Category Archives: Section 11

Eight Empire Staters Advance to Quarterfinal Round of 2013 ASICS FILA University Nationals

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BY MATT DIANO

One day removed from earning eight placement finishes in the Greco-Roman discipline, our native sons were back on the mat today to compete in the freestyle portion of this weekend’s Memorial Day festivities at the 2013 ASICS FILA University National Tournament under the roof of the Louis and Freda Stile Athletic Field House on the campus of the University of Akron.  

While the majority of the student-athletes with ties to New York State would win multiple bouts on Saturday to ensure that they would live to see tomorrow’s final day of action, it would be a prestigious group of eight that would stand out, going unblemished this afternoon to punch their own respective tickets to the quarterfinals.  Led by a quintet of past, present, and/or future members of the Cornell Big Red—Mark Grey (competing under the banner of the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club; 60kg), Eli Bienstock (also wrestling for the FLWC; 63kg), Duke Pickett/Jesse Shanaman (both at 79kg), and 2012 NCAA National Champion, Cam Simaz (84kg), the Empire State will have championship bracket representation in six of the 10 contested weight classes.   Rounding out the list of those still in contention to potentially hoist the hardware tomorrow will be 2012 NYS DI Champion/current Hofstra true freshman Jamel Hudson (63kg), 2013 NCAA Qualifier from Columbia University Matt Bystol (66kg), and current North Carolina State big man, Nick Gwiazdowski (120kg), a former two-time NYS Division II Champion for Duanesburg, who was an NCAA All-American last season in his rookie year for Binghamton University before electing to follow former Bearcat Head Coach, Pat Popolizio, to Raleigh.

Going unscored upon in their three matches today would be Grey and Simaz as each notched a trio of technical falls, with both the former and the latter racking up a 32-0 margins over their opponents.  Grey will open up day #2 with a date against two-time NCAA Tournament qualifier, Shelton Mack from the University of Pittsburgh, while the next stop on Simaz’s journey to Titletown will come in the person of 2013 EIWA Conference Champion, Lehigh University’s Nathaniel Brown.

Almost as dominant on the day as his two Cornell brethren would be Shanaman, who aside from a hard fought 7-4 decision victory in the second round over Steven Nelson of the Clarion Wrestling Club, outscored his other two foes by a combined tally of 15-0.  The Blairstown, NJ native will not have it nearly as easy tomorrow as he will be pitted against 2013 Big 12 Conference runner-up, Tanner Weatherman, from Iowa State University.  A breakout star for the Cyclones in his redshirt freshman campaign, Weatherman just missed earning All-American honors at the NCAA National tournament by a single victory, going 2-2 in front of the home crowd.

Joining Shanaman at 79kg in the first of only two weight classes that witnessed multiple New Yorkers wrestling their way into the quarterfinals is his college teammate, Pickett.  While not as imposing on paper as the aforementioned, Pickett has been every bit as effective, proving that it does not matter how large the victory as long as it is you who gets his hand raised in the end.  Posting three consecutive wins by decision, commencing with a 10-7 first round victory over Wisconsin’s Frank Cousins and capped off by his most impressive performance of the day, a 9-2 “w” over Santiago Martinez, the freshman from Culpepper, Virginia has found a way to get it done each and every time this far.  If he hopes to continue this winning streak, he will need to be at the top of his game as he will kick off the second day of freestyle with an encounter with a mighty tough opponent in the person of 2013 NCAA All-American Logan Storley.  Finishing sixth in the nation this season for the University of Minnesota in his true freshman year, Storley was ranked as high as #1 in the country during parts of his 2012/2013 frosh campaign.

Pulling off one of the most impressive come-from-behind efforts in securing himself a spot in the quarterfinals was Hudson.  After cruising to a pair of technical fall victories, 10-0 and 11-0 over Joshua Shupe (Minnesota) and Nathan Coburn, “the Renaissance Man” would find himself on the brink of being knocked into the consolation bracket when he fell behind 11-2 in his round-of-16 bout against Iowa State’s Shayden Terukina. Rather than panic, Hudson would slowly fight his way back into the match, using his excellent takedown skills to record the final 14 points of the match to emerge with the 16-11 decision. The 2012 New York State High School Wrestler of the Year will need to bring this same level of intensity and endurance to the match tomorrow as he will likely be in for an action packed showdown with University of Iowa redshirt sophomore, Ethan Owens. While unable to break into the Hawkeye starting line-up early in his career, Owens has fared quite well in open competition, compiling a 14-5 overall record this season at weights ranging from 141-157.  Should Hudson successfully navigate his way past Owens, an All-NY affair can ensue as Bienstock is also on the bottom half of the 63kg bracket.  The Finger Lakes Wrestling Club product has demonstrated an ability to put points up in bunches, averaging just under 9pts/match in going 3-0 on the day.  Before we can even think about the battle of NYS, like Hudson, Bienstock must first take care of business against a tough customer in the person of Clarion student-athlete, Sam Sherlock.

Finding himself as a member of perhaps the deepest field of the entire tournament was Gwiazdowski, who like Pickett, had to sweat it out a bit, but still managed to always walk away with the “w”.  Opening up his day with a 14-9 decision over  Ohio University’s Jeremy Johnson, a 2012 NCAA All-American (7th) who fell one win short of repeating the milestone this season, Gwiazdowski would find himself in a battle-and-forth barn-burner in his second match of the afternoon against Wisconsin’s Connor Medbery.  Trailing 9-8 late in the match, the Wolfpack sophomore (who sat out the 2012/2013 season following the previously cited transfer) would come on strong in the last half minute, scoring a pair of takedowns to win 12-9.  While by no means an easy opponent, “Gwiz” should enjoy a significant experience advantage over Minnesota true freshman, Michael Kroells, when they meet first thing tomorrow morning.

Bystol would also be light outs on Saturday, outscoring his three opponents 31-5.  He will have the toughest quarterfinal match as he will be pitted against 2013 NCAA runner-up, Jason Chamberlain, who just completed his eligibility for Boise State University.  A former member of the Junior World team, despite his strong folkstyle resume, many consider the Bronco to be much more adept at freestyle.

