second at the Las Vegas Invitational and fourth at the Southern Scuffle.  Four of his five losses have come in his last 9 matches, however.

“PJ started off the year really well but hit a rough spot at the Scuffle and the Drexel dual,” Anspach said.  “Last weekend I was much happier with his performance.  He even dominated almost the entire match that he lost.  We just want him to use all of his tools. We rely on him to score bonus points in close duals and when he’s offensive minded, he looks great.”

The captain finished on the podium last year at the NCAAs in Philadelphia after entering the tournament unseeded.  Currently ranked #19, he may have to take a similar path this March.

“Wherever he winds up, even if he is unseeded again, PJ is capable of winning those matches at NCAAs.  His road may be a little tougher than we hoped, but he is certainly capable of placing high this year.”

Gillespie is one of the team leaders fueling the Pride this campaign, in addition to junior Steve Bonanno and senior Ben Clymer.

Bonanno has consistently gotten the team off on the right foot.  The Long Island product has gone 20-5 overall, including finishes of third and sixth at the Las Vegas Invitational and the Southern Scuffle, respectively.  In addition, he has racked up an 8-0 record in duals, including six bonus point wins.

“I’ve been really impresssed with Steve,” Anspach said.  “He’s been our most consistent wrestler.   We’ve been able to start at 125 in all but one dual and he gets things going the right way. It’s really nice to start off the dual 4-0 or 5-0.”

Anspach also added that Bonanno is a top student, with a grade point average around 3.8 in International Business.

“You don’t find too many guys like Steve,” he said. “He’s outstanding.  You never worry about him academically or in anything else.  He’s always doing the right things.”

Clymer, a two-time NCAA qualifier, has been competitive throughout his career.   However, the nation’s 11th ranked grappler at 184 pounds has raised his game, according to Anspach, to the tune of a 20-4 record.

“Ben has picked up his point scoring to the level he is capable of,” the coach said.  “He’s very strong and long and hard to score on, but he relied too much on his defense.  He’s had a lot of 2-1, 3-2 matches against good opponents in the past.  Now he’s working really hard on his feet and starting to put some distance between him and the guys he’s wrestling.  He’s also been working hard on top and has been able to ride some of the best in the country.”

Anspach pointed to Clymer’s fourth placing showing at the Southern Scuffle as a turning point.  The Pennsylvania native lost in the first round to Clarence Neely of Missouri, but rebounded to win six straight bouts, including victories over Jon Fausey (who eliminated Clymer from last year’s Scuffle), Luke Rebertus (who knocked Clymer out of the NCAA tournament in 2011) and Neely.

While Bonanno, Gillespie and Clymer have starred, any good dual team needs contributions throughout the lineup, and Hofstra has had solid performances from a number of wrestlers.

133: Lou Ruggirello was a nationally ranked wrestler throughout his four years in Hempstead and his graduation in 2011 left the 133-pound slot vacant.  However, Anspach has been pleased with his replacement.

“133 has been a win and often a pin for us for several years with Lou,” the coach said.  “But Jamie Franco might be the biggest surprise on the team.  He has gone out and done a great job for us.”  The Monroe, New York native is 14-8 in 2011-12.

141: Luke Vaith has been competitive all year (14-7) and is waiting for a breakthrough victory.

“Luke isn’t getting the recognition he deserves,” Anspach said. “He’s very strong and talented.  The problem is that he is losing to very good kids in tight ones.  He was beating [5th ranked] Jake Sueflohn of Nebraska the whole match and gave up a very late takedown.  He just had a good win against Justin LaValle from Old Dominion, who had beaten him at the Scuffle.  I’m hoping he can turn the corner and win some of these close ones.  He definitely belongs at nationals.”

149: Following Vaith in the lineup is 149-pounder Justin Accordino, who has taken a difficult path back onto the mat for the Pride.

“Justin suffered two torn ACLs, in back to back years.  Both times it was in the first half of the season,” Anspach said. “After the first one he put in an intense, long rehab and he was just getting the rust knocked off when it happened again.  You don’t know how a kid will react to that, but Justin rehabbed again and came back stronger.  His body isn’t fully where his mind is yet wrestling wise, but we’re starting to see him getting back to the wrestler he was.  If he can keep it going, he will be good come March.”

