Category Archives: Section 4

Local Star, Bearcat Future: Johnson City's Reggie Williams Commits to Binghamton

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Reggie Williams has watched the Binghamton wrestling team closely over the years.  Now, he’s committed to be a part of it.

The Johnson City senior, who lives just a few miles from campus, recently gave his verbal pledge to the Bearcats after also considering schools such as Iowa State, North Carolina State and Oklahoma.

“I decided to go to Binghamton because it’s a great school,” Williams said. “But one of the things that was running in the back of my head was my dad and my family.  I thought it would be a great choice to stay around, making it possible for my parents to see me more. Then you just have a big home crowd that stays and comes to the home matches.”

Photo by BV

Williams, who said he plans to be a 184 pounder in college, didn’t begin wrestling until sixth grade. However, he wasted no time making a name for himself in the sport.  He was a Section 4 runner up as an eighth grader and as a freshman, Williams earned a spot in the New York State semifinals, eventually taking sixth at 189 pounds.

A few months later, the Johnson City senior made an impact at the national level, earning All-American honors in two of the biggest offseason events in the country.  He first took fourth at the NHSCA Nationals in Virginia Beach before notching fifth in Cadet Freestyle at Fargo.

The Section 4 standout’s success continued over the years, as he was the state runner up at 195 as a sophomore and nabbed spots on the podium at the NHSCA Nationals twice more – sixth as a 10th grader and second as a junior in 2013.  His impressive run to the finals in Virginia Beach this spring at 195 included a victory over University of Minnesota-bound Nathan Rose, who is ranked #57 among seniors nationwide by Intermat.

Williams is determined to capture a state crown in his last campaign for the Wildcats before making the short journey to start his career in the EIWA.

And when he does begin his college career, he won’t be the only Bearcat in his family.

“On top of everything, I’ll be going to school with my dad because he’s a student at Binghamton as we speak,” Williams said.

The Bearcats brought in a top 25 recruiting class comprised of several top Empire State wrestlers in head coach Matt Dernlan’s first year. With Williams joining Hilton’s Vincent and Anthony DePrez and MacArthur’s Steve Schneider, another strong group is on the way to Binghamton in the fall of 2014.

Power Path to a Championship: New York's Top Sophomore Christian Dietrich Seeks State Gold

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We have been discussing some of the top wrestlers in New York over the past few weeks.  We started with our #1 Junior High School grappler in the state, Penfield eighth grader Frankie Gissendanner (see link),then profiled top freshman Yianni Diakomihalisand discussed other ninth graders to watch.  The following takes a look at wrestler at the head of the sophomore class – Christian Dietrich of Greene.

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Wrestling older guys is something Christian Dietrich has done for a long time.  Several years ago, he said he faced the reigning varsity Section 4 runner up at an offseason tournament and won the match.

At the time, he said he was only in fourth grade.

An impressive feat, without a doubt.  But even as a fourth grader, Dietrich was an accomplished wrestler, traveling all over the country to challenge himself.

“We’d do 30 tournaments a year and go to all the big ones,” said Charles Dietrich, Christian’s father. “Tulsa Nationals, Ohio Tournament of Champions, all over.”

Photo by BV

He beat numerous touted opponents, but what set him apart was his willingness to take on anyone and seek out the best competition.

“Christian has never been afraid to lose,” Charles Dietrich said.

That was immediately obvious when he joined the varsity squad at Greene High as a seventh grader.  As the Clyde Cole tournament approached, Dietrich told coach Tim Jenks that he wanted to wrestle Wyoming Seminary’s Eric Morris, a nationally-ranked grappler who is now a freshman at Harvard.

“He lost some weight to make sure he could wrestle Morris,” Jenks said in an interview last year. “He heard about him, knew he was highly ranked nationally and decided he had to wrestle him. That shows you the kind of kid Christian is.  That’s the type of kid you want to coach – the kind that wants the challenge.”

“It was the first high school tournament of my career,” Dietrich said. “I thought it was a chance to see where I was at and what I could do to get better.”

He did lose the bout to Morris, but even at a young age, he came out on top against most high school foes.  In fact, he dominated his way to his first Section 4 title and set out to make waves at the state tournament.

It’s worth noting that in the past six years, only five seventh graders have made the podium at the state championships.  None of the other four (Aaron Paddock in 2011, Tristan Rifanburg in 2010, Corey Rasheed in 2009 or Tim Schaefer in 2008) were above 103 pounds.

