Five Empire State wrestlers will wrestle for national titles on Friday, March 30 in Virginia Beach at the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) championships.  Friday is the final day of competition in the Freshman, Sophomore and Junior divisions.  Action in the Senior brackets just got underway on Friday morning and will continue through Sunday, April 1.

Former state champion and three-time placer Tristan Rifanburg of Norwich dropped a decision to Neal Richards at 126 in the championship bout in the Freshman competition.  Rifanburg picked up five victories on his way to the finals, three by bonus points.  He edged Michael Monica of New Jersey 3-2 in Thursday night’s semifinals.

UPDATE: In the championship bout, Richards came out fast in the first period, taking Rifanburg down for a 2-0 lead.  The New York wrestler began the second period on top and worked for turns, but was unable to pick up  nearfall.  The grapplers started the third in neutral.  Rifanburg looked to score but was countered by Richards for another takedown.  Richards tacked on one more late in the third to earn a national championship.

A pair of Empire State sophomores will also wrestle on the biggest stage.

Corey Rasheed of Longwood followed up his strong 35-3 season at 145 pounds with a convincing run at Virginia Beach.  After a 10-4 decision to start the competition, Rasheed registered three straight pins in the first period to reach the semis.  He then defeated Josh Ortman of Pennsylvania 9-2 to move on to this afternoon’s finale against Larry Bomstad of Minnesota.

UPDATE: Rasheed and Bomstad traded shots early in the first, but no points were put on the board until late in the opening period when Bomstad hit a double, getting the takedown and three nearfall for a 5-0 lead.  Rasheed started on bottom in the second and earned a reversal at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 5-2.  The Minnesota wrestler chose top to begin the final period, but Rasheed was able to escape midway through.  Bomstad stayed on the attack, earning a takedown as time wound down to earn the 7-3 decision.

Burke Paddock is no stranger to the finals at NHSCAs.   Last year, he captured the 171-pound title in this event and he was third at the New York States this year at 170.  Paddock moved down to 160 pounds and has breezed through so far, with his closest match being an 11-2 major over fellow New Yorker Tyler Silverthorn in the semifinals.  He also has two falls and a technical fall.  His competitor will be New Jersey bronze medalist (at 152) Jonathan Schleifer.

UPDATE: Paddock came out aggressive, but Schleifer got on the board first with a takedown off the Warsaw wrestler’s shot.  After a quick escape, Paddock tried for a throw, but Schleifer countered for another TD.  Paddock escaped again to trail 4-2 after the first.  The New Jersey grappler took bottom and quickly widened  his advantage to 5-2.  Paddock was close to scoring on a single, but was unable to convert before the second ended.  In the third, Paddock chose down but could not escape until less than 10 seconds remained.  Schleifer grabbed a 5-3 victory.

There are also two juniors representing the Empire State in the title matches.  Chris Araoz of Wantagh had a solid season for the Warriors with a 37-5 record but did not qualify for the state tournament.  He has responded with five wins over the past few days, including an 8-3 decision over Deshun Brown of New Mexico to reach the finals against Georgia’s Philip Anderson.

UPDATE: Araoz got in deep on a shot late in the first period.  Anderson fought it off briefly, but Araoz was able to finish and get the tilt for three nearfall with short time left to take a 5-0 lead after one.  In the middle period, the Wantagh wrestler took top and tried for another turn.  However, his opponent escaped to cut the lead. Anderson shot a deep double toward the end of the period, but Araoz was able to prevent the takedown as time expired to take a 5-1 advantage into the final period.  In the third, the Georgia grappler selected top and was able to break Araoz down.   Araoz was called for stalling three times, resulting in two points.  With the score 5-2, Araoz escaped and the Long Island wrestler won the 120 pound title, 6-3.  Great performance for the Wantagh junior.

The last New Yorker battling for a crown is Peru’s Troy Seymour at 170 pounds.  Seymour took fourth in a deep class in Albany, in which he split matches with the aforementioned Paddock.  Seymour finished the high school campaign at 40-2.  He began the competition at NHSCAs with a technical fall but then demonstrated his ability to win close bouts, earning 3-0, 1-0 and 8-7 triumphs before beating Chris Moore of Ohio 5-2 in the semis.  He will face Ethan Ramos of New Jersey on Friday afternoon.

UPDATE: Seymour and Ramos battled to a scoreless draw in the first period, during which Seymour fought off two deep shot attempts by his opponent on the edge.  Seymour took down in the second and Ramos rode tough, not allowing the Peru wrestler to escape.  After an injury timeout, the third period began with Ramos in the bottom position.  Seymour worked for backs and was able to break the Garden State grappler down for a while.  However, while he worked for a turn, Ramos was able to get the reversal and back points, leading to a fall.