285: Anspach also mentioned the efforts of heavyweight Paul Snyder, last season’s CAA champion, who has registered a 14-7 mark.

“Paul has been working hard on his offense and his handfighting.  He’s run into some guys in the conference who weren’t here last year in [19th ranked] Kyle Frey and [12th ranked] Nick Gwiazdowski.  He’ll have to beat them to get back to the national tournament.”

174:  The head coach believes that recent CAA Rookie of the Week Jermaine John has made significant strides since the beginning of the campaign.

“Jermaine is coming along nicely,” he added.  “He had a great match with Te Edwards from ODU last week. [10th ranked Edwards won 7-6].  Jermaine is strong, quick and athletic. He has all the tools; he just needs more confidence. He needs to get that one win that triggers him to the next level.”

The next level is where the new, young coaching staff hopes to get Hofstra as a team.

While Anspach is in his first season as the head coach, he has been around the Hofstra program for most of the past 13 years, first as a student-athlete and then as a member of the staff.   In addition to second-year coach Zach Tanelli, Anspach added a pair of recent All-Americans, Gregor Gillespie and Dan Vallimont, before this campaign began.

“They are all young and bring great enthusiasm,” Anspach said. “We only have 22 guys in the room, so having coaches that wrestle with the guys every day really makes a difference.  They all come from very successful programs and have great minds for wrestling.  I think it’s been a good formula so far.”

Anspach acknowledged that ultimately success is judged in March and he believes he knows what it would look like for the Pride.

“We want to win our conference championship, which we’ve done 10 out of the last 11 years.  Binghamton has a really good team as does Old Dominion, but we feel like we’re the favorites,” he said. “When we get to nationals, we believe we have the potential for a lot of our guys to place.  From my perspective, three or four All-Americans would be a great success.”

*Rankings are from theopenmat.com

 

Q&A with Wantagh's Hall of Fame Coach Paul Gillespie

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By Betsy Veysman

Paul Gillespie has been deeply involved in wrestling for years, as a competitor and as a coach.  The National Coaches Hall of Fame member and two-time college All-American at Westchester State University in Pennsylvania, was the longtime leader of the Long Beach program and is now the head coach at Wantagh High School.  The 18-0 Warriors are the top-ranked team in the New York State Sportswriters Association poll.

Coach Gillespie talked with New York Wrestling News about the top ranking, the season to date, what’s left to come and the growth of the Wantagh program.

New York Wrestling News (NYWN): Wantagh is ranked as the top dual team in the state for the first time.  What does that mean to you?

Coach Gillespie: It’s nice to have for the kids and I’m delighted with the way the team is wrestling.  We’ve really come together.  We have a bunch of good wrestlers and good young men. But the truth is, I don’t really believe in rankings as far as championships go.  You have to get it done at the end of the year.

NYWN: The 38-37 dual meet win on criteria over #2 Shenendehowa is a key reason for the #1 ranking.  What were the keys to winning that dual?

Gillespie: It didn’t start out good for us.  We were behind 22-0.  We have a really good kid, Chris Araoz (who wrestled in the dual at 126) and when he got caught and pinned, I thought we were in trouble.  But everyone hung together and we got great performances out of some of our lightweights, including Kyle Quinn at 106.  They have a great kid at 113 and, as you know in wrestling duals, sometimes just not getting majored or teched or pinned is basically like a win.  Holding them to a regular decision at 113 was huge for us.

NWYN: Was it a bigger win because of near misses against Shenendehowa in recent years?

Gillespie: I think so. We have been knocking on the door.  Last year was a very close match, so was the year before. Shenendehowa is a great program and we feel like we’re on the upswing, getting better.  We’re just hoping to keep improving.  We’ll definitely wrestle them again next year.

NYWN: Why has Wantagh been on the upswing?

Gillespie: I think the way our program is going now we should be really strong for a number of years.  It mostly comes down to hard work and lots of great people in the community who care about the program and are willing to help.  People here are interested in wrestling and people like winners.  Things are good on all levels – the Wantagh wrestling club is doing great things and Ray Handley Senior is doing an outstanding job with the kids program.