Other New Yorkers who remain in contention to finish top-8 in freestyle include:

*55kg: Mike Soria (Buffalo)
*55kg: Max Soria (Buffalo)
*60kg: Jamie Franco (Hofstra)
*60kg: Nick Wilcox (Bloomsburg)
*60kg: Penn Gottfried (Columbia)
*66kg: Mike Nevinger (Cornell)
*66kg: Chris Villalonga (Cornell)
*66kg: Luke Vaith (Hofstra)
*66kg: James Carucci (Lehigh)
*70kg: Kevin Hartnett (Bloomsburg)
*70kg: Connor Sutton (Columbia)
*74kg: Josh Veltre (Bloomsburg)
*74kg: Ryan Fox (NC State)
*74kg: Josh Houldsworth (Columbia)
*74kg: Ben Villaret (Columbia)
*79kg: Jermaine John (Hofstra)
*84kg: Gabe Dean (Finger Lakes/Cornell)

In the other tournament going on this weekend, the FILA Cadet Nationals, the Empire State would not fare as well, as none of our 7-man contingent was able to advance to tomorrow’s placement rounds. Coming the closest to making it to the second day of the tournament was South Jefferson’s Daniel Smith. Competing at 76kg, Smith would post a .500 record, going 3-3 today. The only other wrestler from NYS to win more than one match was Greg Kleinsmith, who went 2-2 (also at 76kg).

Who Placed on Friday at the FILA Cadet and University Nationals (Greco)?

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Greco Roman wrestling took center stage on Friday in Ohio at the FILA Cadet and University Nationals competitions.

In Cadet action, a pair of New Yorkers made the podium. Two-time state runner up Nick Casella of Locust Valley placed sixth at 54 kg, while Poly Prep’s Leonard Merkin did the same at 63 kg.  Both Empire State grapplers won twice by technical fall during the day.

In the University tournament, several wrestlers with New York connections made the medal stand.

Max Soria, Photo by BV

The University at Buffalo was represented by medalists Max and Mike Soria at 55 kg and Wally Maziarz (seventh at 74 kg). The Soria twins both earned their way into the fifth place bout, where Max was declared the winner by injury default.

William Simpson of US Army was the runner up at 60 kg, making the championship series against former Ohio State lightweight Nikko Triggas.

Taking third at 60 kg was Dmitry Ryabchinskiy, a former PSAL wrestler who came out on top by technical fall in the bronze bout, while Windsor native Jessy Williams was fourth at 63.

James Hogan recorded a fifth place showing at 66, while Oliver Lopez (Hunter) took sixth at 60 and Columbia’s Matt Idelson collected eighth at 96.

Freestyle competition will begin Saturday morning.

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

Pop & Flo National Duals: X-Cel Takes Third … and Much More from Lake Placid

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A year after winning the tournament championship, X-Cel once again made a strong impression at the Pop & Flo National Duals with a third place showing.

“I really feel that the kids showed tremendous heart to come back and win against a team full of PA studs to take third,” said X-Cel coach Nick Garone. “But we felt that we went up there with the best team and still feel that way. The guys are really disappointed, but to go out of the tournament with a win in our last match was nice, especially for all of our seniors.”

The squad opened with three consecutive triumphs on Saturday to make the semifinal round against Iron Horse, the eventual champions.

In the semis, the New Jersey club got off to a fast start, capturing four of the first six bouts, including two pins, to take a lead that would never be relinquished in a 30-25 result. (One of those falls for Iron Horse was by Section 1 star John Muldoon of Pearl River, who was joined by fellow New Yorker Dale White on the title-winning team).

In the bronze bout, X-Cel rebounded to defeat Pennsylvania’s Young Guns despite dropping the first four bouts to fall behind 14-0. (The dual began at 130 pounds).

However, X-Cel took over from there, beginning with a 7-3 win by Connetquot’s Brendan Dent at 152. It was the first of seven consecutive victories for the Long Islanders, as Corey Rasheed picked up a forfeit at 160 and Steven Schneider (170), Gio Santiago (182) and Steven Mills (225) notched decisions. Putting up key bonus points were Chris Chambers (195) and Mike Hughes (285), who both recorded falls. After the heavyweight bout, X-Cel had turned a large deficit into a 30-14 lead.

“Brendan Dent started us off with a win, and that was great,” Garone said. “All our guys stepped up. Chambers had a really nice throw to get the pin and Hughes just worked the kid, kept working and working. At the end of the second, he closed it out with a really big pin for us. We knew were in good shape going into the lower half, even if we lost a few. Travis Passaro (125) ended the match with a really big one, beating the NHSCA National champ Josh Patrick in overtime, 1-0.”

It was one of many quality wins Garone pointed to from the two-day event. Those triumphs and the overall experience had Garone already talking about the return trip to Lake Placid in 2014.

“Everyone played a key role for us,” Garone said. “It’s a great bunch of guys. To take third at that tournament – it’s nothing to sneeze at. But it’s not what we wanted. Trust me when I tell you that we’ll work all year to get back to the top of the national scene.”

———

X-Cel was the highest placing team from New York in the field, but many other Empire State squads had success over the weekend.

The 32 teams in the high school competition were split into four divisions after the opening round matches. Here’s a rundown of the results for New York:

X-Cel wasn’t the only New York team in the “A” bracket, as Journeymen Black took eighth. The host squad won its first two duals against Pioneer and Doughboy Black on Saturday to make the quarterfinals before falling to a pair of Pennsylvania groups – Young Guns and Dark Knights. In the seventh place dual, Smitty’s Barn came out on top 41-22.

“B” Bracket (For the teams that lost in the first round of the “A” Championship bracket)

631 Elite began the experience in Lake Placid with a setback against the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club 39-28, but then went on a winning streak, taking three in a row over Atlas, Razor and Catamount to earn a spot in the title bout of the “B” Bracket. During that run, the team’s smallest margin of victory was 22 points.

The Long Island-based group kept it going, besting Apex II for the top spot in the “B” Division and finished the weekend with a 4-1 record. Picking up wins in the final dual for 631 were Matteo Devincenzo (106), Jesse Dellavecchia (113), Joe Calderone (120), Jack Taddeo (130), Jimmy Leach (135), Dennis Ferro (152), Dylan Kane (160) and Vincent Feola (225).

Also placing in the same bracket were Iowa Style Black (fourth) and Razor (eighth). Iowa Style notched triumphs against Barre Wrestling Club and Doughboy Gold by a commanding combined score of 102-43 after an initial loss.

Razor was eighth, collecting a win over Metrowest United in Round 2, led by a pin by Chaz Leo at 225 and four major decisions.

“C” Bracket (For the teams that won in Round 1 and lost in Round 2 in the “A” Championship bracket)

In this bracket, Empire State teams claimed third through eighth places.

Cobra took the bronze after getting past Finger Lakes Wrestling Club 33-28, winning nine of the bouts. The contest featured a pair of two point decisions between All-State wrestlers as William Koll topped Kellen Devlin 2-0 at 125 and Vincent Deprez edged Connor Lapresi in sudden victory, 3-1, at 152. Both of those squads were 2-2 heading into their clash in the third place tilt.

Meanwhile, Ascend recorded fifth with a 55-9 victory over Journeymen Gold. It was the third dual win of the weekend for the Nassau County-based club, led by undefeated wrestlers Chris Koo and Jaison White.