None of that mattered to Dietrich, a 152-pounder.

In his first state tournament match, he notched a 17-2 technical fall.  In his next bout, he lost to eventual runner up Brian Walsh before capturing a pair of decisions in the wrestlebacks against seniors to ensure All-State status.  He concluded his seventh grade campaign with a sixth place medal at 152.

“Being at the state tournament was different,” he said. “But I felt like I didn’t have anything to lose, so I just gave it my all.  I think going to the bigger tournaments all my life helped me when I was wrestling kids so much older than me. I was proud of myself afterwards.  But then I got hurt.”

Dietrich suffered a knee injury in the fall and was unable to take the mat at all as an eighth grader for the Trojans.

“It was 10 months of rehab; a really long time,” he said. “I actually had four different operations. It was one thing after another.”

During that time he of course didn’t stay idle.

“I mostly just lifted,” he said. “I did a lot of upper body and followed my team.”

Strength training is another thing Dietrich has been doing for quite some time.  In fact, there’s a youtube video of Dietrich flipping tires with former Johnson City (and current Wyoming Seminary) wrestler Greg Kleinsmith when both were in elementary school.

“I’ve been strength training since I was about 10,” Dietrich said. “I train at IronWorks gym with Dickie White. We do all kinds of things.  I’ve been doing it three times a week for a long time. My last cycle of lifting, I deadlifted 575 pounds for 3 reps, squatted 395 for 3 and benched 285 for 3.”

While he continued to build his strength, he couldn’t wait to get back on the mat as a freshman, looking to pick up where he left off.

“I was anxious to wrestle again,” Dietrich said. “I felt good and ready to go.”

He appeared ready to go from the start, capturing 19 of his first 20 bouts, with just two regular decisions.  (His one loss was to two-time state champion Zack Zupan up at 182).

In mid January, Dietrich entered the prestigious Eastern States Classic as the number four seed.  He quickly dispatched his first three opponents by fall before earning a 13-4 major over Adis Radoncic and a 3-2 decision over Troy Seymour, the top seed in the bracket.  While he dropped the championship contest against Wantagh’s Danny McDevitt, Dietrich showed that he was in the mix for a New York title at 170 pounds.

“Eastern States showed me that I was at the right weight,” Dietrich said. “It showed me how I could do at states since I beat some of the top guys.”

After cruising through the Section 4 tournament, he entered the Times Union Center with a 36-2 mark and the #1 spot in the bracket in Albany.

Dietrich made his way through his first three matches before meeting up with Radoncic for the second time of the season. This time, in the state finals, the outcome was different as Radoncic collected the PSAL’s first-ever NYS crown with a 4-3 decision.

“I was happy to go there as the first seed,” Dietrich said. “It was a little pressure, though, because everyone was out to beat me.  I wasn’t proud of my performance in the finals at all.  I thought I was horrible that day.  I beat him by eight or nine points earlier in the year and I just didn’t wrestle the way I wanted to.”

The state silver medalist didn’t stay frustrated for long, however, as he began to prepare for the next big event.

“I started getting ready for FloNationals,” he said. “I kept wrestling and competing as much as I did during the season.  I thought it was a big opportunity for me because Flo is for all age groups and I wanted to face really tough competition.”

He did.  In fact, in the first three rounds he beat state placers from Pennsylvania and Virginia before topping Michigan gold medalist Teddy Warren. He then faced California state champion [and current North Carolina State freshman] Peter Santos and took control from the opening whistle.

“I felt like I dominated that whole match,” Dietrich said. “I was up by four points in the third when he injury defaulted.”

After losing in the semis, Dietrich rebounded to edge Travis Linton, a current top 100 senior from Ohio, before forfeiting the bronze medal bout due to an injury.

That fourth place showing at FloNationals, in a bracket full of junior and seniors, showed that Dietrich belonged with the nation’s elite.

And people noticed.  Dietrich jumped in the national rankings, currently sitting 11th in the country at 170 pounds and in the top 15 in the Class of 2016 according to both Intermat and Flowrestling.

“I don’t really think about [the rankings],” Dietrich said.  “I don’t want it to get to me.  I’m proud of it, but I know I can always do better.”

He is reminded of that as he tests himself with college level wrestlers on a frequent basis.  He has been a participant at the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club (FLWC) on Cornell’s campus since it began in 2005 and spends plenty of time in Ithaca.

