Category Archives: Section 11

Super 32 Qualifier Recap: Restrepo and Feola Win Titles; Calderone Takes Third and Several NYers Earn Fourth

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It’s less than 60 days until some huge national preseason tournaments begin, including the Super 32 Challenge in North Carolina.  After Sunday’s qualifying event in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, we know some of the New York wrestlers that will be heading down to the Tar Heel state in late October to battle for the Super 32 championship belt.

Jakob Restrepo of Sachem East is one of them.  Representing Vougar’s Honors Wrestling (VHW), the Section 11 grappler went 5-0 to take first place at 145 pounds.  Along the way, he outscored his opponents 20-4, including a 3-0 victory in the title bout over Frank Carrozza of Pennsylvania.

Also winning his weight was Walt Whitman’s Vincent Feola at 220 pounds.  Feola made quick work of the competition, registering pins in 1:08 and :43 to capture the crown. (Carter Cooper of Falconer was third).

Feola’s high school teammate Joe Calderone also saw success, nabbing third at 113 pounds with a 5-1 mark.  Three of those wins were by bonus points (two majors and a fall).  To capture bronze, Calderone topped fellow New Yorker Jesse Dellavecchia of East Islip.  Dellavecchia also had five victories on Sunday on his way to fourth.

A number of other Empire State grapplers took fourth in the high school division as well.  They included several wrestlers representing Ascend, such as Mike D’Angelo (Commack, 132), Sam Ward (Locust Valley, 138) and Christian Briody (126) as well 631 Elite’s James Szymanski (Shoreham-Wading River, 120).  D’Angelo and Briody won five matches apiece while Ward traveled a different path.  The Section 8 standout began with a sudden victory loss in his first bout to Travis Roper of Pennsylvania.  He then responded by winning seven in a row in the consolations, including a 9-3 triumph in a rematch with Roper, before notching fourth.

The top four placers in the high school action qualified for early entry into the Super 32 Challenge.  Just missing top four status were the following grapplers: Matteo DeVincenzo (106), Danny Murray (113), Ben Lamantia (120), Joe Russ (126), Derek Holcomb (170), and Jeffrey Lombardi (170).

At the middle school level, a pair of New Yorkers grabbed top three spots, as 631 Elite’s Zachary Redding was the runner up at 70 pounds and VHW’s Ryan Meisner was third at 80.

The Super 32 Challenge takes place October 26-27 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

For the brackets from the event, see here.

Ready for Year 3 at NYWAY: G2's Generous Gift Puts Technology on Track (and More on the Upcoming Season)

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The use of certified referees? Check.

The use of uniform technology across all events? Now, that’s possible as well.

After the conclusion of NYWAY’s second year of operations in 2012-13, the organization’s leadership talked about what to focus on to continue to improve in Year 3.  Officiating and technology were high on the list.

With officiating, the leadership agreed to move forward with all certified referees in the coming year.

However, in order to standardize technology, a significant amount of hardware was necessary.  During the discussion on this topic at the NYWAY Retreat this spring, Western Region Director (and co-owner of the G2 World Wrestling Academy) Adam Burgos thought he might have a solution. He excused himself to call his G2 business partner Todd Wheaton, the President at Maven Technologies, a certified electronics recycler.

“We talked about it and I asked Todd if there was something we could do to help,” Burgos said. “A few minutes later he said we could.  I came back into the meeting and told everyone G2 would take care of the laptops and monitors.  You could hear a pin drop.  It wasn’t grandstanding, but about our love of the sport.  I’ve been one of those parents at tournaments over the years, wishing things were going more smoothly and saying if I could help, I would.  This was the chance. It just so happened that we could help fill a need and we jumped at the opportunity.”

Courtesy of G2 World Wrestling Academy

In mid August, 64 laptops and monitors were dropped off by G2 to NYWAY.  And now the improvements in the IT area will begin, including the use of Track Wrestling to assist with registration, event management and more.

“The level of competition brings kids to a tournament, but what keeps families, parents and wrestlers coming back is how well that tournament is run,” Burgos said. “Technology is such a big part of that.”

“By running all of our tournaments through the TrackWrestling system, we are able to not only offer top notch, consistent tournaments, but all of the results automatically enter into a statistical management system so that we will be able to track all the results,” added NYWAY President Clint Wattenberg. “This will enable us to potentially develop leaderboards, rankings, seeding and eventually postseason awards based on these statistics.  We were hoping to trial one region on this system this year, but the incredibly generous gift from Adam [Burgos] and G2 has empowered us as an organization to roll this out statewide this coming season*.”

One place the technology will certainly be useful is at the NYWAY state championships, which will be held on March 15-16, 2014 at Onondoga Community College in Syracuse.  Last year, over 900 wrestlers competed at the event, with representation from all corners of New York.

That competition will signal the end of the season. But there’s a lot to look forward to beforehand, including the kickoff in late December with a pair of events on back-to-back days at SUNY Sullivan in Loch Sheldrake.

First, on December 28, a dual tournament will be held with each of the eight NYWAY regions entering a squad made up of wrestlers from Kindergarten to sixth grade. Then, the following day, an individual tournament will take place in the same location.

However, there will be plenty of participation in other events as well.  For instance, the NYWAY Western Region will take on the Far West Region (essentially a Section 5 vs. Section 6 clash) at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center on September 21.

In addition, NYWAY will send representatives to high level competitions such as the Freak Show in Las Vegas, the Super 32 Challenge in North Carolina, the Junior Mid Cals in the Golden State, the Border Wars in Cleveland and the NUWAY National Duals in Columbus, among others.

“The organization wants to keep providing opportunities for New York wrestlers to get great competition to continue to develop,” Burgos said. “Over the last few years, we’ve seen where we need to improve.  We believe Year 3 of NYWAY will be much better than Year 1 and Year 2 and that the future is bright.  It’s an exciting time to be a parent, a coach and a fan here in New York.”