In another battle of New Yorkers, Cellar Dwellers picked up seventh with a 53-10 decision over Iowa Style Gold. The Cellar Dweller squad began and ended the tournament with wins.

“D” Bracket

Port Jervis grabbed third, finishing with a 37-33 triumph over Metrowest United. The Section 9 squad also topped Powers Forty High 33-15 in its third meet of the weekend.

For full results, see tournaflex.com.

Long Island's X-Cel Advances to the Semifinals at Pop & Flo National Duals on Saturday

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X-Cel won the title at the Pop & Flo National Duals last year.  The Long Island group will try to repeat that feat on Sunday after advancing to the semifinals on the first day of competition.

The squad looked completely dominant early, opening with a 84-0 blanking of Kryptonite Wrestling Club, followed by a 71-6 triumph over Journeymen Gold.  The quarterfinals brought a tougher challenge, however, as X-Cel squared off with Dark Knights of Pennsylvania.

Two-time state champion Nick Piccininni got the New Yorkers off to a good start with a major decision at 120 pounds.  However, the opponents from the Keystone State responded with three consecutive victories from 125 to 135 to take a 12-4 advantage.

Fabian, Photo by BV

The two teams then traded wins over the next several matches, beginning with a pin by Sacred Heart-bound TJ Fabian of Shoreham Wading River at 140.  The Dark Knights were victorious at 145 and 160, while state champion Louis Hernandez of Mepham earned a 5-4 win at 152 and Steven Schneider got his hand raised at 170 with an overtime triumph.  After regulation ended deadlocked at 1, and there was no scoring in sudden victory, Schneider rode his opponent out for the entire 30 seconds and then escaped when it was his turn on bottom to make the team score 19-16 in favor of the Pennsylvania squad.

After the Dark Knights extended their advantage to 22-16 with a decision at 182, Chris Chambers put four big points on the board for X-Cel with a major at 195, followed by a 9-3 decision by Steven Mills at 220 to put the Long Island group ahead for the first time since early in the dual.  When a forfeit at heavyweight was tacked on, X-Cel took a 29-22 lead as the meet returned to the lightweights.

At 106, the Dark Knights made things interesting, earning a fall to make it 29-28 in favor of X-Cel with just one match remaining.  In that contest, former Wantagh star Jose Rodriguez took control with an early takedown and got his hand raised to push X-Cel to the 32-28 win and to the semifinals on Sunday against Iron Horse (New Jersey).

The 32-team High School field included many squads from New York, including teams from Ascend, Cellar Dwellers, Cobra, Finger Lakes Wrestling Club, Iowa Style, Journeymen, Port Jervis, Razor and 631 Elite.

Meanwhile, close to half of the squads in the Youth field came from New York as well.

In addition to Sunday’s action to determine placement in the team standings, there will be some great bouts on Saturday night.  At 8:30 p.m., some of the top individuals will take the mat for an All-Star dual.

Included are a number of New Yorkers, for example (matches subject to change):

83: Adam Busiello (631 Elite) vs. Patrick Glory (A&B Core)

88: Dillan Palaszewski (Journeymen) vs. Gavin Teasdale (Young Guns)

106: Yianni Diakomihalis (Cobra) vs. Devin Brown (Young Guns)

120: Nick Piccininni (X-Cel) vs. Mickey Phillipi (Young Guns)

125: William Koll (FLWC) vs. Kevin Jack (Iowa Style)

140: Nick Kelley (Journeymen) vs. Anthony Ashnault (SKWC)

182: Dan McDevitt (Ascend) vs. Luke Farinaro (Iron Horse)

220: Rich Sisti (Apex) vs. Michael Boykins (Rt. 100)

100: Sam Sasso (Dark Knights) vs. Vince Andreano (APEX)

140: Jason Nolf (Young Guns) vs. Scott Delvecchio (Iron Horse)

152: BJ Clagon (Apex) vs. Miguel Calixto (Catamounts)

170: Chris Koo (Ascend) vs. Ethan Ramos (Iron Horse)

195: Reggie Williams (FLWC) vs. Evan Ramos (Iron Horse)

285: Mike Hughes (X-Cel) vs. Jesse Webb (Catamount)

Jenna Burkert and Alexis Porter to Represent Team USA at World Championships

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For the third consecutive year, Jenna Burkert will be representing the United States at the Junior World Championships. The Rocky Point native earned her spot on the squad over the weekend at the Body Bar FILA Junior Nationals in Florida at 59 kg/130 pounds.

In the best-of-three championship round, Burkert eased past Team Indiana’s Kayla Miracle in the first period of the initial bout, 7-0. However, Miracle responded with a pin in the second stanza to win the first match.

Burkert was in control the rest of the way, however, capturing the second bout 1-0, 1-0 and then taking the third 6-0, 3-3. She will travel to the World Championships held in Sofia, Bulgaria as one of six returning team members for Team USA.

Also preparing to compete for the Red, White and Blue is Shenendehowa High School’s Alexis Porter, who won the Body Bar FILA Cadet Nationals at 65 kg/143.25 pounds. Porter topped Hannah Gladden in straight matches (2-0, 7-0 in the first and 1-0, 5-1 in the second) to clinch the title and the ticket to the FILA Cadet World Championships in Serbia in August.

For the full results, go to http://www.trackwrestling.com and search for 2013 Body Bar WM National Championships.

VIDEO: Watch Freestyle Action from the New York State Championships Last Weekend

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Champions were crowned over the weekend in Binghamton at the 2013 New York State Freestyle and Greco tournaments. If you missed the action, you can see the title bouts in the Junior Freestyle competition below plus a bonus match – a pool bout between All-Staters Reggie Williams and Gio Santiago at 195 pounds that featured a number of big moves and lots of excitement.

William Koll, Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, Kevin Thayer and Burke Paddock finished on top in both Freestyle and Greco, adding to the championships they won during the high school season in Albany.

For results from the weekend see here and here.

160 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Burke Paddock vs. Alex Smythe

 

152 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Kevin Thayer vs. Nigel Williams

 

132 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: William Koll vs. Jordan Maynard

 

138 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer vs. Sean O’Hagan

 

145 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Connor Lapresi vs. Rocco Russo

 

195 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Reggie Williams vs. Thomas Murray

 

195 Pound Pool Match: Gio Santiago vs. Reggie Williams

 

170 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Troy Seymour vs. Liam Bass

 

182 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Isaiah Zimmer vs. Tim Schaefer

 

113 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: John Twomey vs. Golan Cohen

 

120 Pound Freestyle Final: Matthew Morris vs. Daniel Murray

 

126 Pound Freestyle Final: Simon Greebel vs. Paul Smoot

 

220 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Joe Nasoni vs. Luke McKee

 

285 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Brad Lucas vs. Nolan Terrance

 

106 Pound Junior Freestyle: Josh LoGuidice vs. Nico Riccio

 

 

Wrestlers Complete Triple Crowns and Many Achieve Double Titles at the Freestyle and Greco State Championships

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(For information and results from Saturday’s competition in Junior Freestyle and Cadet Greco, see this link. Videos will be posted in the next few days).

