Category Archives: Section 4

New York Kong Earns Spot in the Final Four at Disney Duals After Winning Nine Straight

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Next stop – semifinals.

Team New York Kong took eighth at the Disney Duals last year, but guaranteed a better finish in 2013 after winning for the ninth consecutive time in Orlando this week to make the tournament’s final four.

Photo by Steve Weber

On Monday, the wrestlers once again put on a convincing show, winning nearly every contested match (the squad forfeited some bouts) in their victories over Brawlers Fire and Michigan Freeze in the last two duals of pool competition, according to John Passaro.

Those triumphs led to an appearance in the championship bracket of 16, where the New Yorkers came out on top against the Wrestling Factory (Ohio) 41-19, the group associated with one of the top high school programs in the country, St. Edward’s. The bout began at 106, where East Islip’s Jesse Dellavecchia trailed 4-2 before earning a momentum-building second period fall.

“The match was much closer than the score indicated,” Passaro said. “[The opening pin] set the tone for the match against a very tough team.”

Shortly afterwards, the Empire State squad took the mat again against another foe from the Buckeye State – the Ohio Hawks.  The team built a lead from the start, capturing the first six contests. Coming out on top were Kyle Quinn (106), Nick Piccininni (113), Travis Passaro (120), Alex Delacruz (126), Matt Leshinger (132) and Nick Kelley (138).

And New York finished the job from there, with heavyweight Mike Hughes solidifying the victory with a pin at 285 to make the final score, 30-18 and set up the semifinal meeting with Diesel (Pennsylvania).

That clash will take place Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.

The team is coached by Anthony Ciolino and Steve Hromada.

A Wrestler's Perspective: Tyler Grimaldi's "Whirlwind" Journey through the Recruiting Process (Part 1)

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What is it like to be a top wrestler entering his final year of high school?  The recruiting process is “out of a movie” and a “whirlwind”, according to Harvard-bound Tyler Grimaldi, a 2013 state champion from Half Hollow Hills West High School, and his father Frank.  With July 1 marking the beginning of the official recruiting period for the Class of 2014, we asked the Grimaldis to share some insights on what they experienced as Tyler made his college choice.  

This is part 1 of a two-part article.

 The Beginning

The story of the recruitment of Tyler Grimaldi goes back to the summer of 2011, when he competed at the Junior Freestyle National championships in Fargo, North Dakota between his sophomore and junior years.

Grimaldi, Photo by BV

Frank Grimaldi: At Fargo, Tyler was coached by Columbia’s Carl Fronhofer. Tyler decided to take an unofficial visit to Columbia during his junior year and after he finished second in the state that year [2012], Coach Fronhofer talked to [Hills West coach Mike] Patrovich with a lot of interest. I was ecstatic; I thought it was the greatest thing in the world.  I thought Columbia would be a great place for Tyler.  I sat down with a friend and Tyler’s coaches and they were excited too.  They told me it was awesome; amazing.  But they also told me that we should go through the process fully.  They said, ‘Just wait until July. A lot more will show interest then.’”

Grimaldi continued to bolster his resume, earning All-America honors at the NHSCA Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach where he took fourth at 160 pounds in April (2012).  College coaches definitely took notice.

Frank Grimaldi: In Virginia Beach, it was the quarterfinal round and Tyler was about to wrestle. One of Tyler’s buddies was close to the mat and he was telling me that he almost got knocked over by someone trying to get to the match.  It was really cool – because I saw who it was.  It was [an Ivy league assistant coach], who had run almost across the entire convention center to watch Tyler.  It was really cool to watch.”

 July 1, 2012

Many know that July 1 is the big day when the first official calls and visits can occur.  But the Grimaldis admitted that what happened during that 24 hours was beyond their imagination.

Tyler Grimaldi: It was totally different than I expected. I expected a couple of calls.  What happened was straight out of a movie.  You wake up and your phone doesn’t stop ringing. Some were from schools I e-mailed with before [Grimaldi said he e-mailed coaches as a junior to introduce himself to programs he might be interested in], but some were from schools and coaches I never even heard of or schools I had no idea had any interest in me.  I really felt like I was in a movie.