———————

 

 

* Wattenberg mentioned that individual tournaments may opt out, however, trained pairing directors will be available across the state to assist with the new technology or run the tournaments.

'Ready to Brawl': Suffolk Native Jenna Burkert Heads to Bulgaria Looking for a Junior World Title

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Representing the United States at the FILA Junior World Championships is nothing new for Jenna Burkert.  The Suffolk County native will take the mat for the Red, White and Blue for the third consecutive year, this time in Sofia, Bulgaria on August 15 at 59 kg/130 pounds.

The path to the Junior Worlds had a few challenges in 2013.  In January, she suffered a shoulder injury, which forced her to spend time away from training.  Still, she returned to the mat, including for the US Open, where she took fourth.

“I went through a lot of rehab,” she said. “But I think I had a pretty fast recovery for the injury I had.  It’s pretty much taken until now [late July] to feel really good about my shoulder.  Actually, I think my shoulders feel even stronger now than before I got hurt.”

Courtesy of Jenna Burkert

In addition to her injury, Burkert found herself in a tough position at the Body Bar FILA Junior Nationals, which are the qualifying event for the Junior World Team.  It didn’t look that way initially, as she cruised through the early portions of the tournament and won the first period of the best-of-three finals series against Kayla Miracle 7-0.  But in the second stanza, Miracle responded with a pin to capture the first match.

“That was definitely unexpected for me and many others,” Burkert said. “I couldn’t believe I got pinned and my mom was in the stands freaking out.  She was expecting me to be freaking out too.  Years ago, I don’t know if I would have made it through the rest of the matches.  But it’s the best thing that could have happened to me mentally.  It showed how much I’ve grown.  Things happen in wrestling. I laughed it off, relaxed and came back to dominate the rest of the way.”

Indeed, she did. Burkert won the final two contests over Miracle by 1-0, 1-0 and 6-0, 3-3 scores to earn the spot on Team USA.

She hopes to keep the ball rolling in Bulgaria.  In her first trip to the Junior Worlds in 2011, Burkert went 2-2 to earn eighth place.  Last year, she faced China’s Jiamin Feng in her opening bout.  In a back-and-forth affair, the Chinese wrestler picked up the fall in the third after 2-2 and 3-3 scores in the opening two stanzas.

“It was a pretty crazy match,” Burkert said. “I had her on her back for a while then I got caught. It was really upsetting for me.  But it’s all a process. I learned a lot.  Sometimes, in the past, I didn’t think I could keep up with the best.  But I know that my opponents are not supernatural with superpowers.  I’ve seen that I’m right there brawling with them. I know things will get hard and I may get scored on, but that doesn’t mean the match is over.  I’m really excited.  I’m ready to leave it all on the mat in my last year at the Junior Worlds.”

In addition to the experiences she had at previous international competitions, Burkert has seen top wrestlers just about every day over the past year as a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

“It’s been really good,” she said. “It’s a different environment – everyone here is an athlete focused on making the Olympic Team. It’s inspiring to be around the best in many sports. My technique is so much better and there’s no one better than the coaches here. And the room is intense.  You get your butt kicked every day, but you keep coming back and getting stronger.”

A number of the athletes Burkert sees on a frequent basis are repeat World team members as well.  She’s excited to be making the journey with them.

“I love my teammates and I’ve known them all for a while,” she said. “It’s cool to keep making the teams together.  We know what to expect and how to get the nerves out. We also know how to push each other and also be there for each other.  One of the best things about wrestling is being able to travel and make great memories with your friends.”

She’s also ready to make some great memories on the mat.

“I think I’m going to win it this time,” she said.  “I’ve said it a million times before.  I was just telling my coach that I can see myself up on the podium.  In the past, I’ve really wanted to win it but I didn’t really picture myself doing it.  Now, I’ve been to training camps, I’ve wrestled everyone. I’m ready to brawl this year.  I’m not coming home with anything less than gold.”

1000 Islands Duals: Superior Wins the Jr High Event; Buffalo Wrestling Club Takes Second in the HS Division

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It was a bit of deja vu for the Superior Wrestling Academy team at the 1000 Islands Duals – in a very good way.

A year after winning the Junior High title at the summer event, Superior did it again, capturing first place with a 4-0 record on the opening day of competition in Clayton, New York.

Superior Wrestling Academy, Courtesy of Gary Ferro

The team began with a pair of dominant performances – topping Lockport and Midlakes. The semifinals round was a bit of a different story, as Nazareth, Pennsylvania pushed the squad to the limit in a 31-28 battle.

According to Gary Ferro, who coached the team along with Ed Schafer, Superior trailed going into the last three weights.  However, back-to-back falls by David Crow and Brandon Cousino at 155 and 165 pounds provided an insurmountable lead going into heavyweight.  (Superior forfeited at the unlimited class throughout the event).

“We faced Nazareth last year too and both times it was definitely our toughest match,” Ferro said. “They have an excellent team and it went back and forth, but our guys came through at the end.  Those two pins were huge.  [David Crow] was losing 4-0 but came back to get the pin.  Then [Brandon Cousino] followed with another one.  It was a great win to get us to the finals.”

The championship bout was less suspenseful, with Superior putting together a double-digit victory over Delaware Valley to finish first.

“The kids enjoyed coming back and taking a second championship and it was definitely exciting for us coaches too,” Ferro said. “Ultimately, for us, it’s about putting the kids on the mat in the summer and seeing them continue to get better. 1000 Islands Duals is the place to go to do that.  It’s amazing to see the wrestlers dedicating their time at this time of year.  That’s something we get excited about.”

Leading the way for Superior were undefeated wrestlers Ethan Ferro (75), Brian Courtney (105) and Mike Venosa (119) as well as Michael Gonyea (82) and David Crow (155), who both finished with one loss.

“We really enjoyed the tournament,” Ferro said. “We’ll be ready for next year and we’ll be looking to three-peat.”

(It was a good weekend overall for Superior, as the High School squad went 4-1 with the lone loss coming in a 32-31 match versus Northeast Elite, a top 8 placer.  The squad, coached by Ferro and Mark Friske, won the Blue Bracket).