For a list of New York placewinners, see below:

FRESHMAN DIVISION

106: Eighth place Kyle Quinn (Wantagh)

113: Sixth place Anthony Orefice (Lockport) 

126: Second place Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich)

132: Seventh place Jakob Restrepo (Sachem East)

138: Third place Thomas Dutton (Rocky Point)

152: Seventh place Nathan Schwab (Clarence)

160: Eighth place Nick Wentland (Minisink Valley)

182: Sixth place Garrett Duval (Sherburne-Earlville)

195: Eighth place Cody Marshall (Sherburne-Earlville)

SOPHOMORE DIVISION

145: Second place Corey Rasheed (Longwood)

152: Fourth place Michael Pistone (Sachem East)

152: Seventh place Derek Holcomb (Newark Valley)

160: Second place Burke Paddock (Warsaw)

160: Fourth place Tyler Silverthorn (General Brown)

160: Fifth place Franky Nassivera (Queensbury) 

160: Eighth place Daniel Smith (South Jefferson) 

195: Sixth place Reggie Williams (Johnson City)

285:  Third place James O’Hagan (Seaford)

JUNIOR DIVISION

106: Fifth place Kyle Kelly (Chenango Forks)

120: Champion Chris Araoz (Wantagh)

120: Sixth place TJ Fabian (Shoreham Wading River)

138: Fifth place Dan McDevitt (Wantagh)

152: Seventh place Chris Koo (Great Neck)

160: Fourth place Tyler Grimaldi (Half Hollow Hills West)

170: Second place Troy Seymour (Peru)

220: Fourth place Nick Lupi (Huntington) vs. Eldon Valery (VA)

285: Fourth place Brandon Fayle (Lowville) vs. Joe Bexley (GA)

285: Sixth place El Shaddai VanHoesen (Columbia) vs. Jonah Aurelio (RI)

By Betsy Veysman

The NCAA season ended last Saturday night, but there was still plenty of high level wrestling on the campus of Cornell University this weekend as nearly 650 grapplers took the mat in the first ever NYWAY State Championships.

There were many champions crowned, from the lightest weight (37 pounder James Leuer Jr. of Lockport Kids Club) to the high school 220-pound victor (Corey Gaffney). There was a well-known youth wrestler (Stevo Poulin at 55 pounds). There were winners in deep classes, such as the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club’s Lucas Malmberg topping a field at 112 pounds that contained three other state placers from Albany.  And there was even a pair of NYPHSAA state finalists battling for the 125-pound trophy, as 2011 state champion William Koll decisioned 2012 runner up Vincent Deprez.

Few champions were as dominant, however, as the ones from the top two teams in the tournament, G2 World Wrestling Academy from Rochester (five champions) and Cobra Wrestling Academy from Depew (four champions).

G2 came out on top of the team race with 219.5 points.  Cobra was right behind with 214, with Finger Lakes Wrestling Club in bronze position with 200.5.

“I didn’t think too much about the team portion of it initially,” said G2 head coach Adam Burgos.  “I was focused on the kids individually, doing what they’ve been training for.  About halfway through the day, I heard the team scores and realized we were right up there.  Then when we heard we won, we were ecstatic.  This will be the premier youth event in the state, so to win the first year is huge.”

Presenting team awards rather than just individual medals was a relatively late addition to the event after it was suggested by Cobra Executive Director and Niagara County Community College coach Keith Maute.

“All the kids love team events and wrestling when there’s something at stake for the group,” Maute said. “Adding a team race to mimic the high school states and even the college level was a great thing that gets them used to what they’ll see as they get older.  I like them to understand the points system and especially what getting bonus points means to your team.”

The combined nine champions from G2 and Cobra certainly seemed to understand the concept of extra points very well.

For G2, Frankie Gissendanner (D4, 120 pounds), Yianni Diakomihalis (D4, 100 pounds) and Ryan Burgos (D3, 70) all went undefeated on Sunday and only one of their matches went the distance.

Gissendanner spent less than three minutes on the mat in each of his matches, winning a trio of bouts by fall to capture the title.

“Frankie is a phenomenal athlete,” Burgos said.  “He’s easy to watch and even easier to coach because once you present something to him, he goes out and executes it.”

He and eighth grade teammate Diakomihalis benefit from working out together.  Diakomihalis won the 100-pound class on the strength of two pins and a technical fall.

“Both Frankie and Yianni work extremely hard,” the coach said. “Their futures are extremely bright in this sport.  They go so hard in practice that when they get to the matches, they seem like they’re at a different speed than their opponents.”

After a close first round match, Ryan Burgos registered three pins in the event, and he did it on his terms.

“Ryan put it all together this weekend,” Coach Burgos said of his son. “He had a really tough semifinals opponent, Elijah Rodriguez from Norwich.  I was telling him to stick to the plan, keep good head position.  He said he really wanted to try a spladle.  Sure enough, he was behind 2-0 in the second and hit a spladle and got the pin.  He said he saw [Rodriguez’s] match earlier and thought it would work.  I don’t know how he saw it; he’s just 10 years old.  I’m very proud of him.”