Frank Grimaldi:  It was a Sunday and it started at about 9:30 a.m. By the end of the night, Tyler had received more than 25 phone calls.  It continued on Monday.  It was a dream come true. I couldn’t imagine it. It was everything from DI powers to D3 schools to Junior Colleges. It got really, really crazy.  Tyler talked to everyone and listened to what they had to say. We would sit down after each call and write down what the coach said, maybe do some research on the school.

The phone interactions continued throughout the summer.  NCAA rules stipulate that schools can only call once every seven days and for the most part, that’s exactly what they did.

 And It Continues . . .

Tyler Grimaldi: Most coaches would call every week on the dot – same exact time. I wasn’t used to it – all these people calling and pulling in different directions.  They wanted to know what my thought process was and where I stood. It became stressful at times.

Frank Grimaldi: The first calls came on that first Sunday.  Some continued to call on Sunday and some switched to another day, but it was pretty much every seven days throughout the summer.

It wasn’t just calls, however.  The postal service saw a big increase of activity at the Grimaldi house as well.

Frank Grimaldi: The mailbox filled up almost every day and so did the school mailbox.  It was like Christmas morning, every morning.

Tyler Grimaldi: There was a lot of mail, and to be honest, I read every single recruiting letter. It made me feel really good to have all those schools gunning for me. A lot of it was pretty basic, asking me to fill out questionnaires or information on the school.  Some was more personal.  Cornell’s stood out – they had some funny letters and some hand written, personal ones specific to me.

Frank Grimaldi estimated that around 75 programs contacted his son during the process, with at least 40 of them doing so by phone.

Tyler Grimaldi: It was pretty overwhelming at first. The big thing is that we didn’t close off anything early on.  I wanted to hear what all the options were.

Frank Grimaldi: There were many different opportunities. One school said with the classes he was taking in high school, he could come in as a sophomore [academically] and wrestle four years and get a redshirt year.  That way, he’d graduate in three years and have two years of grad school or med school paid for.  Everybody was offering different things – there were different packages and scholarships. Some of that was incredibly tempting.  In the end, I told Tyler that he needed to figure out what college he wanted to go to; what was right for him, and we’d figure out the next steps from there.

One of those key next steps was narrowing down the field to a handful of schools.  How that occurred and the rest of Tyler Grimaldi’s recruiting story is at Link to Part 2 of the article.

Team NY Kong Moves to 5-0 at Disney Duals After Three Lopsided Wins on Sunday

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On Saturday, Team New York Kong cruised through the competition on the way to two dominant dual victories. On Sunday things were even more lopsided in the squad’s three victories over Doughboy Blue, South Dakota Red and Team Ohio Mafia.  In fact, the Empire State grapplers shut their opponents out in the first two meets and overall captured 40 of the 42 individual matches during the trio of dual wins, according to John Passaro.

Day three of action on Monday will begin bright and early for the New Yorkers, as they start at 8 a.m. against Brawlers Fire. After that, it will be a match with Michigan Freeze in the early afternoon.

And then, the “playoff” portion of the event begins as a national championship team will be crowned. Stay tuned for further updates.

Team New York Kong

106 Kyle Quinn

106 Jesse Dellavecchia

113 Nick Piccininni

120 Travis Passaro

126 Alex Delacruz

132 Matt Leshinger

138 Nick Kelley

145 Brandon Lapi

145 Frank Garcia

145 Jakob Restrepo

152 Joe Mastro

160 Steven Schneider

170 Carlos Toribio

182 James Corbett

195 Nick Weber

220 Josh Bonneau

285 Mike Hughes

NY Unbeaten at Two Dual Events on Sat: Freestyle Team Takes First in Pool at Jr. Nationals; Team Kong Dominates at Disney

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Team North Dakota Blue seemed to have New York’s number at the Junior National Duals in Oklahoma. The two squads met in the Greco Roman competition on Wednesday and in Freestyle action on Friday and both times, North Dakota came out on top, by 37-32 and 37-31 scores, respectively.

There would be one more chance for the Empire State wrestlers. Both squads went undefeated on the event’s last day, earning spots against each other in the first place match of the Red/Blue Freestyle Pool. It turned out that the third time was a charm.

“We lost to them twice and didn’t want it to happen three times in a row,” said Johnson City’s Reggie Williams, who wrestled at 195 and 220 during the week. “We knew we needed to get it together and we did.”

In an exciting dual New York prevailed 35-34 — and it all came down to the last bout.