Buffalo Wrestling Club in the Finals Again

In the High School action, another New York team made the finals – Buffalo Wrestling Club.  According to coach Keith Maute, the squad just missed out on the title for the second consecutive year at the 1000 Islands Duals.

“We were second last year too,” Maute said. “Last year against Bound Brook (NJ), it came down to the last match.  This year, it came down to criteria.”

Indeed, the championship dual between Buffalo Wrestling Club and Doughboy ended in a 27-27 deadlock.  However, the Massachusetts team was declared the winner using the tiebreakers.

The Buffalo WC squad, which Maute said was made up of wrestlers from the Cobra Wrestling Academy, cruised through the first three meets of the event, losing just a handful of matches along the way.

In the semifinals, however, things got more difficult in an eight-point triumph over Northeast Elite.

According to Maute, his group jumped ahead in the lightweights, but the opposition fought back to within five heading into 195 pounds.  A victory by James Empfield at that weight in the ultimate tiebreaker was crucial, as was another win at 220 by Tyler Hall to clinch a spot in the title match.

That championship dual followed a similar pattern initially.  Once again, the Buffalo WC built up an early advantage.  In fact, the squad led 27-4 going into 160 pounds, fueled by a number of grapplers who went undefeated throughout the tournament – Dane Heberlein (100), Kellen Devlin (130), Cody McGregor (137) and Dakota Gardner (145/152).  In addition, Troy Keller (107), Tito Colom (115), Danny Graham (145/152) and the previously mentioned Empfield (195) each lost only one bout during the weekend, according to Maute.

However, Doughboy responded to 23-point deficit by capturing the remainder of the matches, resulting in the 27-27 score.

“Doughboy was a tough team,” Maute said. “We were winning big, but then we got beaten up top where they were very strong. It was tough, but the guys wrestled well and it was a good tournament overall.”

Superior Wrestling Academy – Jr High Championship Team (provided by G. Ferro)
75-Ethan Ferro
82-Michael Gonyea
90-Drew Schafer
98-Trent Nadaeu
105-Brian Courtney
112-Tanner Cook
119-Mike Venosa
127-Emerson Block
135-Josh Shamp
145-Jake Ginter
155-David Crow
165-Brandon Cousino
Unlimited- None
Buffalo Wrestling Club (Cobra) High School (provided by K. Maute)
100-Dane Heberlein
107-Troy Keller/Hector Colom
115-Tito Colom/Michael Wisniewski
123-Drew Marra
130-Kellen Devlin
137-Cody McGregor/Freddy Eckles/Maulo Wawior
145-Dakota Gardner
152-Danny Graham
160-Lucas McKeever/Garrett Smead
170-Richie Jones
185-Marques Buchanan
195-James Empfield/Tyler Hall
220-Alex Jones
285-Nick Jones
Superior Wrestling Academy High School (provided by G. Ferro)
100-Trent Nadeau
107-Tanner Cook
115-Mike Venosa
123-Dandre Norman
130-Blake Jackson
137-Freddy Eckles
145-Laken Cook
154-Vinny Romeo
162-Jordan Torbitt
172-James Lukaszonas
185-Mark Friske
197-Ben Honis
220-Landry Cook

Team NYWAY Takes 3rd and 631 Elite Grabs 7th; Diakomihalis Brothers, DeVincenzo Among Title Winners at NUWAY Summer Championships

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On the first weekend in August, a number of Empire State wrestlers headed to the Jersey Shore to face top notch competition at the NUWAY Summer Championships.  New York was well represented in both the individual (five champions) and dual (two top seven teams) action.  For more details, read on.

Dual Tournament

On Saturday, 26 squads from six different states took the mat to crown a dual meet champion.  Both of the New York entries – Team NYWAY and 631 Elite fared well, with third and seventh place showings, respectively.  Several nationally-ranked grapplers participated, such as the top high school wrestler in the country – Chance Marstellar of Pennsylvania.

Team NYWAY, Courtesy of Adam Burgos

Team NYWAY‘s bronze medal came after 4-1 record.  The group began the day with two convincing victories – a 46-2 triumph over Paramus featuring five pins, and a 37-10 result against Ohio’s Titan Wrestling Club.  The New Yorkers lost just one contested bout during those meets.

The squad then moved on to the Gold Bracket with the other pool winners, and the results were similar early on.  Against Team Triumph Maize, the team got off to a great start courtesy of Kelan McKenna and Yianni Diakomihalis, who picked up a pin and technical fall at 102 and 108 to build an 11-0 cushion.  NYWAY then clinched the 30-14 victory down the stretch with four consecutive victories — by Connor Lapresi (145), Anthony Deprez (155), Quinn Zsido (167) and Collin Pittman (182).

That led to the semifinals, where NYWAY and Michigan’s Flat River Chubb Chubb each won six bouts. However, the squad from the Wolverine State rode a pair of falls, a major and two forfeits to a tight 23-21 victory. (Forfeits were worth two points).

The New Yorkers responded well to their only setback of the day, however, with a dominant 33-6 performance against the Michigan Gold Pitbulls in the consolation bracket.  In fact, the outcome was never in doubt as New York won the first nine matches to earn a place in the bronze match against Triumph Maize.

A number of NYWAY wrestlers went unbeaten on Saturday, including 5-0 grapplers Yianni Diakomihalis (two pins, three technical falls at 108) and Connor Lapresi at 145. Kelan McKenna and Theo Powers combined for a perfect record at 102, while Collin Pittman won all of his matches at 182.

Meanwhile, Long Island-based 631 Elite also began Saturday in dominant fashion, easing through Pool D action with a trio of commanding victories – 30-8 over Freehold Regional High School, 46-2 against Team Parsippany and 43-5 versus Long Branch.  So, it was on to the Gold Bracket.