NYWN: In the revised brackets, Wantagh tied with Long Beach for third at Eastern States.  How did you feel about the team’s performance?

Gillespie: We ended up third, beating Hauppauge, Longwood and some other great schools with only nine kids wrestling for us.  We were only allowed to take nine because it was our first year in the tournament.  The other teams around us had around 15 kids.  So I think we did pretty well.  I think we could make a run with a full team there next year, although I’m not sure anyone is beating Wyoming Seminary.

NYWN: Jose Rodriguez dominated his way to the 99-pound championship at Eastern States.  What did you think about his tournament?

Gillespie: Jose Rodriguez is amazing.  He’s just a ninth grader and I think he’s one of the best around, pound for pound.  He actually beat the kids that finished first, second and third at 106 this summer.  He really reminds me of Al Palacio, a three-time New York state champ and an All-American in college.  He has that fire in him and he’s a great competitor.  He has an outstanding work ethic and is a good student too.  I certainly think he will make a run for the state title.  It will take someone with great talent to beat him.

NYWN: How do you assess the performance of the rest of your team at Eastern States?

Gillespie: Our other three placers, Steve English (fifth at heavyweight), Chris Loew (sixth at 170) and Chris Araoz (seventh at 120) did well and all were capable of placing higher. I think they are all potential state placers, but they have to get through our county first and that won’t be easy.  They are more than capable, but it’s a matter of how they perform when it counts.

Some other kids looked good too. Vinny Terano has been wrestling well.  Dan McDevitt is a very good wrestler.  They didn’t use head to head in seeding and he had beaten the two-seed James Dekrone earlier but was only seeded 10th.  We’re looking for big things from him in the future.

NYWN: What’s next for Wantagh?

Gillespie: In our county there will definitely be some challenges from teams like Long Beach and MacArthur, among others.  But I think we’ll be pretty tough to beat because we have good kids in all weight classes and I think that makes us a little bit of the favorite.  I think with the work we put in and the types of kids we have, it’s ours to lose.  I usually don’t speak that way, but these are such solid kids with great focus.

NYWN: What are your expectations for the state tournament?

Gillespie: We’re hoping to have several kids in Albany.  I think it will be a great tournament that will be won by the team that steps up to the plate.  There are a lot of teams that will have a bunch of kids there – teams like Shenendehowa, Longwood, Hauppauge, John Glenn, Eastport South Manor and some very good upstate teams too.  I’m sure I’m leaving teams out.  I would say Shenendehowa may have a bit of an edge because of some of their upperweights that are really good and Nick Kelley, who I think is one of the best wrestlers in the state as a junior.

NYWN: The top dual team receives an award in Albany as well.  What would it mean to receive that award?

Gillespie: I think it would be absolutely great for the kids and the program.  When you’re a successful program, you are able to get more and more people wanting to be a part of it.  It only gets stronger.  We want to be able to keep everything going.

NYWN: Quite a few recent Wantagh wrestlers have gone on to wrestle in college.  Who are some of the notable alumni?

Gillespie: We have a few guys at Hofstra: Steve Bonanno, Matt Loew and Joe Kavanaugh, who is redshirting.  Joe Barbato and Paul Liguori are at Harvard and John Greisheimer is at Edinboro.

Bonanno is having a great year and Greisheimer lost a close match in the All-American round at NCAAs last year.  We take a lot of pride in all of those guys.  The community in Wantagh understands that the key to everything is getting an education.  A very small percentage of guys are going to the Olympic level; there aren’t too many places to compete after college. So we stress the education and those kids are great examples of that.

NYWN: Have those wrestlers stayed involved in the program?

Gillespie: When they’re home, they always stop in.  With the new rules, they can’t wrestle at practice, but they talk to the kids and tell them about their experiences and college life.  It’s great to have them back to tell their stories.  They give our kids a lesson on what it will be like to be a college student-athlete.

NYWN: How would you sum up your time as Wantagh head coach to this point?

Gillespie: It’s really a pleasure for me to be here.   It’s a new and different environment.  It’s a great school district and a lot of the sports are on the championship level. The parents are so determined to see their kids succeed in sports and academics. They understand what I think is most important – that it’s all about the education.