“I’ve been going to FLWC for years,” he said. “I’ve wrestled with the great coaches there for a long time.  Last year, I wrestled a lot with [now Big Red freshmen] Gabe Dean and Taylor Simaz.  There are awesome wrestlers there and to see the higher levels and what I should be doing is awesome.”

Dietrich also finds time to spend on some of his other interests like hunting, fishing and riding four wheelers.  But wrestling is never too far from his mind.

“He’s been working a lot on wrestling smarter and on his technique,” Charles Dietrich said.  “He’s going back to basics and working on his short offense.  What happened in the state finals – he wants to make sure it won’t happen again.”

Dietrich said he may wrestle at 170 pounds again or he may go up to 182.  In either case, he’s ready to not only get back to the title bout at the Times Union Center, but to get his hand raised at the end.

“We weren’t even sure what would happen his ninth grade year after being out for so long,” Charles Dietrich said. “This year, he’s as a strong as an ox and he’s feeling good.  We’re hoping for another great year.”

Who from New York is in the Updated National Rankings?

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Last week, Flowrestling released updated national rankings.  10 New Yorkers are included, with five grapplers positioned in the top 10 in their weight classes.  The highest ranking for an Empire State wrestler is fourth – Nick Piccininni of Ward Melville at 120.

The New Yorkers ranked are:

7th at 106 pounds: Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton, Section 5, Freshman)

4th at 120 pounds: Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville, Section 11, Junior)

19th at 132 pounds: Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich, Section 4, Junior)

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

12th at 152 pounds: Louis Hernandez (Mepham, Section 8, Senior)

9th at 160 pounds: Corey Rasheed (Longwood, Section 11, Senior)

11th at 160 pounds: Burke Paddock (Warsaw, Section 5, Senior)

11th at 170 pounds: Christian Dietrich (Greene, Section 4, Sophomore)

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

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

 

Nick Piccininni, Photo by BV

Fab Freshmen: Who are the Ninth Graders to Watch in New York This Season?

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Recently, we talked about the top Junior High wrestler in New York, Penfield’s Frankie Gissendannerand the #1 ninth grader – Yianni Diakomihalis.  Now, it’s time to talk more about the freshmen. The following is a look at some of the ninth graders to watch in the Empire State this season.  We expect to see strong performances from them – as well as others who will emerge as the season progresses.

Photo by BV

1 Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton) – Diakomihalis has compiled quite a list of achievements before beginning high school.  Among them was the state championship he won in 2013 at 99 pounds in Albany.  In 2012, he captured the Middle School crown at the Super 32 Challenge and won his brackets at the Journeymen Classic, the NYWAY State Championship and the Ohio Tournament of Champions, among others.  His prowess on the mat is well known nationally as both Intermat and Flowrestling have him among the top five wrestlers in the United States in the Class of 2017. For more on Diakomihalis, see this link.

2 Vito Arujau (Syosset) – Arujau and Diakomihalis began this year’s state finals in Division I with a bang, with a battle at 99 pounds that went to the ultimate tiebreaker.  Arujau’s silver medal will no doubt be the first of many trips high on the podium at the Times Union Center.  The 2012 Journeymen Classic champion also took third at the Super 32 Challenge last season and has been all over the place this offseason preparing for another title run.  He went undefeated against tough competition recently at the Waterway Duals in Pennsylvania. Intermat ranks him #11 in the country among freshmen.

3 Evan Barczak (Monroe Woodbury) – A state qualifier in 2013 at 106 pounds, the Section 9 wrestler has a ton of upside after racking up a 34-7 record as an eighth grader.  He saw many of New York’s best, with four of his losses coming to the top four finishers in Division I in Albany.  At the Times Union Center, he was defeated by silver medalist Alex Tanzman and in sudden victory by bronze winner Jon Haas. One of his other setbacks was at the hands of Fulton’s Mitchell Woodworth, a result that he avenged in his opening bout at the state tournament, 6-2. Barczak also was a double finalist at the Cadet New York State championships in Freestyle (champion) and Greco (second place).

4 Lou DePrez (Hilton) – A SuperSectional champion as an eighth grader at 120, Deprez joined his brothers Vincent and Anthony as representatives of Section 5 in Albany in 2013.  DePrez won over 45 matches, including a victory at the state tournament and a win over All-State grappler Ralph Mateo of Midlakes.  He also placed at 120 at the 2012 Super 32 Challenge (Middle School).