Burgos was also proud of another pair of wrestlers who took gold in Division 2 for his squad – Jayden Scott (65 pounds) and Cooper Kropman (80 pounds).

“I think I had the most fun watching [Scott] wrestle,” Burgos said.  “His dad is so animated.  He wasn’t that familiar with wrestling at first and now they’re hooked. Jayden’s had success at an early age and without much experience.”

Wrestling has been a big part of Cooper Kropman’s family, with two of his siblings also competing on Sunday.  According to Burgos, Kropman is a “phenomenal little wrestler” who strikes a resemblance to another talented grappler.

“Cooper is part of a terrific wrestling family that will do big things,” Burgos said.  “He puts together sophisticated moves at such a young age. If you squint your eyes, with his blonde hair, he looks a little like [Cornell’s three-time NCAA champion] Kyle Dake. Cooper always has the biggest smile on his face and is walking around talking to people.  You saw Kyle Dake there this weekend, smiling, talking to everyone too.”

NYWAY State President Clint Wattenberg felt that having members of the Cornell program on hand strengthened the event.

“It’s a pretty special thing to be able integrate top New York wrestlers that are five years old and college age,” Wattenberg said.  “The kids can look up to someone like Kyle Dake, who is a product of New York.  That helps to bring things full circle and show the kids that one day they can achieve dreams beyond youth wrestling.”

In addition, Burgos noted that he’s never been part of a tournament before where “you need to relieve the timekeeper [Dake] because everyone is getting autographs and taking pictures with him.  But [Dake] seemed to be enjoying it.”

Team Cobra enjoyed the event as well, with more than 20 placewinners. (Team scoring only took 10 wrestlers into account).

Leading away for Cobra were four competitors who went a combined 14-0 with 14 bonus point wins.

Carson Alberti (D2, 50 pounds) and his cousin Dane Heberlein (D5, 85 pounds) rolled over the competition all day long, combining for three pins, a tech fall and two majors.

“They’re the kinds of kids that you show them something once and they get it automatically,” Maute said.  “They just understand it and perfect it.  They both have a ton of natural athletic ability.  I joke with their fathers that it must come from their mothers’ side since their mothers are related.  They were very dominant.”

Also very dominant was D5 120 pound winner Kellen Devlin.  The eighth grader racked up two pins, a technical fall and an 11-0 major decision after qualifying for the New York state tournament this winter for Amherst High School.

“It’s really hard to find people Kellen’s age that can beat him,” Maute said. “He probably should have placed at states; he was caught in between weight classes.  He’s so good that to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a two or three time state champion in high school before he’s done.”

Philip Calandra earned his title at 90 pounds in Division 4 after taking third at the regional qualifier.  He looked like a champion this weekend, with three pins and a technical fall in four bouts despite a hurdle that emerged along the way.

“It was a tough weight and Philip had to beat some familiar guys,” Maute said. “Our club took 1-2-3 in that bracket.  In the semifinals, Philip broke his hand in the first 30 seconds of the match.  At the time, we didn’t know it was broken.  He got taped up, went back out there and got the pin.  Then he got another pin in the finals. Now he’s in a cast.  He definitely showed determination, not letting anything get in his way.”

The NYWAY organization has taken a similar approach in its initial season. Wattenberg acknowledged that there were challenges, especially from a logistical standpoint, during the first year of operation.  But he and the others in attendance on Sunday believe that the inaugural state championships and the campaign as a whole have been very successful.

“I was happy with about 90% of the things that happened this weekend,” Wattenberg said. “The other 10% was managed effectively, helped by some really good people, including our head pairers Jon Gregory and Phil Yoder, who were responsible for the day going so smooth.”

“I thought they did a great job with this tournament,” Maute agreed. “With so many kids, we were finished by about 6:30, which was great.  The competition was tough and I think it will only continue to get better.”

The coaches expressed optimism that the offerings of NYWAY will also only continue to get better from a good starting point.

“The most positive thing I saw was the step of getting the state organized,” Burgos said. “Not to knock other organizations, but there wasn’t a lot of organizational reachout at the state level before NYWAY.  NYWAY tried to organize regions and get people involved.  At the local level, I think the competition has increased with NYWAY.  You have clubs and families that want youth wrestling to grow and I think it will because of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes.”

Both coaches also were impressed with the opportunities wrestlers were given to see different competition through travel with NYWAY.

“It was amazing that they sent kids to places like California,” Burgos said. “For $200, they traveled cross country, wrestled and saw some sights.  Amazing.  They made it happen and that’s huge for the kids and their development.”