Against Michigan’s Flat River Chubb Chubb, 631 Elite got off to a hot start, capturing decisions in the first four contests. (The wins were by Matteo Devincenzo (102), Peter Pappas (108), Jesse Dellavecchia (117) and Evan Corso (125)).  However, the Michigan squad grabbed six of the final eight matches to come out on top 27-18.  The next dual, against Triumph Maize ended in an 18-18 deadlock, but the New Jersey team was awarded the victory on criteria, and it was on to the seventh place match for 631 Elite.

The wrestlers ended the day in style, besting the Mat Factory Wrestling Club (Pennsylvania) 22-16 to take seventh. Leading the way throughout the event were a trio of competitors who went 6-0 – Matteo DeVincenzo (102 pounds), Peter Pappas (108) and Jimmy Leach (145).

Individual Tournament

Several individuals also stood out in Long Branch on Friday, as wrestlers took the mat in three different age groups.  New York had at least one champion at each level (Elementary, Middle School, High School).

The Diakomihalis family picked up titles in both the Elementary (Greg at 64/68 pounds) and High School (Yianni at 108) divisions. Both grapplers went 3-0 with each of their victories by bonus points.  Greg had a pin and a pair of majors in which he outscored his opponents 25-2.  Yianni, a 2013 New York state champion as an eighth grader, had a major decision against fellow Empire Stater Peter Pappas sandwiched in between two falls.  Pappas, from Nassau County, rebounded to take bronze.

Courtesy of Adam Burgos

Another returning state finalist, Matteo DeVincenzo of Suffolk County, won a challenging bracket on Friday in which the top three placers were medalists at the Times Union Center in February.  Devincenzo began with a technical fall over James Verbeyst in round one before topping Mexico’s Theo Powers 4-2 in the semis.  Then, in the title bout, Devincenzo blanked VVS Youth Wrestling’s Kelan McKenna, 4-0.  Powers came back for third.

There was more gold for New York in the High School event, with 2012 All-Stater Jimmy Overhiser of Corning, winning at 117.  The Wyoming Seminary-bound grappler began with a fall over an Ohio foe and followed with a 7-2 triumph over state placer Jesse Dellavecchia of 631 Elite in the semis. He then earned a 5-3 win over Val Miele.  Another New Yorker, Jon Errico of Iowa Style, lost only to Miele and took third.

Representing the Empire State as a champion at the Middle School level was David Flynn of Lions, who registered a pair of falls in :49 and 2:00 to win at 145 pounds.

Individual champions Yianni and Greg Diakomihalis were among the competitors that didn’t have enough wrestling after Friday and Saturday’s action.  They traveled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania along with fellow G2 World Wrestling Academy grapplers Collin Pittman, Ryan Burgos, Anthony Deprez and Kyle Pittman late on Saturday to participate at the American State Games on Sunday.

The following are the members of Team NYWAY and 631 Elite and the individual champions from the NUWAY Summer Championships.

Team NYWAY

102 Theo Powers

102 Kelan McKenna

108 Yianni Diakomihalis

117 Jimmy Overhiser

125 Eric Januszkiewicz

130 Bryan Lantry

138 Richie Burke

145 Connor Lapresi

155 Anthony Deprez

167 Quinn Zsido

182 Collin Pittman

 

631 Elite

102 Matteo Devincenzo

108 Peter Pappas

117 Jesse Dellavecchia

125 Evan Corso

130 Tristin Devincenzo

138 Chris Mauriello

145 Jimmy Leach

155 Luke Drugac

167 Dennis Ferro

182 Jake Horton

200 Christian Araneo

Individual Tournament Champions

Elementary – 45/51  Joshua Jasionowicz of Peak Performance
Elementary – 64/68 Greg Diakomihalis of NYWAY
Elementary – 78/84 John Martin Best of Parkersburg Cougars
Elementary – 90/97 Anthony Russo of Unattached
Middle School – 75/90 Joey Carmichael of Scorpions
Middle School – 100 James Verbeyst of PAWS Elite
Middle School – 105/119 Robbie Garcia of Vernon
Middle School – 126/135 Zachary Rooks of Unattached
Middle School – 145 David Flynn of Lions
High School – 102 Matteo DeVincenzo of Unattached
High School – 108 Yianni Diakomihalis of NYWAY
High School – 117 Jimmy Overhiser of G2 World wrestling Academy
High School – 125 Nick Farro of X-Cel
High School – 130 Zack Cooper of Flat River Chubb Chubb
High School – 138 Jordan Hall of Flat River Chubb Chubb
High School – 145 Jesse Rodgers of Mat Factory
High School – 155 Nick Vandermeer of Flat River Chubb Chubb
High School – 167 Devon Pingel of Flat River Chubb Chubb
High School – 182 Tommy Sleigh of Mat Factory
High School – 200 Garett Stehley of Flat River Chubb Chubb
High School – 295 Ryan Prescott of Flat River Chubb Chubb

Who From New York is in the Updated National Rankings?

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Last week, Flowrestling released the post-Fargo national rankings.  10 New Yorkers are currently included, with two grapplers positioned sixth in their weight classes — Nick Piccininni of Ward Melville at 120 and James O’Hagan of Seaford at 285.  The Empire State grapplers have combined for nine state titles at this point in their careers.

The New Yorkers ranked are:

8th at 106 pounds: Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton, Section 5, Freshman)

6th at 120 pounds: Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville, Section 11, Junior)

17th at 132 pounds: Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich, Section 4, Junior)

8th at 138 pounds: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Cheektowoga, Section 6, Senior)

10th at 152 pounds: Louis Hernandez (Mepham, Section 8, Senior)

11th at 160 pounds: Corey Rasheed (Longwood, Section 11, Senior)

13th at 160 pounds: Burke Paddock (Warsaw, Section 5, Senior)

9th at 170 pounds: Christian Dietrich (Greene, Section 4, Sophomore)

15th at 220 pounds: Rich Sisti (Monsignor Farrell, CHSAA, Senior)

6th at 285 pounds: James O’Hagan (Seaford, Section 8, Senior)

2013 Northeast Youth Duals: Weaver Elite Takes Gold; Dane Heberlein, Jace Schafer and Scott Kropman Honored

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It’s not too often that the champions receive a trophy taller than themselves.  But at the fourth Annual Northeast Youth Duals in Hoosick Falls, that’s exactly what happened for the titlewinners from Weaver Elite (Pennsylvania).