After leaving Long Beach [High School] after a long time, I was sitting on the beach, since I’m the chief of the lifeguards.  A few guys came down to see me and asked if I would come and help develop the Wantagh program and then all of a sudden the coach left for personal reasons.  My wife wasn’t all for it at first because she knows the time and effort it takes, but I wouldn’t have done it without her blessing.  I thought my coaching days were over, but I guess I was wrong.  I’m glad to be back.

Top-seeded Wantagh returns to action on January 27-28 at the Nassau County Dual Meet championships.

Hofstra Posts Four Majors in Win over American

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–Courtesy of Hofstra Athletic Communications
Washington, D.C. — Four Hofstra wrestlers recorded major decisions as the 25th-ranked Pride defeated American University, 22-18 at Bender Arena Thursday night. Hofstra improved to 5-0 on the season while the Eagles of American slipped to 4-5.

Seniors P.J. Gillespie at 165 and Ben Clymer at 184, junior Steve Bonanno at 125 and freshman Jermaine John at 174 each posted major decision wins and the Pride grabbed two more decisions by sophomore Jamie Franco at 133 and junior Justin Accordino at 149.

The match opened at 165 pounds with 19th-ranked senior P.J. Gillespie giving the Pride a 4-0 lead in the contest with an 11-2 major decision over American junior Tanner Shaffer. Gillespie improved to a team-best 17-4 on the season. Freshman Jermaine John made it two straight major wins for Hofstra with a 14-5 win over junior Phillip Barreiro at 174 pounds, John tallied an escape and two takedowns in the third period to record his second major of the season and his third straight win. He is now 6-8 on the season. Senior Ben Clymer, ranked 11th this week, made it three in a row with an 11-3 major decision over junior Thomas Barreiro at 184 to boost the Pride lead to 12-0. Clymer posted his third straight win to improve to 17-5 on the year.

But The Eagles of American erased the deficit in the next two matches on wins by fall. At 197 pounds, 19th-ranked Daniel Mitchell (12-6) pinned Pride sophomore Tim Murphy in the second period at the 4:11 mark. Murphy slips to 9-12. Pride junior Paul Snyder had the task of facing the undefeated, number one ranked wrestler at 285 pounds in American senior Ryan Flores (7-0). Flores jumped on Snyder early and posted the pin at the 43 second mark to tie the match at 12-12. Snyder fell to 11-7.

Hofstra rebounded with back-to-back wins at 125 and 133. Junior Steve Bonanno tallied his third consecutive victory and the Pride’s fourth major win of the match with a 12-0 win over senior Thomas Williams at 125. It was Bonnano’s third shutout of the season and improved the 13th-ranked wrestler’s record to 16-5 this year. Hofstra sophomore Jamie Franco boosted the Pride lead to 19-12 with a 6-1 decision over Corey Borshoff at 133 pounds. Franco allowed a first period escape to record his third straight victory and improve to 12-7 this season.

The Eagles closed the gap to 19-15 with a win at 141 pounds as 12th-ranked Matt Mariacher (16-5) defeated Pride sophomore Luke Vaith, 6-4. Vaith was only able to must a first period takedown and escapes in the second and third to slip to 10-7.

But Hofstra junior Justin Accordino sealed the victory for Hofstra with a 9-5 victory at 149 pounds over junior Kevin Tao behind a big second period, Accordino posted a reversal, a takedown and a two-point nearfall in the second to improve to 13-8 on the season.

Fourth-ranked American senior Ganbayar Sanjaa closed the match with a 5-1 decision over Pride junior Tyler Banks at 157 pounds. Ganjaa wouldn’t let Banks to go on the offensive as he improved to 13-1 on the year. Banks is now 6-7.

The Pride now travel to Fairfax, Virginia to compete in the CAA Duals at the George Mason Field House on Saturday, January 21. Hofstra will face Old Dominion at noon, George Mason at 2 p.m. and Boston University at 4 p.m.