“Some of our guys went on the trip to California,” Maute added. “We also had quite a few on the team that went to Michigan. Those experiences are so important.   I met Mark Hall [whose son Mark is a star for Apple Valley High School in Minnesota] a few years ago.  He told me about the MYWA organization [the Michigan model for NYWAY] a few years ago and he was telling me that we needed to get it started in New York.  He talked about how his son has seen so much of the country through MYWA for very little cost.  The next thing you know, Clint Wattenberg and other great people were working on it.  I was always interested in the model but didn’t know how to get the ball rolling.  They picked the right people to do it and they’re doing well so far.”

Wattenberg believes that NYWAY’s second year will build upon the foundation created over the past 12 months.

“This year’s NYWAY season was about putting together some tournaments while working with people who are passionate about the common vision of where New York state wrestling can go,” he said. “Moving into next year, we need to expand our reach downstate and we plan to provide a real tournament season that will make youth wrestling more organized and accessible to kids and families. Ultimately, we’re working toward a true New York state championship, unifying the state for youth wrestling.”

To watch videos from the NYWAY State Championships:

http://newyorkwrestlingnews.com/william-koll-vs-vincent-deprez-125lbs-finals-nyway-state-championships/

For full brackets and results: http://www.nyway.org/results/

For over 1000 photos of the NYWAY State Championships, visit:    http://zephyr.exposuremanager.com/

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

 D1 (2005-2007)

 37: James Leuer Jr (Lockport) pin Cooper Gronowski (Cobra), 2:55

40: Kyrius Townsend (Whitney Point) pin Lucas Hoffman, 1:38

45: Ryan Massengale (Horseheads) decision Gianni Silvestri (Tioga), 7-6

50: Benny Merrill (Warsaw) pin John Chamberlain (IHC Cavaliers), 0:31

55: Jack Clough (IHC Cavaliers) decision Frankie Luculano (Frewsburg), 10-8

60: Conor Meagher (Camden Pee Wee) decision Isaac Allen (Finger Lakes), 11-7

65:  Peyton Hodder (Canisteo) decision Jared Cook (Indian River), 11-9

75-HWT:  Trevor Harrington major Jacob Gates (Mexico), 10-0

D2 (2003-2004)

 45: Bryce Bailey (Waverly) decision Myles Gronowski (Cobra), 6-0

50: Carson Alberti (Cobra) pin Colin Bradshaw (Phoenix), 1:42

55: Andrew Lucinski (Lockport) decision Carter Schubert (Superior), 4-2

60: Troy Spratley (Norwich) pin Kyle Burback (vvs), 2:40

65: Jayden Scott (G2 World Wrestling) major Jacob Deguire, 12-0

70: Luca Pirozzolo (Port Byron) decision Will Smeader (Bulldog), 6-4 (ot)

75: Joseph Dixon (Niagara Falls) major Hunter John (Gowanda), 8-0

80: Cooper Kropman (G2 World) major Colby Young (Canton), 8-0

88: Tyler Rice (Norwich) decision Duncan Zubrzycki (Copenhagen), 9-8

100: Charlie Tibbitts (vvs) decision Ryan Moran-Vaughn (Cobra), 4-1

HWT: Kenneth Trumble Jr (Indian River) pin Hunter Hoffman (Indian River), 0:58

D3 (2001-2002)

 55: Stevo Poulin (Journeymen) pin Jace Schafer (Superior), 1:34

60: Myles Griffin (Mexico) major Greg Diakomihalis (G2 World), 9-0

65: Ethan Ferro (Whitney Point) decision Matthew LaPorte (Hoosick Falls), 4-2

70: Ryan Burgos (G2 World) pin Justin Mcdougald (Niagara Falls), 2:28

75: John Worthing (Finger Lakes) decision Dean Shambo (Mexico), 2-0

80: Wyatt Smith (Midlakes) decision Ryan Martin (Brockport), 4-0

85: Benny Baker (Finger Lakes) decision William Mcdougald (Niagara Falls), 5-4

90: Zachery Lawrence (Journeymen) pin Cory Day (Cobra), 1:53

95: Tyler Kellison (vvs) decision Gabriel Mastrangelo (Bulldog), 5-1

100: Camrin Galvin (Fulton) decision Colby Johnson (vvs), 6-2

110: Kevin Halford (NWAA) decision Slade Springer (Central Square), 7-5

125: Henry Grunzweig (Grand Island) pin Maraina Villalobos (Indian River), 0:54

140: Mike Leibl (Edge) pin Mason Pagett (Randolph), 0:55

D4 (1999-2000)