It isn’t easy to earn the Triple Crown in New York, capturing state titles in all three styles of wrestling.  But you might think otherwise when looking at the results from this weekend’s action at Broome Community College, as four grapplers (William Koll, Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, Kevin Thayer and Burke Paddock) added Freestyle and Greco Roman crowns to the championships they won in folkstyle back in February in Albany.

Paddock vs Smythe, Photo by BV

The quartet of wrestlers all demonstrated dominance on Sunday in Junior Greco competition. Both Thayer (152) and Paddock (160) faced the same opponent in the title bout as they did on Saturday in Freestyle.  This time, both made quick work of their foes, picking up first period pins.  And speaking of rematches, Rodriguez-Spencer (138) not only defeated Sean O’Hagan in the finals for the second straight day, he also did it by the same score – 5-0, 6-0.  Koll also won in straight periods, taking a 2-0, 11-4 triumph against Blake Retell at 132.

Those wrestlers weren’t the only double champions over the weekend.  Both ATWA’s Matthew Morris (120) and Reggie Williams (195) swept both Olympic styles in Binghamton.

On Saturday, Golan Cohen (113) and Rocco Russo (145) made the title bout in Freestyle, but took second place.  One day later, both returned to the finals and came out on top, with Russo’s victory coming by fall.

It was one of many titlewinning pins on the day, including by Sam Eagan at 220 and Jeff Urbina at 285.  In addition, Beat the Streets collected a pair of Junior Greco titles at 106 (Dolan McColgan) and 126 (Cheick Ndiaye), while crowns were also captured by Andrew Psomas of Farrell Lions at 170 and James Schreck of Sachem 3 at 182.

While there were a number of double champions in the Junior division, as discussed previously, there were more in the Cadet brackets, with 10 wrestlers grabbing a pair of titles over the weekend.

The first three classes were won by Drew Schafer (88), Brian Kelly (94) and Vinny Vespa (100).  After that, seven of the next eight weights featured repeat champions, starting with Parker Kropman at 106 and also including Nick Casella (120), Ian Lupole (126), Leonard Merkin (132), Sam Ward (138), Gino Titone (145) and Jesse Porter (152). The only exception was at 113, where Evan Barczak notched the freestyle championship a day after earning runner up honors in Greco.

The additional double titlewinners were Jacob Woolson (170), Aidan Mathews (195) and Peter Strassfield (285).  A day after registering a bronze showing in Greco, Jake Ashcraft stood on top of the podium at 160 pounds, while Jeremy Hughes picked up gold at 182 and James Bethel did the same at 220.

Full brackets are available at http://www.trackwrestling.com.

For the placewinners from Sunday’s action in Cadet Freestyle and Junior Greco, see below.

 

CADET FREESTYLE RESULTS

Cadet FS – 88 Results
1st Place – Drew Schafer of Superior Wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Justin Lopez of Yonkers
3rd Place – Darwingh Alvarez of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Oscar Lainez of Middletown
5th Place – David Ciciarella of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club

Cadet FS – 94 Results
1st Place – Brian Kelly of Kings Park Wrestling
2nd Place – David Wolanski of SCHENECTADY

Cadet FS – 100 Results
1st Place – Vincent Vespa of rock hard wrestling
2nd Place – Anthony Sparacio of North Babylon
3rd Place – John Luke Destefano of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Nicholas Forte of Journey
5th Place – Shane Gibbons of Massapequa
6th Place – Maxim Pasichnik of BTS PS 186

Cadet FS – 106 Results
1st Place – Parker Kropman of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu
2nd Place – Dean Raymond of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Sean Miller of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Johnathon Lauricella of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club
5th Place – Theodore Powers of MEXICO
6th Place – John Devine of Titans

Cadet FS – 113 Results
1st Place – Evan Barczak of rock hard wrestling
2nd Place – Chris Donnelly of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Taylor Picciano of Kings Park Wrestling
4th Place – John Kalinoglu of Massapequa
5th Place – Michael Venosa of Section 5
6th Place – Kevin Kelly of rock hard wrestling

Cadet FS – 120 Results
1st Place – Nicholas Casella of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
2nd Place – Benjamin Lamantia of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
3rd Place – Dominic Inzana of Saratoga Springs
4th Place – Jackie Gold of Rocky Point
5th Place – Hunter Howland of MEXICO
6th Place – Brandon Santiago of Beat the Streets New York City

Cadet FS – 126 Results
1st Place – Ian Lupole of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Christian Briody of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Michael Berkowitz of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
4th Place – Blake Jackson of Superior Wrestling Academy
5th Place – James Rosado of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Nichholas Petralia of Section 8

Cadet FS – 132 Results
1st Place – Leonard Merkin of elite wrestling academy
2nd Place – Freddy Eckles of Buffalo Grapplers Wrestling Cl
3rd Place – Mike D`Angelo of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Da`mani Burns of Newburgh Wrestling Club
5th Place – Jake Colonna of North Babylon
6th Place – Christopher Ladd of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club

Cadet FS – 138 Results
1st Place – Samuel Ward of Ascend Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Kevin Jackson of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Jilling Frank of Lindenhurst
4th Place – Wyatt DeMarree of Section 5
5th Place – Steven Prinston of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Marc Paez of Long beach

Cadet FS – 145 Results
1st Place – Gino Titone of Connetquot Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jakob Restrepo of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
3rd Place – Jordan Bushey of Cellar Dwellers
4th Place – Thomas Wightman of Section 9
5th Place – Steven Culbert of Journeymen Wrestling
6th Place – Brian Bucci of Section 9

Cadet FS – 152 Results
1st Place – Jesse Porter of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – Ronaldo Rodriguez of Beat the Streets New York City
3rd Place – William Marcil of ATWA
4th Place – John Vouzonis of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Dylan Gifford of Veritas
6th Place – Dylan Studer of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club

Cadet FS – 160 Results
1st Place – Jacob Ashcraft of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – Collin LaBombard of Cellar Dwellers
3rd Place – Andy Cummings of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Max Zhitnik of Tiger Style Wrestling
5th Place – Vance Cuffie of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Zafar Iskandarov of Beat the Streets New York City