The Empire State got off to a strong start, with a technical fall by Roland Zilberman at 220 and a decision by Sam Eagan at 285. After a 10-0 victory by Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer at 138 and a pin by Jake Savoca at 145, New York led by eight points with five matches remaining. But it wasn’t over, as North Dakota went on a run, capturing four straight contests, including two by bonus, to take a 34-30 advantage into the finale at 195 pounds.

That’s when Williams stepped in, needing a technical fall for the tie or a fall for the win. After defeating his opponent Brandon Rodriguez earlier in the event, Williams was confident he would come through.

“I thought we would win the tiebreaker if it came down to that, but I still wanted to be safe and pin him,” Williams said. “I wanted to put the team on my back and came in looking for the pin right away.”

It didn’t take long as he recorded the fall less than a minute and a half into the bout to give New York the one-point triumph.

Rodriguez-Spencer, Photo by BV

Williams frequently got his hand raised in Oklahoma, as he posted an 8-1 record in Freestyle. 160-pounder Burke Paddock did the same (after going undefeated in Greco). Also starring for the team was Rodriguez-Spencer, who won all nine of his Freestyle bouts at 138, including eight by technical fall, after losing just once in Greco.

“Guys like Burke and Renaldo wrestled tough the whole time,” Williams said. “We knew we could count on them to go out there, score points and get us techs and pins when we needed them.”

In addition, 120 was a strong weight, as Matt Morris and Nick Casella teamed up to go 7-2 in that class while Daniel Smith (170) and the previously mentioned Savoca and Eagan all collected five or more wins in Freestyle. In addition, after an unblemished tournament in Greco, Zilberman won all four of his bouts on Friday and Saturday in the upperweights.

Overall, the squad garnered a 6-3 record in Freestyle, with wins over Minnesota Blue, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Tennessee and the finale against North Dakota.

“I honestly thought we’d do a little better,” Williams said. “But it was a great experience with great bonding time for the team. I think we got a lot out of it to help us get ready to compete for [individual] national titles at Fargo in a few weeks. And we were really happy to end on a good note, winning our last match.”

For full Freestyle results, see Here.

For a recap of the team’s Greco Roman competition, see This link.

For full team roster, see the bottom of this article.

Off to a Great Start at Disney

It wasn’t only an unbeaten day for the Empire State in Oklahoma, as another group of All-Stars – Team New York Kong – racked up a 2-0 mark at the AAU National Duals (aka Disney Duals) in Orlando.

The squad had no mercy on the opposition, winning at least 11 of the 14 bouts in both meets. The first was a 50-9 pasting of Team Kryptonite (Ohio), while the second was a 44-6 decision over New Tampa Wrestling.

Garnering two victories on the day were Nick Piccininni (113), Travis Passaro (120), Alex Delacruz (126), Matt Leshinger (132), Nick Kelley (138), Joe Mastro (152), Nick Weber (195), Josh Bonneau (220) and Mike Hughes (heavyweight). The team will return to the mat for three contests on Sunday.

Team New York Kong

106 Kyle Quinn

106 Jesse Dellavecchia

113 Nick Piccininni

120 Travis Passaro

126 Alex Delacruz

132 Matt Leshinger

138 Nick Kelley

145 Brandon Lapi

145 Frank Garcia

145 Jakob Restrepo

152 Joe Mastro

160 Steven Schneider

170 Carlos Toribio

182 James Corbett

195 Nick Weber

220 Josh Bonneau

285 Mike Hughes

 

Team New York – Junior Freestyle Duals

100: Dom Poggoli

106: Andy Flanagan

113: Alpha Diallo

120: Nick Casella

120: Matt Morris

126: Trey Aslanian

126: Cheick Ndiaye

126/132: Richard Antonacci

132: Freddie Dunau

138: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer

145: Jake Savoca

152: Nigel Williams

160: Burke Paddock

170: Daniel Smith

182: Isaiah Zimmer

195: Reggie Williams

220: Roland Zilberman

220/285: Sam Eagan

 

College Commitments – What are the Destinations for the Class of 2013 Wrestlers?

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On July 1, recruiting season officially begins for the Class of 2014.  With that in mind, we will be bringing some recruiting-related content, including articles from the perspective of college coaches and a New York State champion headed to Division I wrestling this fall.