Results:
165- #19 P.J. Gillespie (HU) major dec. Tanner Shaffer (AU), 11-2
174- Jermaine John (HU major dec. Phillip Barreiro (AU), 14-5
184- #11 Ben Clymer (HU) major dec. Thomas Barreiro (AU), 11-3
197- #19 Daniel Mitchell (AU) WBF Tim Murphy (HU), 4:11
285- #1 Ryan Flores (AU) WBF Paul Snyder (HU), 0:43
125- #13 Steve Bonnano (HU) major dec. Thomas Williams (AU), 12-0
133- Jamie Franco (HU) dec. Corey Borshoff (AU), 6-1
141- #12 Matt Mariacher (AU) dec. Luke Vaith (HU), 6-4
149- Justin Accordino (HU) dec. Kevin Tao (AU), 9-5
157- #4 Ganbayar Sanjaa (AU) dec. Tyler Banks (HU), 5-1

Join the Live Chat with Kyle Dake, Monday January 23 at 7 p.m. Eastern

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Have a question for “Kid Dynamite”?  Curious about what’s happening on the Cornell wrestling team?

Two-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake of the Big Red will join New York Wrestling News for a live chat on Monday, January 23 at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Dake, currently the #1 ranked 157-pound wrestler in the country, is 22-0 this season with titles at the Body Bar Invitational, Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational and the Southern Scuffle.  Even up a weight at 165, he got a clutch pin for the Big Red last week in a close win over Binghamton.

To join the online chat, click here and register.  (It’s free!)

You can also add your email for a reminder here!

“The Kid” is ready for your questions!

Wyoming Seminary Dominates Eastern States Classic, Palacio Repeats as Champion

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By Betsy Veysman

Five 2011 Eastern States champions took the mat this weekend in Loch Sheldrake, New York looking to repeat their title runs.  Only Dylan Palacio did.

The Long Beach senior, who won in the 145 pound class a year ago, stood on top of the podium at 152 on Saturday night.  He did it in impressive fashion, cruising to the finals, which he won in a hard fought 8-5 battle with one of the top seniors in the country, Cornell recruit Brian Realbuto.

“Winning Eastern States means a lot to me,” Palacio said. “I went in with the mentality that I was going to win it.  Brian [Realbuto] is a great wrestler and I have a lot of respect for him.  It was a really great match, a really exciting match and I was happy to be able to put it all out there on the mat.”

The match was tied after two periods, with Realbuto registering an early takedown in the first and Palacio earning two escapes.  The third period, however, featured back and forth action and a flurry of points.  With less than 20 seconds left and Palacio holding a 6-5 lead, Realbuto got in on a shot that Palacio fought off before notching a takedown of his own at the buzzer.

“My strategy was to not stop wrestling because Brian scores from anywhere,” Palacio said.  “I knew I had to hand fight heavy with him.  At the end, when I got called for stalling, it took everything I had in my body to kick out of his shot.  I knew I didn’t need to score again but when the opportunity was there, I had to take it.”

Palacio said that winning the tournament was one of his goals for the season, but the most important goal is one that has eluded him in his high school career to date.  He has yet to win a New York state title in Albany after placing third in 2011 and fourth in 2010.

“I can sum up this season for me easily — one dream, one chance.  I have only one chance left to win a state title.  Last year I lost to a wrestler I beat easily earlier in the season. I was a little sloppy at times last year, a little wild. Now, I feel like I’m wrestling with controlled aggression.  I don’t feel like anyone can match my pace.”

Palacio, who has gone 24-0 this season at 152 and 160 pounds, hasn’t yet settled on a weight class for the remainder of the campaign.

“It’s still up in the air,” he said. “But for Eastern States, I looked at the wrestlers who were coming and I knew if I wanted to be the best, I had to beat the best.  I saw that the 152 class was loaded and I knew that was where I wanted to be.”

Palacio, who was a Greco Roman All-American at Junior Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, is also a standout soccer player.  He has not decided on his future college yet, but he said he knows he wants to wrestle at the next level.

With Palacio’s title as well as a championship from 113-pounder Mark Raghunandan, Long Beach took third in the team race with 111.5 points.  Wyoming Seminary was the runaway winner with 248 points, 89 more than runner up Shenendehowa.  The Plainsmen had a pair of first place finishers in Nick Kelley at 132 and Tony Fusco at 195 as well as three additional placewinners.