Cadet FS – 170 Results
1st Place – Jacob Woolson of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Dakota Wolley of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Richie Jones of Cobra
4th Place – Tom Lane of Section 8
5th Place – Tredd Smith of Section 8
6th Place – Madhur Karki of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu

Cadet FS – 182 Results
1st Place – Jeremy Hughes of Section 8
2nd Place – James Campbell of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu
3rd Place – Marcello Gennaro of Section 9
4th Place – Colby Staley of ATWA

Cadet FS – 195 Results
1st Place – Aidan Mathews of Dark corner
2nd Place – Nick Mcshea of rock hard wrestling
3rd Place – Tyler Hall of Section 6
4th Place – Christopher Halleran of Tiger Style Wrestling

Cadet FS – 220 Results
1st Place – James Bethel of Dark corner
2nd Place – Khaled Abdoun of Journeymen Wrestling
3rd Place – Chris Tangora of Section 2
4th Place – Elijah Sampo of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
5th Place – Chazz Leo of Section 11
6th Place – George O`Mahony of Massapequa

Cadet FS – 285 Results
1st Place – Peter Strassfield of Southampton High School Wrestl
2nd Place – Alex Gonzalez of Geneva
3rd Place – Jordan Keys of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Garyn Huntley of Veritas
5th Place – Victor Palmer-Ortiz of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
6th Place – Jake Lanzillo of Averill Park

 

JUNIOR GRECO ROMAN RESULTS

JUNIOR GR – 106 Results
1st Place – Dolan Mccolgan of Beat the Streets New York
2nd Place – Nico Riccio of Journeymen

JUNIOR GR – 113 Results
1st Place – Golan Cohen of Titan
2nd Place – Chris Cuccolo of Pine Bush
3rd Place – Noah Malamut of Poly Prep High School Wrestlin
4th Place – Matthew Stallone of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
5th Place – alex kellar of Section 4
6th Place – Shamar Griffith of Beat the Streets New York

JUNIOR GR – 120 Results
1st Place – Matthew Morris of ATWA
2nd Place – Pedro Rosales of Bearcave
3rd Place – ryan burns of Cobra Wrestling Academy
4th Place – Alpha Diallo of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Rashid Powell of Beat the Streets New York
6th Place – Kyle Kelly of Team Worldwide

JUNIOR GR – 126 Results
1st Place – Cheick Ndiaye of Beat the Streets New York
2nd Place – Richard Antonacci of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Andrew Taber of North Rose-Wolcott High School
4th Place – Daniel Amancio of Bronx
5th Place – Paul Smoot of Rock Hard Wrestling
6th Place – Ray Konvicka of MVWC

JUNIOR GR – 132 Results
1st Place – William Koll of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Blake Retell of Journeymen
3rd Place – Ryan Snow of Section 3
4th Place – Nathan Hayes of Team Worldwide
5th Place – Carl Rouse of Team Worldwide
6th Place – Thomas Walsh of Titan

JUNIOR GR – 138 Results
1st Place – Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer of Buffalo Grapplers
2nd Place – Sean O`Hagan of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Eric Bergin of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Jay Oates of ATWA
5th Place – Nick Strand of Westhampton Beach High School
6th Place – Nathaniel Vargas of Guilderland HS

JUNIOR GR – 145 Results
1st Place – Rocco Russo of New York Super Six
2nd Place – Codie Gilllette of ATWA
3rd Place – Saidyokub Kahramonov of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Nathaniel Palmer of ATWA
5th Place – Jay Kindlon of New York Titans
6th Place – Colin Hay of Miller Place Takedown Clubcoli

JUNIOR GR – 152 Results
1st Place – Kevin Thayer of Veritas
2nd Place – Nigel Williams of Beat the Streets New York
3rd Place – Max Garkusha of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Askar Raimbek of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Tanner Phillips of ATWA
6th Place – Mirlan Jumabaev of Beat the Streets New York

JUNIOR GR – 160 Results
1st Place – Burke Paddock of Team Ten
2nd Place – Alexander Smythe of New York Super Six
3rd Place – Michael Tropiano of Vougars Honor Wrestling (VHW)
4th Place – Jimmy Marquez of Journeymen
5th Place – Derrick Gardner of Averill Park
6th Place – Jordan Formicola of falcons

JUNIOR GR – 170 Results
1st Place – Andrew Psomas of Farrell Lions
2nd Place – Liam Bass of Westhampton Beach High School
3rd Place – Troy Seymour of ATWA
4th Place – David Bunn of Copiague
5th Place – Garrett Davis of New York Titans
6th Place – Mark Anthony Perez of Unattached

JUNIOR GR – 182 Results
1st Place – James Schreck of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Isaiah Zimmer of Team Worldwide
3rd Place – Cedrick Stephens of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Mark Tracey of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
5th Place – Ronnie King of Islip
6th Place – Alex Moss of MVWC

JUNIOR GR – 195 Results
1st Place – Reggie Williams of Team Worldwide
2nd Place – Giovanni Santiago of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Roland Zilberman of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Nathanael Rose of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Richard Duermeyer of Buffalo Grapplers
6th Place – Maleke Cunningham of Beat the Streets New York

JUNIOR GR – 220 Results
1st Place – Sam Eagen of Empire/Titan
2nd Place – Luke McKee of ATWA
3rd Place – Rafael Rokosz of Southhampton HS
4th Place – Endy Nunez of Rams Wrestling Club
5th Place – Sean Fergusan of Rocky Point
6th Place – Allen Michael Rios of Team Worldwide

JUNIOR GR – 285 Results
1st Place – Jeff Urbina of Copiague
2nd Place – Nolan Terrance of ATWA
3rd Place – Matthew Abbott of Team Worldwide
4th Place – Mason Cross of New York Titans
5th Place – Quasar Hampton of Beat the Streets New York
6th Place – Mark Ifraimov of Beat the Streets New York

State Champs Koll, Rodriguez-Spencer, Lapresi, Thayer and Paddock Win Junior Freestyle Crowns

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Connor Lapresi was looking to not only win, but win quickly at the New York State Junior Freestyle championships in Binghamton. After all, he wanted to get back home to attend the prom on Saturday night.

Lapresi delivered, earning a technical fall in the 145-pound finals, 6-0, 7-0 over Rocco Russo.

The future Bucknell grappler wasn’t the only wrestler to win by tech in straight periods in the championship round.

Matt Morris of ATWA did the same at 120 pounds, as did Troy Seymour at 170 and Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer at 138. The Cheektowoga star began his match with a big five-point throw which quickly ended the first period of his 5-0, 6-0 triumph.

Like Rodriguez-Spencer, Burke Paddock, William Koll and Kevin Thayer collected gold medals at the state championships in Albany this February. The trio also won it all on Saturday.