“We like to have special awards,” said event organizer Michael LaPorte. “This year, the first place trophy was a seven-footer with a three-foot base.  You see the eyes light up when the kids see it.”

Weaver Elite, Courtesy of Christina Maag

In an event that featured wrestlers from “14 or 15 states”, according to LaPorte, the crown was decided by the slimmest of margins. In the final round on Sunday, a pair of 7-0 teams met in an exciting dual that ended in a tie. However, Weaver Elite took the hardware on the first tiebreaking criterion over New York Elite, a squad run by Superior Wrestling Academy.

“When the first whistle blew before the scheduled starting time of 9:30 on Saturday, we knew we were off to a good start,” LaPorte said. “The competition was great, especially on the second day.  Things tightened up on Sunday and we saw some unbelievable matches. You’d think you’re watching Cornell and Penn State going at it.  The level of competition just blew me away.”

It wasn’t just the championship bout that came down to the wire.  The fifth place meet, won by Olympic over Team Virginia, also ended in a deadlock. In that case, it took five tiebreaking criteria before the winner was determined.

A year ago, Apex NJ Elite took gold at the event, and this time the Garden State squad was third, defeating Team Maine for the bronze.

“The Maine team came in under the radar – I don’t think people knew what to expect from them,” LaPorte said. “They were a great bunch of guys and a great bunch of wrestlers that really impressed me.”

Heberlein with LaPorte, Courtesy Michael LaPorte

In addition to the showing of those squads, there were a number of standout individual performances.  Taking home Most Outstanding Wrestler (MOW) honors was Dane Heberlein of NY Elite, a grappler who competed for Alexander High this season.

“Dane Heberlein is an animal,” LaPorte said. “Weaver Elite was especially adamant about having him as Most Outstanding Wrestler – they were very impressed by the way he wrestled.  He’s an exceptional athlete.  I believe he will be in the small school state finals this year at 99 pounds. He’s that good.”

According to LaPorte, a number of other competitors were in the mix for MOW, including last year’s winner Brian Courtney (G2 World Wrestling Academy) and a few wrestlers who didn’t give up a point, including Anthony Cirillo and Patrick Glory.  Also in the running was Frankie Gissendanner, who was a state qualifier for Penfield at 126 pounds as a seventh grader in 2012-13.

Jace Schafer of Superior Wrestling Academy was the recipient of another honor handed out at the event – the Scott Kropman Never Give Up Award. Kropman, a coach at G2 World Wrestling Academy and tremendous supporter of wrestling, is battling cancer.

It wasn’t the only way Kropman was honored over the weekend. Donations by teams such as the Hoosick Falls Wrestling Club, NY Elite and Team Virginia as well as others in attendance resulted in over $400 to help Kropman with his medical expenses.  In addition, all of the competitors signed the tournament banner for Kropman, who wasn’t able to be there.

“Last year, we had a similar award in honor of [Monroe Woodbury wrestler] Vinny Vespa,” LaPorte said. “Vinny obviously had a full recovery and not only recovered but wrestled this year [and placed at the state tournament].  It really means so much to be able to do something for these guys.  If we can make any difference at all, we’ll give it the old college try to make it happen.  I made a speech and told everyone that before they fall asleep at night to think of Scott Kropman and then fall asleep with good thoughts and hope something positive comes out of it.”

There were many positives during the weekend. And it looks like the 2014 version of the Northeast Youth Duals is on the path to even more good things.  Despite expanding the event to 14 teams this year, LaPorte had to turn squads away.  He said every group verbally committed to returning next summer, along with the strong possibility of some West Coast flavor.

“A team from Gilroy, California wanted to come this year,” LaPorte said. “But the date conflicted with their biggest fundraiser of the year.  My phone rang on Sunday night and it was the California coach asking if we approved a date change for next year so they could be here.  It will be exciting to have some California kids come out and roll with our East Coast kids.  It will raise the level of the event.”

The level was high in 2013.  And LaPorte wished to acknowledge the many people who helped make it happen.

“There were some great people who played important roles,” he said. “Our club secretary Shannon Roberson went beyond the call of duty with things like custom made scorebooks and brochures to make it a great experience for everybody.  Chris Marsh and my brother Paco LaPorte were great.  And it couldn’t happen without the whole community behind me.  It was a true community effort in Hoosick Falls. I appreciate everything the village has done. Because of the efforts of so many and great competition, I think the event was even more well received than in the past.”

 

Weaver Elite – Lineup (*From Weaver Elite Website)

48 Ben Finelli

53 CJ Horvath

58 Evan Maag

63 Nico Nardone

68 Wil Guida

73 Tal Flemming

78 Josh Stahl

85 Cole Handlovic

93 LJ Khan

99 Ben Huber

105 Devon Britton

112 Reed Custer

119 Chase Anklum

126 Aiden Montiverdi

134 Mike Labriola

150 Kade Moisey

Summer Heat 2013: Over 400 Wrestlers Compete With All-Staters D'Angelo, Weber, Barbaria and Calderone Taking Titles

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TJ Fabian, Louis Hernandez, Carlos Toribio and Mike Hughes were all state champions in 2013. But way before standing on the top of the podium in Albany, they took gold in dominant fashion at the Long Island Wrestling Association (LIWA) Ken Lesser Memorial Summer Heat event in July of 2012.  They weren’t the only champions from last year’s “Summer Heat” to make All-State in 2013, however, as wrestlers such as Jesse Dellavecchia, Brendan Dent, Sam Melikian, Dan McDevitt, Chris Chambers and Kevin Tynes did as well.