5 Hunter Dusold (Locust Valley) – Already a two-time state qualifier at 106 pounds, Dusold sported a 2-2 mark in Albany this year, missing All-State status by one win.  In fact, he lost his medal round bout by disqualification, while his other setback was 2-0 to eventual champion Luis Weierbach.  A NHSCA All-American multiple times in the past (and sixth in 2013), Dusold will join a number of his Locust Valley teammates as returning Section 8 champions looking to make an impact at the Times Union Center in February.

All of the wrestlers above have already shown their abilities at the state tournament.

The same could be said of Tanner Lapiene of Ogdensburg Free Academy, a fourth place finisher at 99 pounds who will look to bring more hardware back to Section 10.

But, there are certainly many wrestlers who haven’t wrestled in the state capital who will make their presence felt as ninth graders in 2013-14.  Who might be prepared to make that leap?

How about Dane Heberlein of Alexander? An NHSCA National champion in 2012 (and a bronze medalist in Virginia Beach this spring), Heberlein has won numerous events around the country.  As an eighth grader, Heberlein won over 40 matches, taking fourth at SuperSectionals as an undersized 99 pounder. Or how about 2012 Super 32 runner up Peter Pappas of Nassau County?  Or any number of young guns from Section 11 such as Hauppauge’s Ben Tepperman, Rocky Point’s Anthony Cirillo and John Glenn’s Zach Ancewicz?  The latter two combined for 67 wins and 10 losses as eighth graders in the loaded lightweights in Suffolk County.  In addition, all three earned All-America status at the NHSCA Middle School Nationals in Virginia Beach this spring.

Don’t forget about Hunter Richard of Holland Patent, who went 41-7 at 113 as an eighth grader. He qualified for the state tournament and won a match in Albany, with both of his losses coming to All-State wrestlers, including eventual champion Dillon Stowell in the first round.  Richard also racked up wins for the Schoolboy Nationals squad in Indianapolis earlier in the offseason (11-2 combined in Freestyle and Greco). Or how about another Hilton wrestler, Michael Spallina, who went 43-5 as an eighth grader at 152 pounds?  He has picked up medals in several national competitions in the past, such as Super 32 (third in 2012) and NHSCAs (champion in 2010 and 2011; fifth in 2012).  Speaking of national events, Garyn Huntley of Oxford Academy collected All-America honors in Fargo this summer at 220 pounds in Greco action.  As an eighth grader, he won close to 25 matches.  Will he take the next step?

This isn’t an exhaustive list – there are many more we’ll be following.  After all, there are always freshmen that step up and make names for themselves.  Who will do so this year?  Feel free to send us an e-mail at newyorkwrestlingnews@gmail.com with nominees.

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Thank you to Mike Carey for all his hard work to make this article possible.  Thanks to all of the other contributors (who know who they are), including Kris Harrington and John Passaro.

Top Wrestlers from All Over the Country Set to Battle at the Journeymen Classic

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When describing the top tier brackets at the Journeymen Classic, set for September 29 at Niskayuna High School, the event’s poster said it is “a true battleground for wrestlers on the east coast.”

‘A true battleground’ is certainly the case.  A year ago, a number of eventual New York State champions and placers saw high-level competition at the event. Some, like Yianni Diakomihalis, Nick Piccininni, Nick Kelley and Rich Sisti won their brackets, while others suffered some rare losses.

While the tournament advertisement mentioned the East Coast, it isn’t just an East Coast event anymore.  This year, the first FloMajor of the season has commitments from over 20 states, covering various parts of the country.  A contingent of more than 10 wrestlers is scheduled to come in from California while a similar number from Michigan will make the trip, as will grapplers from Southeastern locations such as Georgia, Florida, Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina.  There are also expected to be entrants from Texas, Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas in addition to the large pools of competitors from the Tri-State area and New England.

It’s not just the geographic representation that’s impressive, however. The quality of the participants seems to improve from year to year.

Nine 2013 New York State champions will take part – Journeymen Classic returning champions Diakomihalis, Piccininni and Sisti – as well as Kyle Quinn, William Koll, Alex Delacruz, Louis Hernandez, Corey Rasheed and Adis Radoncic.

In addition, Fargo All-Americans such as Jonathan Viruet (MA), Kent Lane (PA), Christian Stackhouse (NJ) and New York’s Jakob Restrepo, Tommy Dutton and Jesse Porter are registered as are Top 100 recruits Gary Dinmore (NJ) and Jesse Webb (VT).  Webb is a multi-time NHSCA National champion as is South Carolina’s Clay Walker, who is also in the field.