For now, here’s a list of where New Yorkers are going for the 2013-14 campaign (as well as out of staters who will attend Empire State institutions). These are commitments we have been made aware of, but if you see something that should be added or changed, please contact newyorkwrestlingnews@gmail.com.

 

Alfred

Zack Bacon, Hornell (NY), Football

Kevin Thayer, Unatego (NY)

Air Force

John Diekel, Whitehall (NY)

Conor O’Hara, Sachem East (NY)

Arizona State

James Brundage, Ossining (NY)/Rider

Kyle Colling, Pioneer (NY)/Oklahoma

Army

TJ Brandt, Altoona (PA)

Christian Doyle, McKinney Christian Academy (TX)

Logan Everett, Williamson (PA)

Nick Frank, Urbana (MD)

Ruben Jurado, Concord (NC)

Mason Kumashiro, Los Alamitos (CA)

Lincoln Mallinger, St. Michael-Albertville (MN)

Tristan Manderfield, Foley (MN)

Mark Marchetti, Father Ryan (TN)

Russell Parsons, Blair Academy (NJ)

Trevor Smith, Ripon (CA)

Troy Taylor, Ironwood Ridge (AZ)

Jack Wedholm, Blair Academy (NJ)

Binghamton

David Almaviva, Shenendehowa (NY)

Thierno Diallo, Duval (MD)

Nick Kelley, Shenendehowa (NY)

Kyle Kelly, Chenango Forks (NY)

Bryce Mazurowski, Avon (NY)

Robert Person, Bellmore JFK (NY)

Nick Tighe, Phoenix (NY)

Zack Zupan, Canastota (NY)

Bloomsburg

Kevin Rodriguez, Patchogue Medford (NY)

Brockport

Jeff Bechen, Whitman Hanson (MA)

Peter Ottaviano, Colts Neck (NJ)

Pete Hailer, Milton (MA)

Dillon Stowell, Gouverneur (NY)

Boston

Lewis Yablans, Jericho (NY)

Brown

James Corbett, Wantagh (NY)

Bucknell

Connor Lapresi, Lansing (NY)

Buffalo

James Benjamin, Vestal (NY)

Jake Campana, Southern Regional (NJ)

Roy Daniels, Olentangy Liberty (OH)

Corey Hollister, Perry (NY)

Alex Francik, Vestal (NY)

Nick Flannery, Cleveland State

Carmine Goldsack, Bergen Catholic (NJ)

Anthony Liberatore, Williamsville South (NY)

Brandon Muntz, Falconer (NY)

Rrok Ndokaj, Monsignor Farrell (NY)/Bloomsburg

Tyler Rill, Mount St. Joseph’s (MD)/Bloomsburg

Mike Silvis, Holley (NY)

Andrew (AJ) Voelker, Monroe Woodbury (NY)

Austin Weigel, Onteora (NY)

Clarion

Quinton Murphy, Holley/Indiana (NY)

Tim Schaefer, Warsaw (NY)

Danny Sutherland, Mepham, Nassau CC (NY)

Coast Guard Academy

Dan Fiorvanti, Commack (NY)

Coker

John Florio, Valley Central (NY)

Columbia

Chris Araoz, Wantagh (NY)

Britain Carter, Maple Mountain (UT)

Mike Fetchet, South Fayette (PA)

Troy Hembury, Muncy (PA)

Matt Leshinger, Sayville (NY)

Justin Mann, Ladue (MO)

Vince Pallone, Mendham (NJ)

Andrew Psomas, Monsignor Farrell (NY)

Garrett Ryan, Wyoming Seminary (PA)

Markus Scheidel, St. Edward (OH)

Cornell

Dan Choi, Syosset (NY)

Jake George, Long Branch (NJ)

Griffin Higginbotham, Union Grove (GA)

Dylan Realbuto, Somers (NY)

Jake Taylor, Bald Eagle Area (PA)

Ty Walter, Mifflinburg (PA)

Cortland

Chris Alianakian, Kellenberg (NY)

Colin Barber, Westfield (NJ)

Nick Bellanza, John Glenn (NY)/Jacksonville

Mat Bradice, William Floyd (NY)

Brian Bulger, Westfield (NJ)

Chris Cataldo, MacArthur (NY)

Lucas Ciancamino, Sayville (NY)

Antonio DeLuco, Rome Free Academy (NY)