Five of Seminary’s wrestlers earned top seeds in the event and all five –Evan Botwin (120), Dom Malone (126), Eric Morris (170), AJ Vizcarrondo (220) and Michael Johnson (285) — captured individual crowns.   The Pennsylvania school had six additional medalists, including fifth place finishers Ty White at 138 and Connor Wasson at 182.  Jack Walsh was seventh at 145 and three grapplers grabbed eighth for the Knights – Cohl Fulk (152), Ryan McMullan (160) and Matt Doggett (195).

Overall, Wyoming Seminary head coach Scott Green was pleased with his squad’s showing.

“I thought we wrestled well,” he said.  “Having five champions at a tournament of this magnitude is certainly gratifying for our program.  It was also great to have a lot of our other guys place, especially since it was the first time placing for a few of our guys this year.”

In particular, Green singled out the performance of 220-pound winner Vizcarrondo who earned bonus points in all five of his bouts, including a 14-4 major decision over Greene’s Kyle Stanton in the title match.

“AJ wrestled really well,” he said.  “He beat Stanton 1-0 earlier and then won big this time.  I feel like he made the adjustments he needed to make to widen the gap and improve.”

Green, who coached in the Empire State at Binghamton University, Oxford High School and the Shamrock Wrestling Club, was excited about bringing his team to the Eastern States Classic for the first time.

“I was at the first Eastern States as a coach and there were teams from New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” he said. “I think the tournament got away from that a little bit, but we were happy to put it on our schedule this year.  It’s only a two hour trip for us and it’s an opportunity for us to see some tough kids we wouldn’t see anywhere else.”

With over 100 teams in attendance, there were plenty of tough kids.  In fact, of the 11 returning New York state champions who competed, only four made the finals (three won) and one other finished third.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing this tournament get even stronger,” Green said.  “If our presence can help it grow, that’s a good thing for New York wrestling.”

Championship Results:

99 pounds: Jose Rodriguez (Wantagh) major dec Nick Barbaria (New Rochelle), 9-0

106 pounds: Kevin Jack (Danbury) decision Justin Cooksey (MacArthur), 7-4

113 pounds: Mark Raghunandan (Long Beach) won by disqualification over Dylan Realbuto (Somers)

120 pounds: Evan Botwin (Wyoming Seminary) major dec Sam Recco (Lyndonville), 9-0

126 pounds: Dom Malone (Wyoming Seminary) major dec Maverick Passaro (Eastport-South Manor), 8-0

132 pounds: Nick Kelley (Shenendehowa) dec Nick Mauriello (Hauppauge), 10-4

138 pounds: Quinton Murphy (Holley Central) dec James Dekrone (John Glenn), 6-2

145 pounds: Jim Kloc (Iroquois) dec Dale White (John Jay), 7-6

152 pounds: Dylan Palacio (Long Beach) dec Brian Realbuto (Somers), 8-5

160 pounds: Frank Affronti (Wayne) dec Aaron Dudley (Hudson Falls), 4-3

170 pounds: Eric Morris (Wyoming Seminary) dec Zach Zupan (Canastota), 4-0

182 pounds: Tony Lock (Pioneer) tech fall McZiggy Richards (Wingate), 15-0

195 pounds: Tony Fusco (Shenendehowa) dec Austyn Hayes (Phoenix), 8-2

220 pounds: AJ Vizcarrondo (Wyoming Seminary) major dec Kyle Stanton (Greene), 14-4

285 pounds: Michael Johnson (Wyoming Seminary) fall Cole Lampman (Shenendehowa), 1:40

For full results, please follow the link:

 http://gimp.escapesports.on-rev.com/Results/2012/2012%20Eastern%20States.pdf

The 10th Annual Eastern States Classic Boasts Over 100 Teams, Top Competition

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By Betsy Veysman

Some have said that the Eastern States Classic serves as a preview of the New York State Championships.  Certainly, the tournament features some of the Empire State’s best talent.

The numbers speak for themselves. 12 of the top 20 Division I teams in the state will be at the event along with 7 of the top 20 Division II schools.  More than half of the state semifinalists in Albany last year competed in the event.  Twelve defending state champions will wrestle this weekend along with 17 state silver medalists.