Paddock edged state medalist Alex Smythe 1-0 in the first period before taking the second 6-0 at 160, while Koll was in control the whole way in his 4-2, 7-0 victory against Jordan Maynard at 132 pounds.

Photo by BV

In a back and forth match featuring a number of big moves, Thayer dropped the opening stanza to Beat the Streets grappler Nigel Williams 9-3, but bounced back from a deficit in the second to win 7-6. Thayer then grabbed the decisive final period, 7-0.

In another bout that went three stanzas, Isaiah Zimmer lost period one to state runner up Tim Schaefer of Team Ten. However, Zimmer scored late in the second and third periods to pick up the 182-pound crown.

At 195, fellow Section 4 wrestler Reggie Williams bested Thomas Murray in a clash of All-State wrestlers. Williams won a thrilling match earlier in the day against 2013 state bronze medalist Gio Santiago, coming back from a sizable deficit.

The final two matches flew by, as both were decided by fall in less than two minutes in favor of wrestlers from the Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club. At 220, Joe Nasoni got his hand raised while Brad Lucas did the same at 285.

Also capturing a title by pin was Ascend’s Simon Greebel, who got the fall in the second after dropping the first stanza 2-0 to Paul Smoot at 126.

Coming out on top in the first match of the championship round was Josh LoGuidice at 106. Next up was John Twomey of Vougar’s Honors Wrestling, who was the victor at 113. Twomey topped state medalist Golan Cohen in straight periods to take gold.

In Cadet action on Saturday, a number of champions were crowned in Greco Roman.  To see all the champions and placewinners in Cadet Greco, see below.  (The results from Junior Freestyle are below as well).

For the brackets, see http://www.trackwrestling.com.

 

CADET GRECO

CADET GR – 88 Results

1st Place – Justin Lopez of Yonkers
2nd Place – Oscar Lainez of Middle Town
3rd Place – David Ciciarelli of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
4th Place – Darwingh Alvarez of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 100 Results

1st Place – John Luke Destefano of Beat the Streets New York City
2nd Place – Shane Gibbons of Massapequa
3rd Place – Maxim Pasichnik of BTS PS 186
4th Place – Devin Cohan of The Quarry Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 106 Results

1st Place – Parker Kropman of Titan World Wide Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Sean Miller of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Dean Raymond of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
4th Place – Josh Bourne of Long beach
5th Place – Kyle Aslanian of Edgemont Wrestling Club
6th Place – Joseph Marino of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 113 Results
1st Place – Max Tempel of Section 2
2nd Place – Evan Barczak of rock hard wrestling
3rd Place – Taylor Picciano of Kings Park Wrestling
4th Place – John Kalinoglu of Massapequa
5th Place – Brandon Goddeau of ATWA
6th Place – Jacob Lehr of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 120 Results

1st Place – Nicholas Casella of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
2nd Place – Noah Handy of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Donny McCoy of New York Super Six Wrestling A
4th Place – Matthew Krause of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Ramel McIntosh of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Brandon Santiago of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 126 Results

1st Place – Ian Lupole of Section 4
2nd Place – Christian Briody of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Michael Berkowitz of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
4th Place – James Lamson of Watertown
5th Place – Cole Simmons of New York Super Six Wrestling A
6th Place – William Yee of Brooklyn

CADET GR – 132 Results
1st Place – Leonard Merkin of elite wrestling academy
2nd Place – Mike D`Angelo of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Freddy Eckles of Buffalo Grapplers
4th Place – Damani Burns of Newburgh Wrestling Club
5th Place – Christopher Ladd of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
6th Place – Bruce Cipollone of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 138 Results

1st Place – Samuel Ward of Ascend Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jilling Frank of Lindenhurst
3rd Place – Zachery Bendick of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
4th Place – Marc Paez of Long beach
5th Place – Steven Prinston of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Eugene Khalabudnyak of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 145 Results

1st Place – Gino Titone of Connetquot Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jordan Bushey of Cellar Dwellers
3rd Place – Jason Hoffman of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Kevin Parker of Journeymen Wrestling
5th Place – Thomas Wightman of Section 9
6th Place – Jason Colon of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 152 Results

1st Place – Jesse Porter of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – William Marcil of ATWA
3rd Place – Karl Weisner of Farrel
4th Place – John Vouzonis of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Dylan Studer of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
6th Place – Elijah Vasquez of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 160 Results

1st Place – Zafar Iskandarov of Beat the Streets New York City
2nd Place – Vance Cuffie of Beat the Streets New York City
3rd Place – Jacob Ashcraft of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Andy Cummings of Journeymen Wrestling
5th Place – Phillip Gray of Team Dynamic
6th Place – Ryan Wilcox of The Quarry Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 170 Results

1st Place – Jacob Woolson of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Dakota Wolley of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Paul Brachfeld of Massapequa Park
4th Place – Madhur Karki of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu
5th Place – Steven Walters of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 182 Results

1st Place – Colby Staley of ATWA
2nd Place – James Campbell of Titan World Wide Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Joe Sabia of Journeymen Wrestling

CADET GR – 195 Results

1st Place – Aidan Mathews of Dark corner
2nd Place – Tyler Hall of Section 6

CADET GR – 220 Results

1st Place – Khaled Abdoun of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – James Bethel of Dark corner
3rd Place – Elijah Sampo of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
4th Place – George O`Mahony of Massapequa
5th Place – Albi Miraka of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Marc Diaz of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 285 Results

1st Place – Peter Strassfield of Southampton High School Wrestling
2nd Place – Garyn Huntley of Veritas
3rd Place – Victor Palmer-Ortiz of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
4th Place – Kyle Kanige of Center
5th Place – Jake Lanzillo of Averill Park

 

JUNIOR FREESTYLE

JUNIOR FS – 106 Results

1st Place – Joshua LoGiudice of JOURNEYMEN WRESTLING CLUB
2nd Place – Dolan Mccolgan of Beat the Streets New York
3rd Place – Nico Riccio of Journeymen

JUNIOR FS – 113 Results

1st Place – John Twomey of Vougar Honors Wrestling (VHW)
2nd Place – Golan Cohen of Titan
3rd Place – Noah Malamut of Poly Prep High School Wrestlin
4th Place – Matthew Stallone of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
5th Place – Tyler Aslanian of Edgemont Wrestling Club
6th Place – Chris Cuccolo of Pine Bush

JUNIOR FS – 120 Results

1st Place – Matt Morris of ATWA
2nd Place – Daniel Murray of Vougar Honors Wrestling (VHW)
3rd Place – Steven Sewkumar of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Ryan Burns of Cobra Wrestling Academy
5th Place – Michael Carr of Team Worldwide
6th Place – Kyle Kelly of Team Worldwide