Brendan Dent, Connetquot (NY)

Matt Dillon, Nanuet (NY)

Troy Feniger, North Rockland (NY)

Jake Green, Chenango Forks (NY)

Casey Lanave, Chenango Forks (NY)

Tyler Lilly, New Rochelle (NY)

Lance Moore, Johnson City/Binghamton (NY)

Jagger Rebozo, Half Hollow Hills West (NY)

Mark West, Hauppauge (NY)

Duke

Alex Tanzman, Westhampton Beach (NY)

East Stroudsburg

Eric Januszkiewicz, New Paltz (NY)

Edinboro

Terrence Cheeks, Newburgh (NY)

Lester Enriquez, Hewlett (NY)

Franklin & Marshall

Tommy Quinlan, Fayetteville-Manlius (NY)

Gannon

Eric Lewandowski, Lancaster (NY)

Harvard

Tyler Grimaldi, Half Hollow Hills West (NY)

Hofstra

Mike Hughes, Smithtown West (NY)

Kyle Krasavage, Wyoming Valley West (PA)

Ithaca

Travis Berube, St. Joseph’s Collegiate (NY)

Jimmy Kaishian, Yorktown (NY)

Steven Sabella, Yorktown (NY)

Joe Sprung, Berne-Knox-Westerlo (NY)

Carlos Toribio, Brentwood (NY)

Lake Erie College

Keanu Thompson, Grand Street (NY)

Lehigh

Drew Longo, Ardsley (NY)

Thomas Murray, Yorktown (NY)

Life University (Georgia)

Rowdy Prior, Phoenix (NY)

Maryland

Chris Reilly, Half Hollow Hills West (NY)

Mercyhurst

Austin Hedges, Letchworth (NY)

Dan Reagan, Lewiston Porter (NY)

Messiah

Lucas Malmberg, Marathon (NY)

Nassau

Josh Bonneau, Minisink Valley (NY)

Gio Santiago, Sachem North (NY)

Vinny Turano, Wantagh (NY)

Nebraska

Anthony Abidin, Nassau CC (NY)

Niagara CCC

Jude Gardner, Fredonia (NY)

North Carolina

Jacob Pincus, Pittsford (NY)

NYU

Roman Accetta, Poly Prep (NY)

John Messinger, Putnam Valley (NY)

Amit Naik, Providence Day (NC)

Nick Matthews, West Morris (NJ)

Joey Rizzolino, Campbell

Ethan Walker, Heritage Hall (OK)

North Carolina State

Shayne Brady, Carthage (NY)

Joe Mastro, Yorktown (NY)

Oklahoma State

Chris Koo, Great Neck South (NY)

Oswego

Simon Greebel, Hewlett (NY)

Taylor Jones, Palmyra Macedon (NY)

Penn

Dan McDevitt, Wantagh (NY)

Jun Yoo, Jericho (NY)

Princeton

Trey Aslanian, Edgemont (NY)

RPI

Steven Mills, Sachem North (NY) – Football

Roger Williams

Tom Carta, South Glens Falls (NY)

Sacred Heart

Nick Allesandrini, St. Anthony’s (NY)

TJ Fabian, Shoreham Wading River (NY)

Tom Filipkowski, Mattituck (NY)

Matt Fisher, Oneida (NY)

Brendan Goldup, LaSalle (NY)

Daniel Hayden, East Islip (NY)

Patrick Henn, Lindenhurst (NY)

Austin Hulse, Stony Brook School (NY)

Nick Lupi, Huntington (NY)

Zak Mullen, Shoreham Wading River (NY)

Alex Swanson, Smithtown West (NY)

Johnny Vrasidas, St. Anthony’s (NY)

Springfield

Corey Ali, Shenendehowa (NY)

Hunter Ayen, Gouverneur (NY)

Zach Joseph, Shenendehowa (NY)

David Varian, Yorktown (NY)

Stanford

Kevin Tynes, Brooklyn Tech (NY)

Virginia

Drew Hull, Royalton Hartland (NY)

Waynesburg

Tim Raner, Mexico (NY)

Wesleyan

Robert Rosenberg, Hewlett (NY)

Western New England

Andrew Cole, Ogdensburg (NY)

Matt Jarvis, Carle Place (NY)

West Virginia

John Pellegrino, Division (Nassau CC) (NY)

Gunnar Van Curen, Portville (NY)

Wheeling Jesuit

Justin Jimenez-Castillo, Irvington (NY)

Wilkes

Pankil Chander, Lawrence (NY)

Paddock, Zilberman Post Undefeated Records For NY at Junior Greco National Duals

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The Junior Greco Roman National Duals came to an end on Thursday evening with Team New York registering a seventh place finish in the Bronze/Copper pool. The Empire State wrestlers ended the competition on a high note, winning their last meet 40-26 over Pennsylvania.