 65: Michael Gonyea (Journeymen) major Matthew Griffin (Mexico Wresting), 8-0

70: Orion Anderson (Hoosick Falls Wrestling) decision Christian Kee, 6-0

75: Mitchell Seaver (Lockport Kids Club) decision Brenden Gager (Norwich), 5-0

80: Dillan Palaszewski (Journeymen) decision CJ Walz (Edge), 10-6

85: AJ Burkhart (Independent Wrestling) decision Michael Bristol (Edge), 10-3

90: Philip Calandra (Cobra Wrestling) pin Dominic Crouse (Cobra Wrestling), 2:22

95: Tanner Lapiene (Ogdensburg) decision Steven Kapuscinski (Lockport), 4-0

100: Yianni Diakomihalis (G2 World Wrestling) TF Hammond Raes (Midlakes), 16-0

106: Jacob Peru (Falconer Wrestling) decision Caleb Mayer (Lowville), 6-2

113: Dillon Knoll (Bulldog Youth) major Morgan Seller (Beaver River), 12-0

120: Frankie Gissendanner (G2 World Wrestling) pin Billy Ciccarelli, 2:45

130: Dominic Salerno (Greene) pin Matt Tanner (Adirondack Wrestling), 0:49

140: Dustin Dailey (Deposit) pin Dylan Depew (Oxford), 2:53

150: Antonio Cutrie (Titletown Fight Club) decision Gavin Kovalik (General Brown), 8-2

160: Caleb Null (Carthage) pin Keagan Carmenatty (Finger Lakes Wrestling), 1:10

175: Roddy Rodgers (Seneca Grappler)

HWT: Nick Jones (Dunkirk) pin Joshua Shumate (NWAA), 1:24

D5 (1997-1998)

 80: Austin O’Reilly (Mexico) injury default Trent Nadeau (Cobra Wrestling)

85: Dane Heberlein (Cobra) TF Dylan Arena (Cobra), 22-6

91: Kelan McKenna (vvs Youth) decision Derek St. James (G2 World), 6-0

98: Ryan O’Rourke (Adirondack) decision Ryan Hetrick (Southwestern), 2-0

105: Dandre Norman (Edge) decision Donald McCoy (Niagra Falls), 9-2

112: Andrew McFarland (Carthage) decision Daniel Fox (Shadow), 6-0

120: Kellen Devlin (Cobra) major Paul Bavisotto (Cobra), 11-0

130: Joshua Simpfenderfer (Ironmen) decision Kirkland Feeney (Lockport), 3-2

140: Jordan Bushey decision Kyle Pittman (G2 World), 7-1

150: Jordan Torbit (Whitney Point) decision Richie Jones (Cobra), 1-0

160: Josh Burge (Elmira) decision Trevor Allard (Mexico), 2-0

172: Jacob Woolson (Mexico) pin Jacob Sweet (Brockport), 1:29

185: Ricardo Dawkins (General Brown) decision Garrett Knoll (Bulldog), 2-0

HWT: Matt Marshall (Fulton) pin Alex Jones (Dunkirk), 3:56

D6 (High School)

 95:  Nick Johnson

103: Blake Abbey

112: Lucas Malmberg (Finger Lakes) decision Thomas Hill (Fulton), 2-0

118: Anthony Orefice (Lockport) decision Nick Toutant (Indian River), 7-0

125: William Koll (Finger Lakes) decision Vincent DePrez (G2 World), 5-1

130: Branden Muntz (Falconer) decision Jake Anderson (Hoosick Falls), 7-2

135: Scott Stafford decision Derrick Gray (Indian River), 7-3

141: Connor Lapresi (Finger Lakes) decision Trevor Hoffmier (Finger Lakes), 1-0

145: Cam Milliken (NY Titan) pin Sean McKenna, 2:47

150: Joshua McFarland (Carthage) decision Dan Woughter (Finger Lakes), 10-7

160: Tyler Spann (Adirondack) decision Jake Weber, 3-0

170: Michael Green (Journeymen) decision Andrew Cole (Ogdensberg), 5-3

189: James Benjamin pin Connor Calkins (Finger Lakes), 3:52

195: Todd Oakes (Fulton)

220: Corey Gaffney decision Ethan Venosa, 3-1

By Matt Diano

On a magical Sunday afternoon that was as much about 30 selfless student-athletes giving freely of their time to raise money for two incredible organizations (the Adam Frey Foundation and Pinning Down Autism) as it was a battle of interstate rivals, the second annual NY/NJ Charity Challenge ended the only way it could and should, with the outcome being decided in the final bout of the event. It was the hosts from the Empire State shocking the proverbial wrestling world by upending their neighbors by a score of 27-23.  Today’s victory marked the second straight win for the Empire State after winning the inaugural event 31-25 last season.

Regarded as significant underdogs heading into the dual, many so-called aficionados were predicting that New York would be fortunate if they managed to win five of the 15 contested bouts.  One bold individual even suggested that if the Garden Staters brought their “A” game to Clarkstown South High School that a shutout would not be out of the question.   Whether this disrespect served as added motivation or not remains unclear.  What is known is that contrary to the forecasts of others, the wrestlers from New York came out with a mission in mind, to prove that they play second fiddle to no foe when it comes to a contest pitting the best of the best against one another.   Any previous discussion of a potential blanking was quickly put to bed as the Jason Bross-led NYers jumped out to an early 15-3 lead behind victories at 99, 106, 120, 126, and 132 pounds.