Over 400 wrestlers took the mat on Saturday on the campus of Hofstra University in this year’s edition of the tournament.  We’ll have to wait until February to see if this summer’s titlewinners will make their marks in the state capital once again, but there certainly were several impressive performances, including championship showings by multiple returning New York State placers.

2012 medalist Joe Calderone was one of them.  The Walt Whitman standout took first in the 116 pound class, defeating Kareem Askew of Scorpion, 5-1 for first. At the next weight, (123 pounds), New Rochelle’s two-time placer Nick Barbaria (Ascend) also won it all, edging Kyle Scully of Newfield, 3-2 in the finals.

In addition, Mike D’Angelo of Commack, who was fifth at 120 pounds in Albany in the winter, topped his fellow Ascend Wrestling Club competitor Travis Alexander for the 135 pound crown. D’Angelo had a dominant day that included two pins and a 28-1 point advantage over his opponents in his other three bouts.

Like D’Angelo, Nick Weber of VHW (Vougar’s Honors Wrestling), was fifth at the Times Union Center in February.  The Kings Park grappler continued his very busy “offseason” with the title at 198 pounds, beating state qualifier Nathanael Rose in the semis 5-4 before finishing his run with a 7-4 triumph over Jake Horton of Pat-Med.

Who else earned top billing in Hempstead? After placing at the NHSCA Nationals in Virginia Beach in the spring, Vincent Feola of Walt Whitman collected a crown at 223 pounds over Bryan Tenny of Farmingdale, a 2013 state qualifier.

Another wrestler who appeared in Albany, Malik Grant of Warriors Wrestling, captured the 109-pound class with two pins and a 12-1 major in the title tilt. Kyle Mock of Huntington was similarly in control throughout the day on his path to the 102-pound crown, notching a pair of pins and two five-point decisions.

James Szymanski of 631 Elite went 5-0 at 129, besting Evan Corso 10-8 for the gold.  Ascend’s Jake Einbinder won it all at 155, while Ken Gallagher provided another title for VHW at 173.  Also taking first prize were: Mohammed Farhan of Scorpion at 141, Eduardo Ramirez of Amityville at 148, Greg Cherry of Connetquot at 163, David Hamil of Mission WC at 185 and Marcus Rivera of East Islip at 288.

While the event has historically been run on seven mats, that number simply wasn’t enough over the weekend.  According to Steve Meehan, the Hofstra wrestlers and coaches brought an additional mat down from the second floor wrestling room.  Meehan said that otherwise, the event would have run an hour and a half longer due to the number of entrants.

What fueled the higher enrollment? The Open Division.

“Normally we get between 35 and 45 Open wrestlers,” Meehan said. “[On Saturday] we had 103 Open wrestlers.  I am not sure what to attribute this more than double turnout to. A few reasons that certainly helped are that we had wrestlers from the NCWA teams at Stony Brook and Suffolk County Community College, a good group of wrestlers from Uniondale led by Aljamain Sterling, and a group that came from Blackstone Wrestling Club in Rhode Island. There aren’t that many tournaments that have an Open division anymore and this gives wrestlers a much needed venue to compete.”

Many familiar names took advantage of that venue, including 2013 New York state placers such as TJ Fabian, Dan McDevitt, Brett Pastore and Andrew Psomas. [The final results in the Open Division are listed at the end of the article].

Besides providing an opportunity for wrestlers to see solid competition during the summer, the event has additional purposes, according to Meehan.

“One thing that we hope gets across, which we mentioned to the wrestlers before the start of the event, relates to the reason behind the name of our event,” Meehan said. “The name of our event was changed in 2010 to the Long Island Wrestling Association Ken Lesser “Summer Heat” to memorialize a great friend and volunteer from our organization, Mr. Ken Lesser. Ken was tragically killed by a drunk driver while on his way to pick up his daughter from the local library. Our message to the wrestlers is to learn from this experience and never drink and drive. We hope this message resonates with them.”

In addition to that message, the profits from the tournament provide more grapplers with the chance to improve in the sport.

“The Long Island Wrestling Association (LIWA) uses their funds to send need-based wrestlers to wrestling camps in the summer,” Meehan said.  “We send between 30-50 kids to camp each year.”

So on Saturday, more than 400 wrestlers from multiple states and age groups took the mat at Hofstra to hone their skills and help some good causes.

“We ended up starting late due to the turnout and adjustments will be made to prevent this from reoccurring next year,” Meehan said. “After wrestling began, though, things ran pretty smoothly and I think the event gave the wrestlers a great event with really good competition.”

For full results, see http://www.trackwrestling.com and search for Ken Lesser Summer Heat.

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Meehan wished to thank a number of people:

“There are so many people that the LIWA has to thank for making our event successful again this year. I am sure I will leave some people out, but here is at least a partial list. We want to thank Hofstra University; the Hofstra University wrestling coaching staff and wrestlers (many of the team’s wrestlers manned the scoring tables for the entire day); the members of the LIWA that handled the registration table and weigh-ins; Ed and Marcia Gould, who handled the computer input and ran the brackets; Tony Cipriano, who is the voice of the tournament and manned the microphone the entire day; the Hofstra wrestling trainer Andy Wetstein; and the amazing high school officials from both Sections 8 and 11 that did a terrific job throwing up the points all day.”