That final dual started off with a pair of wins from the upperweight duo of Roland Zilberman and Reggie Williams. (The pair shared 195 and 220 pound duties throughout the event and on Thursday combined for a perfect 8-0 record). After the Keystone State group responded with four consecutive victories, New York countered with triumphs in seven of the last nine bouts to come out on top.  Those wins were by: Matt Morris (120), Richard Antonacci (126), Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (138), Jake Savoca (145), Nigel Williams (152), Burke Paddock (160) and Daniel Smith (170).

Photo by BV

Paddock and Zilberman were a combined 14-0 over the two-day tournament with 12 of those wins coming by technical fall or pin. Rodriguez-Spencer also piled up bonus points, going 6-1 with three techs and two falls. Williams collected five victories while fellow Section 4 grappler Isaiah Zimmer grabbed four wins at 182 pounds. Overall, the New Yorkers went 2-5, topping South Dakota on Wednesday, 40-26.

The team returns to action on Friday as the Freestyle National Duals commence.

For full results, see Here.

Team New York:

106: Andy Flanagan
106: Dominic Poggoli
113: Alpha Diallo
120: Nick Casella
120: Matt Morris
126: Trey Aslanian
126: Cheick Ndiaye
126: Richard Antonacci
132: Freddie Dunau
138: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer
145: Jake Savoca
152: Nigel Williams
160: Burke Paddock
170: Daniel Smith
182: Isaiah Zimmer
195/220: Reggie Williams
195/220: Roland Zilberman
285: Sam Eagan

 

Kyle Dake Nominated for Best Male College Athlete ESPY Award – (Link to Vote Included)

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The recognition continues for Cornell’s four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake.  Voting opened for ESPN’s ESPY Awards on Thursday and Dake is one of the four nominees for Best Male College Athlete, along with Michigan basketball player Trey Burke, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and St. Cloud hockey standout Drew LeBlanc.  Both Burke and LeBlanc were finalists for Sports Illustrated’s Male College Athlete of the Year honor, which Dake won in the spring.

To vote for the ESPYs, see ESPY voting link.

 

Binghamton All-American Justin Lister Honored For Saving Colleague's Life

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Courtesy of bubearcats.com, Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

Photo by The Morning Journal (Ohio)

VESTAL, N.Y.—After an accomplished wrestling career that included All-America honors, former Binghamton student-athlete Justin Lister has wasted no time in asserting himself in his professional career. Lister, a first-year state trooper in Ohio, has received a Certificate of Recognition by the Ohio State Highway Patrol for saving the life of a dispatcher.

Lister, 24, who graduated in spring 2012, was honored in a ceremony on Tuesday, five weeks after his quick thinking and action saved the life of dispatcher Chelsea Saylor, 25. On May 12 in Sandusky, Ohio, Saylor was on her lunch break and began choking on her food. Lister noticed and immediately administered the Heimlich maneuver.

For the remainder of the story from the Binghamton Athletics site, see this link.

For the story in “The Morning Journal” (Ohio) newspaper, see here.

Cornell's Mark Grey Earns Second Trip to Junior World Championships … And More from the Junior World Team Trials

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Mark Grey represented the United States at the Junior World Championships in 2011, taking fifth at 55 kg. After his stellar performance in Stillwater, Oklahoma on Sunday, he’ll once again aim for a Junior World title as he earned the 60 kg spot on Team USA with a perfect day in a loaded field.

Grey began with an 8-3 decision over Earl Hall, a 2012 World Team member who spent the last year at the Olympic Training Center. He followed with a hard fought 6-4 triumph over former Blair Academy teammate Joey McKenna, the eventual third place finisher.

Grey, photos.nj.com

That put Grey into the best-of-three championship series against Zane Richards of Illinois. At the recent FILA Junior Nationals in Las Vegas in the spring, the two grapplers met for bronze, with Richards coming away with a 2-0, 5-1 victory.