Getting the dual started off on the right note for Team New York was Wantagh freshman Jose Rodriguez, the 2012 NYS Division I runner-up.  Pitted against 4x New Jersey Kids State Champion, Kyle Bierdumpfel (NJ does not contest a 99-pound division on the varsity level), it was Rodriguez coming on strong in the third, escaping to tie the bout at six before hitting a cement mixer for 2+3 to take the 11-6 lead.  To his credit, the stud 8^th-grader Bierdumpfel showed immense perseverance, fighting off his back and eventually getting the escape.  However, there would be no coming back as NY grabbed the 3-0 team lead via an 11-7 decision.

106 pounds was another case of New York trailing for a good part of the bout before storming back in the third period to seize victory.  Falling behind 4-0 following a first period takedown and second period reversal, things were not looking very good for DI State Champion Nick Piccininni of Ward Melville in Section XI.  But alas, known for his heart and non-stop attacking style, the two-time Suffolk County Champion clawed his way into the bout against NJ State runner-up Carl Buttitta, utilizing an escape midway through the middle stanza, followed by a takedown in the last half minute to cut the lead to 4-3 after two periods.  The bout was soon tied as Buttitta was called for his third caution from the top position before a single second had ticked off the clock in the third period.  With the bout all square at 4-4, rather than risk a late escape to lose, the Iselin-Kennedy product instead elected to cut Piccininni to give the NYer his first lead of the bout.  Rather than sit on the lead, Piccininni continued with the aggressive style that had gotten him to this point, remaining on the attack and gradually wearing down his opponent, adding an insurance takedown with 25 seconds left in the match to make the score 7-4.  Piccininni rode out the closing seconds to emerge with the “W”.

Following a 5-0 Pat Skinner loss to two-time New Jersey State Champion Brenden Calas (an escape late in the second, accompanied by a pair of two-point nearfalls accounting for the final score), the Empire State returned to its winning ways when Sean McCabe bested two-time NJ State finalist/2012 Champion, Mike Magaldo, 4-2 with a reversal late in the third period.  McCabe, a senior from Connetquot High School, tallied the only takedown of the bout in the first period, but found himself in a nail biter after his rideout in the second period was negated by a second stalling warning from bottom in the final period. (Magaldo’s other point came from an escape in the first following the aforementioned takedown).  However, as composed as they come, McCabe never panicked, slowly but surely maneuvering himself into an advantageous position, eventually being awarded the reversal in the final half minute to pull off the toss-up bout at 120 pounds.

The winning streak hit three in a row one weight class later when again, it was a more seasoned New York representative finding a way to win a close bout.  This time, it was Eastport South Manor senior Maverick Passaro, a 2012 DI State Champion in his only appearance in Albany, breaking a 1-1 tie when he successfully got in deep and converted a double-leg takedown with :25 remaining in the match to take the 3-1 lead.  New Jersey State runner-up Gary Dinmore, sensing the urgency of the situation, reacted well, quickly creating a scramble from bottom in an attempt to get the equalizing reversal.  Dinmore, who was filling in for 3x State Champion Anthony Ashnault, who had a prior commitment to the Junior National Team, came close to getting the two, but in the end, found himself on the wrong end of the 3-1 decision.

New York deepened the hole Jersey was stuck in when they received a Herculean effort from 2012 DI bronze medalist, Nick Kelley, of two-time NYS Team Champions, Shenendehowa High School.   Despite finishing third in NYS this season, anyone who has seen Kelley during his scholastic career knew that coming into the season, he was 1A at the 132-pound weight class, every bit as dangerous as eventual State Champion Jamel Hudson. (Kelley lost a one point decision to Hudson in the state semifinals a few weeks ago). Scoring the only two takedowns of the bout in the first and third periods (including the clincher in the final three seconds) , Kelley emerged with the 5-1 decision over 2012 NJ State champion Scott Delvecchio of perennial powerhouse South Plainfield.

As a testament to the talent and heart possessed on the other side of the G.W. Bridge, New Jersey shook off the early adversity and rallied, winning three of the next four weight classes.  Serving as a catalyst at 138 pounds was BJ Clagon, who dominated the action from the feet. Clagon secured two takedowns in the first period and then added an additional TD in the last 20 seconds of the middle stanza to hold a 6-4 lead entering the final two minutes over Canastota’s DII State runner-up, Anthony Finocchiaro.  Clagon, who looked about as lights out as one can in the state tournament a few weeks ago, doubled up his opponent by coming behind for a reversal with a little more than 1:00 remaining in the bout to make the score 8-4.  Finocchiaro, who will continue his wrestling career next fall at Brown University, worked valiantly to escape from bottom, but simply was unable to free himself as the final seconds ticked away.