HIGH SCHOOL FINAL RESULTS:

102 Kyle Mock (Huntington) won by decision over Jacori Teemer (Long Beach) (Dec 5-0)
109 Malik Grant (Warriors Wrestling) won by major decision over Tony Novotny (CWC) (Maj 12-1)
116 Joe Calderone (Walt Whitman) won by decision over Kareem Askew (Scorpian) (Dec 5-1)
123 Nicholas Barbaria (Ascend) won by decision over Kyle Scully (Newfield HS) (Dec 3-2)
129 James Szymanski (631 Elite) won by decision over Evan Corso (631 Elite) (Dec 10-8)
135 Mike D`Angelo (Ascend) won by major decision over Travis Alexander (Ascend) (Maj 9-0)
141 Mohammed Farhan (Scorpian) won by decision over Thomas McLaughlin (MartinLuther Cougers) (Dec 7-3)
148 Eduardo Ramirez (Amityville) won by decision over Jimmy Leach (631 Elite) (Dec 1-0)
155 Jake Einbinder (Ascend) won by decision over Peter Pasqualino (Pat-Med Raiders) (Dec 8-1)
163 Greg Cherry (Connetquot) won by decision over John Vouzonis (Williston Pk) (Dec 9-3)
173 Ken Gallagher (VHW) won by forfeit over Joseph Russo (Rocky Point) (FF)
185 David Hamil (Mission WC) won by decision over Dominic Pirraglia (Shoreham-WR) (Dec 8-7)
198 Nick Weber (VHW) won by decision over Jake Horton (Pat-Med Raiders) (Dec 7-4)
223 Vincent Feola (Walt Whitman) won by decision over Bryan Tenny (Farmingdale) (Dec 7-3)
288 Marcus Rivera (East Islip) won by decision over Joe Sallitto (Huntington) (Dec 6-5)

OPEN FINAL RESULTS

OPEN – 108-119 Jamie Dunn (Mepham) won by tech fall over Andy Martinez (Brooklyn Wrestling Club) (TF 15-0)
OPEN – 126-143 Tyler Walsh (West Islip) won by decision over Kevin Powers (Team Gatto) (Dec 8-2)
OPEN – 132-145 Quamaine Thomas (The Alphas) won by decision over Kenny Albert (Hunter Hawks) (Dec 4-2)
OPEN – 145-148 Marvin Amazon (The Alphas) won by decision over Tj Fabian (Xcel) (Dec 8-2)
OPEN – 149-159 Aljamain Sterling (The Alphas) won by major decision over Chris Araoz (Ascend) (Maj 15-1)
OPEN – 154-162 Jordan Dyer (Brockport) won by decision over Joshua Ferenezy (Warriors Wrestling) (Dec 3-2)
OPEN – 162-169 Andrew Gray (West Islip) won by forfeit over Steven Rispoli (Brockport) (FF)
OPEN – 168-170 Gonzalo Farina (Long Beach) won by decision over Brian Quiroz (Valley Stream Central) (Dec 6-2)
OPEN – 171-175 Blake Fisher (Ballz Wrestling Clug) won by forfeit over Ryan Rheaume (Riverhead) (FF)
OPEN – 174-184 Jack McKeever (Cactus) won by decision over Andrew Psomas (Monsignor Farrell) (Dec 6-0)
OPEN – 186-198 Rrok Ndokaj (BTS) won by decision over Dan McDevitt (Ascend) (Dec 2-1)
OPEN – 198-213 Andrew Cole (Uniondale) won by decision over Zacary Kousa (Olympic) (Dec 5-4)
OPEN – 206-220 Christian Psomas (Staten Island) won by pin over Greg Martin (Kings Park) (Pin 0:30)
OPEN – 229-245 Brian Slattery (Unattached) won by forfeit over Chris Cardella (Walt Whitman) (FF)

Back to Long Island: State Champ Maverick Passaro Joins Hofstra

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Maverick Passaro is back on the Island.

After spending a year at Rutgers University, the former Eastport-South Manor state champion is now a member of the Hofstra Pride, where he plans to wrestle at 133 pounds in 2013-14.

Photo by BV

“It’s a much better fit for me,” Passaro said. “It’s really good to represent the Island and be part of building a team here with the best Long Island wrestlers.  I’m happy to be closer to home and I think I’ll also be able to pursue my career better at Hofstra.  They have the major that I want and I think it’s a better place for me as a wrestler.”

Another bonus to being a member of the Pride is the chance to work with a familiar face.

“I’m really excited to be back with [assistant coach] Ryan Patrovich, who I know for a long time.  He coached me in club wrestling for years.”

But Passaro emphasized that while he’s excited about the change, there were many positives about his experience in New Jersey.

“I had a good time at Rutgers,” he said. “I got along with the coaches and I had great teammates.  I made some big improvements in my wrestling — I spent a lot of time on the mat rather than on my feet and I improved a lot in the top position.”

That time on the mat was more limited than Passaro hoped, however.  He got off to a solid start with a 2-2 performance at the Hokie Open in his first collegiate action.  However, as the squad prepared to face Clarion a week later, Passaro suffered a dislocated thumb in practice.

“I didn’t get to wrestle as much as I wanted because of injuries,” he said. “When I was getting back from the first injury, I ran into another one when I really hurt my back lifting.  It threw me off completely. It was tough to go through a year like that because I was never really hurt before in my life.  It was frustrating to not be able to be out there on the mat the way I wanted to be.”

After only wrestling a few matches all season, Passaro said he applied for a medical redshirt and will find out by the end of the summer whether it has been granted by the NCAA.

In the interim, he’s healthy again and ready to get back to the competition he missed.

“I’ve been training four times a week for about four weeks now,” he said. “I moved in to Hofstra a few days ago and now that I’m living here, it’s a lot easier and it’s different. I feel like I’m really a part of it. I’ve been working with guys like Jamie Franco, Jamel Hudson and Kyle Krasavage.  I can’t wait for the season to get started.”

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Maverick Passaro became the first-ever state champion from Eastport-South Manor High School when he defeated Sam Speno of Fox Lane 2-1 in 2012 at 126 pounds.  Speno was an NCAA qualifier for North Carolina State as a true freshman in 2013.

Passaro isn’t the only anticipated addition to the Hofstra program for the 2013-14 campaign. More details will be provided when available.

Fargo Recap: Honoring Jeff Blatnick, the Porters, Bringing Home National Titles and More

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The 2013 ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet National Championships in Fargo have come and gone.  Here are some thoughts and observations on Team New York’s highlights in North Dakota. 

The singlets worn by Team New York at the tournament said “Dream Big” on the back.  Underneath that phrase was a picture of the late, great Jeff Blatnick.