“There are so many great wrestlers at Eastern States,” said Binghamton University head coach Pat Popolizio.  “With so many teams competing, when you win you know you’re at a level where you can compete in college.  Our roster at Binghamton is mostly made up of New York wrestlers and most of the recruits we’ve had have won or placed high at Eastern States.”

This year’s 10th annual edition, which will take place on January 13 and 14 at Sullivan Community College in Loch Sheldrake, New York should again display top-notch wrestling. Over 100 squads will compete, including representatives from Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Virginia.  With 580 wrestlers in the field, the action will begin at 10:40 a.m. on the 13th and will run through approximately 10 p.m. on Friday night.  Wrestling will resume on Saturday morning around 9:15 with medal round bouts scheduled to commence at 4:15 p.m.

With eight placers, Longwood won the team title by 36 points over runner up Shenendehowa in last year’s event, with Fox Lane, Long Beach and Hauppauge rounding out the top five.  Those teams are all back to contend, along with Intermat’s #42 team, Wantagh, which has eight grapplers seeded in the top 16, including #1 at 99 pounds Jose Rodriguez.  Shenendehowa offers seven seeded wrestlers, including two top seeds, Nick Kelley at 132 and Tony Fusco at 195.

The addition of prep power Wyoming Seminary should have an impact on the team race as well.  The Knights won the Bethlehem Holiday Classic and placed fourth and second, respectively, at the very tough Ironman and Beast of the East tournaments.  The Pennsylvania school has four nationally ranked wrestlers in the starting lineup: Dominick Malone (126), Eric Morris (170), AJ Vizzcarando (220) and Michael Johnson (285).  All four are top seeded this weekend, as is Evan Botwin at 120.  Seminary has 13 participants seeded in the top 16 in all.

“We feel adding Wyoming Seminary is a great plus because we get to see how our New York kids stand up against nationally ranked kids,” said Tournament Director Jeff Cuilty. “It’s a chance for some of the New York wrestlers to prove themselves.”

Five wrestlers who proved themselves last January as 2011 Eastern States individual champions return to defend their crowns:

  • Travis Passaro stood on top of the podium at 103 a year ago after edging state runner up Mark Raghunandan of Long Beach as the sixth seed. He will have perhaps an even tougher challenge this season as the 11th seed at 120 pounds, a weight filled with accomplished grapplers, including Jeff O’Lena of East Rochester, Matt Leshinger of Sayville, TJ Fabian of Shoreham Wading River, Justin Corradino of Warwick Valley, Mark West of Hauppauge (the 2010 Easterns States champion at 96 pounds), and Seminary’s Botwin.
  • On the other end of the scale, Kacee Saure of Holley, the 285-pound victor, will be back at the same weight.  His challengers will include two of the Empire State’s top heavyweights, Cole Lampman of Shenendehowa and Ethan Stanley of Saugerties as well the top seed, Wyoming Seminary’s Johnson, currently ranked #16 in the country by Intermat.
  • The Realbuto family from Somers boasted a pair of Eastern States trophies a year ago, with Dylan Realbuto the winner at 96 pounds and Brian the champion at 135.  After a state runner up finish as a sophomore, Dylan has moved up to the 113 pound class where some of the top opponents will include Raghunandan, Edgemont’s John Aslanian and Amsterdam’s Brandon Lapi.
  • Intermat’s #9 overall recruit Brian Realbuto outpointed Holley’s Quinton Murphy in a high scoring 17-12 bout in last season’s finals in a matchup of state champions.  This time, the Cornell-bound Realbuto will have another Eastern States winner in the bracket – Long Beach’s Dylan Palacio.
  • Palacio, who took third in New York in 2011 and is ranked in the Top 20 nationally, defeated Wayne’s Tory Cain 2-1 at 145 in the Eastern States title bout.  Besides the two defending champions, the 152-pound weight has some other firepower, including Seminary’s Cohl Fulk, Westfield’s Beau Donahue, Longwood’s Nick Hall, South Lakes’ Ryan Forrest and Super 32 placer John Keck from Shoreham Wading River.

Murphy became the winningest wrester in New York high school history last weekend when he captured the Niagara Frontier Officials Wrestling Tournament to earn his 276th career triumph.  He has earned many titles during his career, including three state championships, but has taken third and second the last two years at Eastern States.