Building off the momentum created by Clagon, Alex “Lenny” Richardson did his part in the comeback effort, just missing bonus points in an 11-5 decision over Mike Caputo from the host school at 145 pounds.  Many thought this would be a low scoring affair, as the two are teammates at the Apex Wrestling Club and are familiar with each other’s styles.  Richardson had a much different idea as he piled on the takedowns one after the other, bringing the total to five by the time the six minute duration had elapsed.  One positive for Caputo, who is rumored to have given a verbal commitment to Hofstra University, is that in the closing seconds of the match, with Richardson close to finishing a takedown on the far edge of the mat, Caputo successfully fought off the attack, denying his Jersey opponent of some much needed and desired bonus points.

With the margin having been cut to a much more respectable 15-9 team score and the Jersey boys threatening to go on the kind of run that often leads to victory, if there was ever a time that New York needed a big gun to step to the plate and reassert control, it was now.  And, as luck would have it, the Empire State just happened to have a bazooka in their arsenal waiting to take care of business.  Ranked in the top-10 nationally at 152 pounds prior to his decision to bump up for the postseason, Long Beach senior Dylan Palacio, who remains among the most coveted recruits on the free agent market, knew what was expected of him and did not fail to deliver.  The aggressor every second of the bout, Palacio actually found himself trailing 2-1 at the end of the second period, having surrendered a takedown via power-double in the first period, and mustering only an escape in the middle frame.  But, like any blue chipper, Palacio saved his best for last as the narrow deficit was quickly transformed into a 4-2 lead when he utilized a bar to tilt fellow State Champion, Raamiah Bethea, early in the third period to take his first lead of the match.  The bout remained at 4-2 until Bethea made the mistake of putting himself in bad position while attempting to get free from bottom.  Seeing his opportunity, Palacio locked up a cradle and got the fall with :48 remaining to bring the crowd to its feet and add a little cushion to the New York lead, 21-9.  The loss was the first of the season for Bethea as both student-athletes came into the match unblemished in 2012.  The win for Palacio proved invaluable to the team effort as again, New Jersey refused to “go gentle into that good night” (to quote Dylan Thomas), claiming victory at 160, 182, 195, and 220 to bring the score within a single point, 24-23.

At 160, it was super sophomore Johnny Sebastian of Bergen Catholic exploding for two takedowns in the first period to lead 4-2 after the first two minutes against Monsignor Farrell senior Rrok Ndokaj (who finished fourth at the DI tournament @170, but willingly dropped to allow DII State Champion, Zach Zupan to participate).  An Ndokaj escape in the second was the only scoring there would be in the middle frame, sending the bout to the final two minutes with the NJ youngster still holding the lead, 4-3.  In the third, Ndokaj did a solid job riding, preventing his opponent from getting his escape.  However, with the clock as big an enemy as Sebastian, Ndokaj did the only thing he could do, going for broke with a tilt attempt in the last 15 seconds of the match.  Sebastian, obviously expecting the last ditch attempt, easily countered and earned a reversal to pull off the 6-3 decision.

The previously cited Zupan came up clutch for the Empire State at 170, winning a war of State Champions over Ryan Harrington, a two-timer, who came into the All-Star Challenge unbeaten in the last two years.  While Harrington was the more aggressive of the two in the first period, getting in deep on multiple occasions, it was Zupan scoring the only point of the first two minutes when Harrington was called for grabbing the headgear in the last five seconds of the period while trying to pull the NYS DII champion back onto the mat for a takedown attempt.  A quick Harrington escape to begin the second evened the score at 1-1.  The bout stayed all squared up until Zupan was able to finish a single-leg TD with 14 seconds remaining in the second period.  He went on to ride out the last few seconds to keep the 3-1 lead entering the third period.  There would be some fireworks in the closing minute of action as Harrington worked furiously to fight his way back from a 4-1 deficit following a Zupan escape earlier in the period.  Securing two takedowns within 20 seconds of each other, Harrington eventually tied the match at 5-5.  However, his gamble of trying to play for the win, cutting Zupan in the last 30 seconds of the match, ended up being the difference as he was unable to get the winning takedown, dropping the narrow 6-5 decision.

182 and 195 witnessed back-to-back bonus wins for Jersey as Jackson Memorial’s Dallas Winston and North Bergen’s Eric McMullen toyed with their opponents, dominating from every position on the mat en route to 10-2 and 14-2 victories respectively.  The New Jersey State Champion at 182 pounds led his bout 5-0 after the first period, using a quick takedown and a three-point nearfall to quickly gain control over fellow senior, Jacob Berkowitz (the 2012 DI runner-up) of Scarsdale.  Winston would not take his foot off of the gas pedal, escaping in the second period and then adding a pair of third period takedowns (the last one coming with just under :20 remaining in the match) to pull his state within eight points, 24-16.