Coaches at the next level have definitely taken notice.  Over 20 college programs have confirmed attendance at Niskayuna High School, including 14 Division I institutions from a range of conferences – the EIWA, ACC, SoCon, EWL, MAC, Big 12 and WWC.

For more information on the event, see this link.

 

All-American Donnie Vinson Joins Binghamton Staff for 2013-14

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Photo by BV

 

—Courtesy of Binghamton wrestling

Binghamton Wrestling is happy to announce that Donald Vinson will be joining Binghamton’s staff for the 2013/2014 wrestling year. Vinson is the program’s winningest wrestler and ended his career a four-time National Qualifier and an All-American, finishing 3rd in the country in 2012.

Vinson, who will be finishing his masters program during the year, will be working directly with our student-athletes academically and athletically. He will be working with our academic advisor (Jenny Barbee) to see that our wrestlers are getting things accomplished in the classroom and meeting their academic goals. He will assist our wrestlers with tutor scheduling, teacher hours, and study hall, overseeing that each individual is doing everything he can to get the best academic experience out of Binghamton University.

On the mat, Vinson will have two responsibilities: assisting with player development and directing our Binghamton Wrestling Camp sessions. He will be working with our athletes one-on-one throughout the week, perfecting their baseline wrestling technique and working on each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. As director of our fall wrestling camp, Vinson will be able to interact with wrestlers from the local community, building strong relationships with area athletes and coaches, while teaching our techniques and philosophies to a younger generation of great wrestlers.

Cornell Releases 2013-14 Schedule, Including the Las Vegas Invitational, Southern Scuffle and Grapple at the Garden

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The Cornell wrestling team has finished in the top five at the NCAA tournament each of the past five years, while also winning seven consecutive EIWA championships.  The Big Red will try to keep those streaks alive in 2013-14 while facing a tough schedule that features a mix of strong tournaments and dual meets.

The Ivy League squad will begin for the second straight time with the Red vs. White Eliminations, which will take place at the Friedman Center on November 16.  That will be followed by a pair of home events later in the month – a dual versus Binghamton and the New York State Intercollegiates on November 23 and 24, respectively.

Afterwards, on December 1, the Big Red will participate in the Grapple at the Garden in New York City, squaring off with Illinois and Maryland before entering two of the nation’s toughest tournaments – the Las Vegas Invitational and the Southern Scuffle.

In mid January, Cornell will face Lehigh, starting a string of seven duals in a row against conference foes.  The team will take part in the National Duals in February and finish regular season action against Hofstra before going for a record eighth consecutive EIWA crown in Philadelphia on March 8-9.  The NCAAs will be held in Oklahoma City, beginning March 20.

To see the entire schedule on the Cornell Athletics website, click this link.

Next Stop, Binghamton: State Finalist Steve Schneider of MacArthur Selects the Bearcats

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When asked about his goals, MacArthur senior Steve Schneider didn’t hesitate.

New York State champion. High school national champion.  NCAA champion.

On that last one, he and Binghamton University head coach Matt Dernlan are certainly on the same page. And that’s one of the reasons Schneider committed to the Bearcats a few days ago.

“Coach Dernlan sat across the table from me in my dining room with my parents and said that he would make me a national champion,” Schneider said. “To hear that in his voice, especially after all he did for Penn State, it gave me great vibes.  He sees my potential and my dedication and my motivation to get things done even though on paper, I don’t have all the trophies.”

He may not have all the trophies, but he has racked up plenty of impressive wins.  As a sophomore in 2011-12, he went 41-4 at 152 pounds and went into the Section 8 championships as the top seed.  However, he was upset by Mepham’s Dan Tracy, a wrestler he had defeated earlier in the year, and took third.  He waited patiently to see whether he would get the opportunity to compete at the Times Union Center.

“I had a heartbreaking loss in the semis, but I beat everyone in my weight class during the year,” he said. “My coaches thought I would get a wildcard to states, but it didn’t happen.”

Schneider still made the trip to Albany to cheer on some of his teammates, including 2012 state finalist Justin Cooksey.

“Even going just as a fan to support Cooksey let me get some nerves out,” Schneider said. “It’s important to go to big events like that because when you’re there for the first time it can affect you on the mat.  Being there before was a big part of why I did so well this year.”

It may have played a role in Schneider’s stellar junior campaign, but so did all the offseason work.