The Indiana recruit will look to add another crown to his resume at a loaded 138-pound class which includes another second place finisher from the 2011 Eastern States, John Glenn’s James Dekrone as well as former state placers Malik Rasheed of Longwood, Brendan Goldup of LaSalle and Anthony Finocchiaro of Canastota.  Ty White of Wyoming Seminary will also take the mat at the Paul Gerry Fieldhouse, as will a long list of other top Empire State wrestlers including Shenendehowa’s David Almaviva, Westfield’s Derek Arnold, CBA/Jamesville Dewitt’s Aaron Benedict, Hauppauge’s Sam Schwartzapfel, Wantagh’s Dan McDevitt and Fox Lane’s Tom Grippi.

“138 is definitely a class that jumps out as really strong and deep,” Cuilty said. “There will be some great wrestling there.”

The same can be said of the tournament as a whole.

For a full listing of the seeds for the 2011 Eastern States, please follow the link:

http://sectionixwrestling.com/

Arujau Returns to New York to Wrestle for the Big Red

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By Betsy Veysman

Nick Arujau is back to the state where he made a name for himself on the wrestling mat.   After also considering Penn, the Syosset native will join the Cornell squad on Jan 23, as second semester classes begin.

The three-time state champion registered a 23-8 record as a true freshman at American University during the 2010-11 campaign at 125 pounds, but decided to make a move from the Washington, DC based school.

“I didn’t really fit in there very well,” he said.  “I thought it was time for a change.  I really wanted an Ivy League education along with a great wrestling program.  After my official visit, I knew Cornell was where I wanted to be.”

Although his debut in a Big Red singlet won’t be for a few weeks, he has been preparing for quite some time.  He moved to Ithaca in August and has trained with the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club while taking classes at a local college.  He has spent considerable time working out with 2009 NCAA champion Troy Nickerson and four-year Big Red starter Corey Manson while also being coached by three-time All-American Mack Lewnes.

“They have really been helping me out, fixing my mistakes,” Arujau said.  “One of the big differences between last year and this year is the one-on-one attention I’ve been getting.“

According to Arujau, this attention has helped him improve in other ways as well.

“I think the biggest thing I’ve picked up this year is discipline,” he said.  “I follow my diet better and I’m just more disciplined in general.  I also lift hard, which isn’t something I did a lot of in the past.“

Torn ligaments in his fingers kept him out of the first few tournaments of the season, but he made a strong debut at the Nittany Lion Open in December, taking second place at 133 pounds behind Virginia Tech’s Devin Carter, the nation’s 3rd ranked grappler.  During his run in State College, Arujau went 4-1.

“It was good to get on the mat again,” he said. “I was kind of nervous wrestling at 133 for the first time because I wasn’t sure if I was big enough for the weight.  But I went out hard and it worked out in the end.”

This past weekend, Arujau earned fifth place at one of college wrestling’s most challenging in-season events, the Southern Scuffle.   After pinning #19 Garrett Drucker in the second round, Arujua lost a 12-10 battle to eventual champion Chris Dardanes of Minnesota in a match he led early.

“I was upset at myself for losing the big lead I had going into the second period in the semifinals,” he said.  “But it’s a plus in a way because I now know that I need to work more on my conditioning.  I gave up a bunch of stalling points. I’m hoping to learn from it and move on to improve.”

Arujau finished the tournament strong in the fifth place bout with a decision over #20 Aaron Kalil of Navy.

“Overall I thought it was a great experience for me,” he said.  “I felt great at 133.  I was actually under weight on both days.”

Now, Arujau must wait for the start of the second semester to get his opportunity to join the five-time defending EIWA champions.   Joe Stanzione manned the 133 spot for the Big Red in the opening season dual against Minnesota but has since moved up to 141 pounds.  Freshman Nik Pena has taken the starting role and has recorded a 9-7 mark in his rookie year.   Arujau is excited for his opportunity, at whatever weight is needed.

“I can’t wait,” he said.  “I’m really excited for a chance to wrestle for Cornell.  I think I made the perfect decision. I’ve already made vast improvements in my wrestling and I’m going to get an Ivy education.  In my eyes, there’s nothing better.”