JUNIOR FS – 126 Results

1st Place – Simon Greebel of Ascend Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Paul Smoot of Rock Hard Wrestling
3rd Place – Cheick Ndiaye of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Timothy Johnson of Vougar Honors Wrestling (VHW)
5th Place – Dillon Stowell of F-10
6th Place – Richard Antonacci of Ascend Wrestling Club

JUNIOR FS – 132 Results

1st Place – William Koll of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jordan Maynard of JOURNEYMEN WRESTLING CLUB
3rd Place – Blake Retell of Journeymen
4th Place – Travis Alexander of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Ryan Snow of Section 3
6th Place – Kyle Maddock of Westhampton Beach High School

JUNIOR FS – 138 Results

1st Place – Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer of Buffalo Grapplers
2nd Place – Sean O`Hagan of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Jay Oakes of ATWA
4th Place – Devon Hoyte of Beat the Streets New York City
5th Place – Anthony Messina of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
6th Place – David Rodriguez of Port Richmond HS

JUNIOR FS – 145 Results

1st Place – Connor Lapresi of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Rocco Russo of New York Super Six
3rd Place – Sean McKenna of MVWC
4th Place – Codie Gilllette of Saranac
5th Place – Saidyokub Kahramonov of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – James McLean of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club

JUNIOR FS – 152 Results

1st Place – Kevin Thayer of Veritas
2nd Place – Nigel Williams of Beat the Streets New York City
3rd Place – Vinny Romeo of Titan World Wide
4th Place – Shaquille Jones of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Marc D`chiutiis of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Derrick Rice of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 160 Results

1st Place – Burke Paddock of Team Ten
2nd Place – Alexander Smythe of New York Super Six
3rd Place – Chris Koo of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Matt Fisher of MVWC
5th Place – Cody Nichols of Veritas
6th Place – Connor Lawrence of Journeymen

JUNIOR FS – 170 Results

1st Place – Troy Seymour of ATWA
2nd Place – Liam Bass of Westhampton Beach High School
3rd Place – Konstantin Parfiryev of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Connor O`Gallagher of Rocky Point
5th Place – David Bunn of Copiague
6th Place – Michael Urso of W.T. Clarke High School Wrestl

JUNIOR FS – 182 Results

1st Place – Isaiah Zimmer of Team Worldwide
2nd Place – Tim Schaefer of Team Ten
3rd Place – Cedrick Stephens of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Jake Webber of New York Super Six
5th Place – Austin Weigel of Journeymen
6th Place – Marcus King of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 195 Results

1st Place – Reggie Williams of Team Worldwide
2nd Place – Thomas Murray of Askren WC
3rd Place – Giovanni Santiago of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
4th Place – Levi Ashley of JOURNEYMEN WRESTLING CLUB
5th Place – Nathanael Rose of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Maleke Cunningham of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 220 Results

1st Place – Joe Nasoni of MVWC
2nd Place – Luke McKee of ATWA
3rd Place – Sam Eagan of Empire/Titans
4th Place – Javaughn Grant of Beat the Streets New York City
5th Place – Rafael Rokosz of Southhampton HS
6th Place – Aaron Gondola of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 285 Results

1st Place – Brad Lucas of MVWC
2nd Place – Nolan Terrance of Massena
3rd Place – Matthew Abbott of Team Worldwide
4th Place – Quasar Hampton of Beat the Streets New York City
5th Place – Mason Cross of New York Titans
6th Place – Ben Newcomb of Titan

What's Next?: Reviewing NYWAY's Second Season and Looking Forward to Year 3

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After finishing the NYWAY Spring Statewide Retreat on the last weekend of April, some of the organization’s leadership presented a check for $540 to the Keep Olympic Wrestling effort.

“We really believe in the Olympic movement,” said NYWAY President Clint Wattenberg. “We wanted to support the cause as best we could. Whether it’s in the Olympic styles or folkstyle, it’s critical to our mission to provide opportunities for wrestlers in New York.”

In its second year of operations, NYWAY no doubt provided opportunities, including reaching out to less experienced grapplers and expanding into new areas of the state.

In February, the group hosted its first novice event, in conjunction with the NCAA Division I National Duals at Cornell University, to give those just starting out in the sport a chance to compete in a tournament setting.   According to Wattenberg, there are plans to put together a four-week season in 2014 which would culminate in a novice state championship.

In 2013 the organization also expanded its geographic footprint, as regional qualifiers were hosted in two new areas – Long Island and Hudson Valley.

As a result, the NYWAY state championships boasted over 900 participants with representation from all corners of New York.  In fact, each of the eight regions had grapplers standing high on the podium.

“Being able to have all areas of the state involved in the state championship was incredible,” Wattenberg said. “It made it a real state championship.  It was successful, but as with any growth, there are growing pains.”

Addressing some of those is part of the plan for 2014.

One hot button issue in the postseason events this year was the officiating.  As a result of much discussion and debate, only New York State certified officials will be used for the NYWAY regional and state tournaments next year for all levels of competition.

“We listened to the various feedback and we had to weigh our original reasons for integrating our NYS college wrestlers into youth development tournaments as referees with the need to earn the confidence of our coaches and parents and keep the kids safe. In the end, we unanimously supported the use of certified officials for all championship events,” Wattenberg said. “That said, we still want to help keep our older wrestlers involved in youth development however we can.”

In addition to the refereeing changes, Wattenberg said there will be a major effort to improve IT systems.  In an attempt to both simplify and standardize, NYWAY will be providing the opportunity for all of its tournaments to move onto a common technology platform, including Track Wrestling.  This is in part due to the generous donations of the G2 World Wrestling Academy and will enable tournament hosting and planning to be easier for parents, coaches and event hosts.

And to standardize even more, the regions will be realigned to follow the high school sectional borders exactly.  What does that mean?  The Central region now includes all of Section 3, the Northern encompasses the combined forces of Sections 7 and 10 and the Capital houses Section 2.

But despite these changes, there will be plenty of things that will stay the same.

For example, NYWAY will continue to support travel of New York wrestlers to get new competition.  Wattenberg noted that a greater emphasis will be placed on sponsoring regional trips that are within driving distance to maximize the investment.

Going on those trips won’t be the only way to be exposed to top notch wrestling, however.  NYWAY has allocated funds to each region to provide free clinics with accomplished NYS college wrestlers and coaches.

The first of these took place last week and featured current Finger Lakes Wrestling Club and future Cornell wrestler (and three-time New York State champion) Brian Realbuto at Chittenango High School.  Another free opportunity will occur on May 18 at Owego Free Academy, with four-time All-American and 2012 NCAA champion Cam Simaz of the Big Red.