There’s no question that Blatnick would have been excited about some of the performances put together, including that of a competitor he worked with at the Journeymen Wrestling Club – Jesse Porter.

Porter, who was a Section 2 champion as a freshman in 2012, didn’t get a chance to shine in the postseason last year.  The Shenendehowa wrestler suffered an injury and was only able to compete in November and December for the Plainsmen as a sophomore.

Now healthy, he made a huge impact at the summer’s biggest event.  A year after taking fourth in Cadet Greco Roman at Fargo, he went to the finals at 152 pounds in the same tournament, where he earned the silver medal.  Then, in freestyle, Porter nabbed a fifth place finish, running his overall record in North Dakota to 14-3 against top-notch competition.  During the Greco Roman finals, one of the announcers said he wasn’t that familiar with Porter before the event, but he knew now that “Porter is a stud.”  It’s clear he’ll be a middleweight to watch in the Albany area . . . and beyond in 2013-14.

The Champions

Jesse Porter wasn’t the only member of his family to stand out for the Empire State.  His sister Alexis Porter captured gold again, winning the 148-pound championship in Junior Women’s Freestyle a year after taking gold in both Cadet and Junior competitions.  She was joined on the top of the podium by Rachel Hale, who won it all at 121 pounds.

It wasn’t just individual glory for the women, however.  Team New York made history, becoming the first squad other than California or Texas to win the Women’s Duals at Fargo.  In appropriate fashion, the group captured the title by defeating the prior titlewinners, dominating the Texans in the first match of the championship bracket before topping the Californians, 39-17.

In pool play, the team faced California and decided to rest the starters for a big run at the crown.  The move paid off for coach Rob Hirsch and the squad.  Later in the day, the rematch was a completely different story.  New York won nine of the 12 bouts, including five straight at the end to seal the victory.

During that event, many contributed key performances.  That included Alexis Bleau, who was the only woman to earn trophies in both the Cadet and Junior tournaments, taking second and fourth, respectively.  It also included Kelsey Gray, who went undefeated in the dual portion of the event, despite not placing individually. Alexis Porter, Rachel Hale and Rosemary Flores also sported unblemished records during the dual tournament.  Flores collected an individual bronze as well, as did Destane Garrick.

Speaking of Bronze . . .

Speaking of bronze, William Koll picked up his first medal in Fargo when he took third in Junior Greco at 126 pounds.  The Lansing Bobcat just missed making the medal stand in both events, as he went 4-2 in Freestyle.  Another two-time state finalist, Nick Casella of Locust Valley, also made his debut on the medal stand in Fargo after grabbing seventh at 120 pounds in Greco.

Something About 220

New York had more All-Americans at 220 pounds than any other weight.   James Bethel followed up his undefeated run at the Cadet Duals with a third place showing in Greco.  He was dominant in his victories, with all coming by pin or technical fall. He was joined on the podium in that tournament by Garyn Huntley, a sixth placer coming off a 20+ win campaign for Oxford Academy as an eighth grader.  In the Junior division there was another 220 pound All-American – Rafal Rokosz of Southampton, who was sixth with three pins along the way.

It wasn’t just Greco.  In Cadet Freestyle, Mamaroneck’s Youssif Hemida won four matches by technical fall to capture seventh place at 220.  Looks like there are some candidates for breakout years in the heavier weight classes in 2013-14.

(Another upperweight who made his mark was Roland Zilberman, who after sporting a perfect record at the Junior Duals in Oklahoma, continued his hot streak with a fifth place medal in Junior Greco).

And the Middleweights Too . . .

In addition to Jesse Porter’s performances at 152, the middleweights had a number of strong showings, including at 145 pounds in Cadet Freestyle.  Jordan Bushey of Peru, Jakob Restrepo of Sachem East and Gino Titone of Connetquot all finished with 5-2 records in pool action.  Titone, who had a 25-5 mark last season, fell just short of placing.  However, Bushey, who came within one win of All-State status in Albany at 138 in 2013, was seventh in Fargo (with an injury default victory over Restrepo, who took eighth).  Look for all three to make a serious push for the medal stand at the Times Union Center next February.

Another Year, Another Medal

Pine Bush’s Chris Cuccolo is very familiar with the awards handed out at Fargo as he placed in both 2011 and 2012. This year was no different, as he picked up another plaque with a sixth place showing at 106 in Greco.  Alpha Diallo of the PSAL was also an All-American in that bracket, earning seventh.

In Summary . . .

So, in the end, a total of 25 All-Americans were crowned, with at least one medalist in all competitions except Junior Freestyle.

New York walked away with a pair of individual national titles and a team championship on the women’s side.  And every time a New York wrestler took the mat, the memory of Jeff Blatnick was honored for everyone in the Fargodome to see.

 

All-Americans from New York, Fargo 2013

Cadet Greco Roman

Jesse Porter, 2nd at 152

James Bethel, 3rd at 220

Garyn Huntley, 6th at 220

Nick Casella, 7th at 120

 

Cadet Freestyle

Jesse Porter, 5th at 152

Jordan Bushey, 7th at 145

Jakob Restrepo, 8th at 145

Youssif Hemida, 7th at 220

 

Junior Greco

William Koll, 3rd at 126

Roland Zilberman, 5th at 195

Rafal Rokosz, 6th at 220

Chris Cuccolo, 6th at 106

Alpha Diallo, 7th at 106

 

Women’s Cadet

Alexis Bleau, 2nd at 143

Jennifer Juarez, 3rd at 108

Vivian Vu, 6th at 154

 

Women’s Junior

Rachel Hale, Champion at 121

Alexis Porter, Champion at 148

Rosemary Flores, 3rd at 125

Destane Garrick, 3rd at 172

Alexis Bleau, 4th at 139

Yuneris Taveras, 6th at 198

Kim Cardenas, 7th at 97

Kennedi Eddins, 7th at 159

Mariana Olalde, 8th at 172