McMullen was a master of the big move in his bout against NYS DI runner-up, Reggie Williams of Johnson City.  Leading 2-1 following a quick takedown (and escape by Williams), McMullen blew the match open in the blink of an eye, hitting an inside trip to the back for the takedown and two additional nearfall points to conclude the opening period with a healthy 6-1 lead.   Williams came out determined in the second, earning the quick escape and moving forward.  However, any thoughts he may have had of getting himself back into the match soon faded away as McMullen lit up the scoreboard with a five-point lateral drop to increase the lead to 11-2 after the second.  In the third, Williams attempted to set up for a cradle, but McMullen, mindful of his insurmountable lead, remained conservative from bottom, not allowing himself to get caught in any game changing moves.  Still trailing 11-2 and unable to turn McMullen, Williams made the decision to cut his Jersey opponent.  With the match all but already over, McMullen put an emphatic cap on his win by adding one final takedown in the last 25 seconds of the bout to account for the final tally.

The quest for the come-from-behind team win remained intact at 220 pounds as Lex Knapp scored the only point of the match via a second period escape.  Despite what the scoreboard might indicate, this battle of the big boys was not without its share of activity as on two occasions, Brooklyn Tech senior Patryk Kopczynski, who finished fourth in the DI State tournament this season, appeared to have secured takedowns to take a lead in the bout. With :05 remaining in the first period, the Hunter College signee looked to have established control on the edge of the mat to take the 2-0 lead.  In fact, initially, this was the call that the officials made before eventually waving it off after a quick meeting of the minds.  After surrendering the escape to Knapp in the second period, Kopczysnki hit a nice low single after a stalemate to seemingly move in front.  Again, there were no points for the Team NY representative as the officials ruled that he was guilty of a false start.  These two “no calls”  (the first more controversial than the latter) would prove to be the difference as Knapp did a fine job working from the top position, controlling the PSAL wrestler for the full two minutes to win by the slimmest of margins.  The win set the stage for a winner take all final bout of the afternoon.

Scoreless after the first two minutes (certainly not uncommon for the 285 pound weight class), Cole Lampman and his Garden State opponent, 2012 runner-up, Jermaine Eleumunor, exchanged escapes early in the second and third periods to knot the score at 1-1.  The score remained unchanged through the rest of regulation and after the 1:00 sudden victory period.  Having scored first, Eleumenor had his choice first in the alternating :30 rideout periods.  Electing to start on top, the NJ wrestler was not able to do much, quickly surrendering the escape to trail 2-1 with his turn on bottom still awaiting him.  For Lampman, who could have easily made 220 this season, but preferred to stay at heavyweight as preparation for his plans to wrestle at 285 collegiately for Princeton University, the stage was set to play hero.  All that separated him from glory was 30 seconds of hard wrestling from top.  To say that he made the most of the opportunity would be an understatement.  So in control was Lampman that despite being undersized, he never gave his opponent any hope of an escape, keeping him on his stomach for the full half minute…MATCH OVER; NEW YORK VICTORY !!!

Bross, who in addition to serving as the Team NY coach, is the founder of the Pinning Down Autism organization and also one of the organizers of the dual, was excited by the success of the event.

“There were nothing but winners today,” Bross said.  “Every match was a thriller.  It all came down to the last match.  The fans saw the best wrestling you ever can.  We packed the house and our charities had an amazing fundraiser.”

In addition, the victorious coach had the highest level of praise for the members of his team.

“They were amazing,” he said.  “All of them came out with a chip on their shoulder and set a hard pace, pushing the action for the full six minutes.  That was the difference.  It was great to see the kids bond and pull for their teammates, who were their competition during the season.”

New York-27; New Jersey-23 (FINAL)

99- Jose Rodriguez  (NY) dec. Kyle Bierdumpfel (NJ), 11-7

106- Nick Piccininni (NY) dec. Carl Buttitta (NJ), 7-4

113- Brenden Calas (NJ) dec. Patrick Skinner (NY), 5-0

120- Sean McCabe (NY) dec. Mike Magaldo (NJ), 4-2

126- Maverick Passaro (NY) dec. Gary Dinmore (NJ), 3-1

132- Nick Kelley (NY) dec. Scott Delvecchio (NJ), 5-1

138- BJ Clagon (NJ) dec. Anthony Finocchiaro (NY), 8-4

145- Lenny Richardson (NJ) dec. Mike Caputo (NY), 11-5

152- Dylan Palacio (NY) pinned Raamiah Bethea (NJ) 5:12

160- Johnny Sebastian (NJ) dec. Rrok Ndokaj (NY), 6-3

170- Zach Zupan (NY) dec. Ryan Harrington (NJ), 6-5

182- Dallas Winston (NJ) MD Jacob Berkowitz (NY), 10-2

195- Eric McMullen (NJ) MD Reggie Williams (NY), 14-2

220- Lex Knapp (NJ) dec. Patryk Kopczynski (NY), 1-0

285- Cole Lampman (NY) dec. Jermaine Eleumenor (NJ), 2-1 (ot)