“After I lost in the counties, I was so motivated to devastate the county and win it all the next year,” Schneider said. “I trained my butt off. I did a lot of wrestling — so many tournaments — and a lot of lifting. I got a lot bigger and stronger. I didn’t only want to win the county, I wanted to win the state tournament too.”

It was an objective that he reminded himself about constantly.

“Last year, I wrote ‘160-pound New York State champion’ in my book every day,” Schneider said.

And he did make it to the 2013 state finals bout after an impressive campaign, which featured a third place showing at the Eastern States Classic. At that event, Schneider topped several wrestlers who placed in Albany in 2013, including Nick Gallo, Mike Beckwith and Andrew Psomas.

Photo by BV

That showing at SUNY Sullivan, his first Nassau County title, as well as his performance throughout the 47-4 season earned him the second seed at the Times Union Center.  But he found himself in a battle in the opening round with Amsterdam’s James Marquez, a bout he won 3-1 in extra time. [Marquez then won five in a row to take third].

“My first match – the nerves were there,” he said. “You have to feel it to totally understand it.  I felt like I had stone feet. It was more mental than physical.  In overtime, I woke up and snapped right out of it.  After that, I felt like I opened up more each match. I thought I was getting better and better and I was ready to take another shot at Grimaldi.”

Tyler Grimaldi of Half Hollow Hills West was a returning state runner up who had handed Schneider two of his three losses during the season.  The two did indeed square off in the state title match this February, with Grimaldi (now a freshman at Harvard), grabbing a 9-3 victory.

“When you look up on that yellow mat in the finals and see all those faces – it’s just a different level of excitement,” Schneider said. “It was good to experience it already.  So next year in the state finals, I’ll be ready to take it home.”

Taking home a state championship in wresting isn’t something Schneider was thinking about when he first began in the sport in elementary school.  In fact, he said he got involved simply to “keep in shape for baseball.”

However, due largely to the efforts of youth coach Colin Curnuck, Schneider said he continued in wrestling and was hooked, especially when he began working out at Vougar’s Honors Wrestling in eighth grade.

“As soon as I walked into Vougar’s gym, he threw me in there with the big guys,” Schneider said. “I got pulled up to varsity as an eighth grader and started to really take it seriously.  I also started training with Jamel Hudson when I was a freshman and I stopped playing baseball. I chose wrestling.”

And last week, he chose Binghamton as his future home after also considering Hofstra and North Carolina.

“The coaching staff seems great – I think they are a great combination together,” Schneider said. “It feels like a good fit for me athletically and academically.  Not only am I going to Binghamton for wrestling, but I’m also going because it’s a great school and I know I’ll be able to achieve all of my academic goals while I’m there.”

Those academic goals include majoring in computer engineering.

Schneider, who said he will likely wrestle at 174 or 184 pounds for the Bearcats, mentioned that he is also excited about training with so many familiar faces.

“When I went for the unofficial visit, I felt like I knew almost everyone on the team already,” he said. “I feel like it will make me more comfortable there.  I’ve won with a couple of these guys already – Rob Person in Section 8 and Nick Kelley on the national level in Florida [Disney Duals]. There’s already a bond.  Also, Ryan Conrad was my drill partner in high school.  I think it will make the experience even better.”

As for now, he’s looking for an ‘even better’ high school season as a senior.  After the state tournament was over last season, he began writing ‘2014 New York State champion’ in his book every morning.

And whether he winds up going for the title at 170 or 182 pounds in 2013-14 (he said he isn’t sure yet), Schneider feels that he has benefited from nationally ranked competition at offseason events such as the Pop & Flo, Waterway and Disney Duals.

“The Disney Duals changes you – I came out a totally different person and wrestler,” he said. “Everybody that I lost to was top 10 in the country. The level of competition is insane.  It’s the best thing that happened to me before my senior year because I learn more from my losses than my wins.  I’ve gotten so much stronger since last year and I have so much motivation from the loss in the state finals. It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.  My sophomore year was ok, my junior year was better and in my senior year, I’m ready to take home the gold.”

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Steve Schneider wanted to thank his youth coach, Colin Curnuck who kept him involved in wrestling.  He also wanted to thank his parents for all their support and Vougar Oroudjov for “always making sure there is someone in the room for me to train with, keeping my wrestling and academic goals on my mind and always having confidence in me.”

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For the brackets from the event, see here.

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

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The use of certified referees? Check.

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy of G2 World Wrestling Academy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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