“We want to reach all wrestlers, regardless of ability or experience to keep them connected to wrestling and what wrestling can provide them in the future,” Wattenberg said. “There are a lot of communities that don’t have the chance to cross paths with college wrestlers.  We want to help make those connections.”

Wattenberg feels making those connections is important, as is increasing the pool of college wrestlers in New York.

“We already have raised around $7,000 for the President’s Wrestling Fund, which is dedicated to increasing college wrestling programs around the state,” Wattenberg said. “We’re actively working with some schools to initiate college programs.”

It’s fair to say that it has been an eventful second year for NYWAY – and now the organization is looking forward.

“Our mission is to improve both the quality and opportunity of wrestling participation for developing New York State wrestlers and we think we’ve developed the organization and a product that do just that,” Wattenberg said. “We’re looking to take a couple more steps toward that in 2014.”

———————–

A few key dates have already been identified for the next NYWAY season:

December 28-29, 2013 NYWAY Kickoff Open

–On the 28th, there will be a dual meet championship, featuring a K-6 team from each region

–On the 29th, there will be an individual tournament for wrestlers K-8

March 8-9, 2014, Regional Championships

March 15-16 State Championships (Onondoga Community College)

 

 

 

Down to Durham: State Runner Up Alex Tanzman Decides on Duke University

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With a pair of Suffolk County titles and two All-State showings, Duke University-bound Alex Tanzman is the most decorated wrestler in Westhampton Beach history.

However, when the squad looked to clinch the league title in January, the Hurricanes planned to do it with their star sitting on the sidelines.

“It was our last dual meet of the year against Shoreham Wading River and we needed to win it to win the league,” head coach Paul Bass said. “We were hoping to do it without him because he had hardly practiced in three weeks and was in a lot of pain. He had done his job for us 48 hours before when we upset [then-#3 in the state] Rocky Point and we didn’t want to wrestle him again.”

Things did not go according to plan, however.  When it came time for the 106-pound weight class, instead of being in a solid position to capture the meet, Westhampton Beach trailed by double digit points.

“Alex put his head gear on, took his warm ups off and said he had to go out there for the team,” Bass said.

Tanzman wasn’t facing just an average opponent.  He was set to take on James Szymanski, ranked in the top five in the state at the time after an outstanding third place performance at the Eastern States Classic.

According to Bass, Syzmanski jumped out to a three point lead lead after two periods.  But Tanzman fought back in the third, escaping to begin the stanza and picking up a takedown to tie things up.  In overtime, Tanzman completed the comeback to win 7-5 and propel his squad to the championship.

“It was the gutsiest thing I’ve seen in 31 years of coaching,” Bass said.

Coming from behind late in a match against a top foe takes guts, but Alex Tanzman was dealing with much more.  He always had his mother, Jina Tanzman, and her battle with pancreatic cancer in his thoughts.  And physically, he suffered a painful intercostal rib injury in early 2013 that impacted him the rest of the season.

“It was January 5 at our home tournament,” Tanzman said. “It was a short match.  I just did a wrong motion and twisted the wrong way. After that, I slowed down.  I took three weeks off to try to heal, but it didn’t really work. I wasn’t going to not wrestle my senior year so I just toughed through it.  I had to change the way I wrestled. I just had to adapt.”

Adapt is a good word for what he did, according to Bass, as he moved away being from the ultra aggressive wrestler he had always been.

According to his coach, Tanzman set the Long Island record with 37 pins as a junior and was on pace to challenge that mark with 11 falls in November and December.  However, the injury didn’t allow him to attack the way he typically had.

“He couldn’t be aggressive,” Bass said. “He started using a very defensive style.  He gave up more takedowns in the last three weeks of the season than he had in his whole career combined.  He had to square up his stance and score off of defense.”

That led to falling behind in bouts, something that had not been common for the senior in the past.

“I actually was losing in a lot of matches this year that I ended up winning,” Tanzman said. “I never got too nervous, I just tried to stay focused.  I never expected to lose, even with the pain.”

A great example was in the Suffolk County finals against West Babylon’s Steven Lee.  He trailed early in the contest, but responded with a pin and his second straight Section 11 title.  At that point, he had a 32-1 record with his only setback coming up a weight against nationally-ranked Nick Piccininni of Ward Melville.

A few weeks later, the returning New York State bronze medalist (at 99 pounds) was the top seed at the Times Union Center at 106 and he went all the way to the championship bout before dropping a decision to Wantagh’s Kyle Quinn.

While Bass desired a different outcome, he marveled at Tanzman’s ability to achieve second place.

“To win Suffolk and go all the way to the state finals in that kind of condition is pretty amazing,” the coach said. “Everyone we talked to said that injury shuts most guys down completely.  You can’t really twist certain ways.  Honestly, Alex couldn’t do much and we were nervous about the lack of work he was able to do.  It was touch and go for a while and we had to take one day at a time, one week at a time.  He kept coming through.”

That kind of ‘can do’ attitude was reflected by the entire Westhampton Beach squad this year. Both Tanzman and Bass emphasized how the tight-knit group pulled through a lot of adversity – and on top of that, earned a lot of success on the mat.

“We had a bunch of hard, tragic events going on all around us,” Bass said. “I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years of coaching.  But the kids stuck together.  There was no quit in anyone.  Alex was a perfect example. He was wired from his parents and teammates to keep going no matter what.”

“Our team was really close this year, all of us,” Tanzman added. “We stuck together and encouraged each other through some really hard times.  It was everyone – family, friends, coaches, teachers.  We were proud to win the leagues, which we wanted so bad.  We were able to support each other.”

One of the many evidences of that support came from the T-shirts the team sold.  According to Tanzman, the shirts were purple for pancreatic cancer and there was a “JT” on the sleeve for Jina Tanzman.  The money from the sales of the apparel went to the Lustgarden Foundation, an organization that funds pancreatic cancer research.

Tanzman’s ability to fight through it all was one of the many reasons the Duke coaching staff was excited to welcome him aboard.  His outstanding work in the classroom was, of course, another.

“I was always interested in Duke for the academics,” he said. “I visited a few weeks ago and met with Coach [Glen] Lanham and the wresting team.  It’s a beautiful school with great sports and I really liked the coaches.  It was my number one choice since the beginning of the year.”

The future economics major, who said he weighs about 122 pounds now, will redshirt his first year in Durham, North Carolina with the intention of wrestling at 125 the following season.

“Alex has all the tools,” Bass said. “He’s a very good athlete who is very explosive and strong for his size.  We always knew he was tough, from the time he was in our kid program in fifth grade.  He listens, he’s smart and he learns quickly.  You’re on your own a lot more in college and you need to be self-motivated and independent to succeed.  That’s Alex.  He has his priorities straight. He chose a great university and knows that education comes first.  I know he’ll do awesome.”