Grey turned the tables on Sunday, capturing the opening bout 5-4. In the second contest, Richards got off to a strong start, but Grey rebounded to win 6-4 and punch his ticket to Bulgaria, where the World championships will be held in August.

Grey will be a freshman at Cornell in the fall, as will three other wrestlers who placed at the event, including a pair at 74 kg/163 pounds.

Dylan Palacio went directly to the championship series after his FILA Junior National crown in Las Vegas. He faced Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State, who took third at the NCAAs in March. On Sunday, the Cowboy defeated Palacio in two matches to take the World Team slot.

In order to get to the championship series against Palacio, Dieringer squared off with another future Big Red wrestler in the title bout of the Challenge Tournament – Brian Realbuto. Realbuto had a strong showing with a 4-1 record. He started with a 7-0 win over McCoy Newburg and followed with a 6-4 decision over Yoanse Mejias. He then came out on top of two high scoring affairs, a 20-13 triumph over Dylan Reel and a 15-10 victory over Isaiah Martinez.

Another Cornellian, Gabe Dean, dropped his opener at 84 kg/185 pounds, but bounced back with three consecutive wins, by a combined score of 24-4, to get to the bronze bout before taking fourth in the Challenge Tournament.

Those weren’t the only Ivy Leaguers to have success on Sunday. Columbia recruit Garrett Ryan notched second in the 120 kg Challenge bracket after defeating the second seed, Brooks Black, 8-6 in the semifinals.

On the Greco side, a pair of New Yorkers took third place in the Challenge event. Jessy Williams, a Section 4 native, grabbed bronze at 60 kg, while Warsaw state champion Burke Paddock did the same at 74 kg. Paddock came back from a first round loss to score 22 points in his consolation matches on his way to third.

Hofstra’s Jamel Hudson recorded two technical falls at 60 kg in freestyle during a 2-2 day in which both setbacks came against third placer Joey McKenna.

For full results, see here.

World Team Trials Day 2: Army Graduate Anderson Makes the Finals; Gwiazdowski Takes Third in Challenge Tournament and More

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The World Team Trials continued on Saturday with action in men’s and women’s freestyle and Greco Roman.

Anderson, pilotonline.com

Numerous wrestlers with New York ties took the mat, with West Point graduate Jon Anderson making it all the way to the best-of-three championship series against Andy Bisek in Greco at 74 kg/163 pounds.  Anderson began his journey with a 6-0 victory over Corey Hope and followed it up with a pin of Jake Fisher, the number two seed.  Fisher, a former World Team member, had taken a significant lead over Anderson early in the match, but the former Black Knight fought back to not only tie the score but also get the fall.

That set up the meeting with Bisek. In the first match, there was a lot of action early, but the first points weren’t put on the board until there were just seconds left in the opening period as Anderson grabbed a 1-0 advantage. Bisek didn’t waste much time tying things up in the second and with two minutes to go, the Minnesota Storm wrestler pulled ahead 3-1. Anderson stayed aggressive, but his opponent effectively countered multiple times, resulting in a 10-1 Bisek triumph in match one.

In the second match, Anderson went ahead with a push out less than a minute into the bout for a 1-0 lead.  Seconds later, however, Bisek responded with a takedown and after a series of turns, it was 7-1.  Toward the end of the stanza, Anderson looked in position for a big throw, but Bisek was able to fight it off and in the second period, Bisek ended the bout 9-2 with a pushout to take the World Team spot.

Anderson wasn’t the only placer with Empire State connections on Saturday, as three freestylers made the top four in the Challenge Tournament.

Former Duanesburg star Nick Gwiazdowski, who competes for North Carolina State, took bronze at 120 kg after racking up a 3-1 record.  That included a pair of wins over two-time NCAA champion Tony Nelson of Minnesota.  In fact, Gwiazdowski started the day against the Golden Gopher, getting to his legs often and piling up points in a 9-0 technical fall that ended midway through the second period.  After dropping his next contest to Zach Rey, Gwiazdowski notched a 9-1 triumph over Kyle Massey before beating Nelson for third, 6-4.

Hall, wrestlersarewarriors.com (Tony Rotundo)

Also making the bronze match in the Challenge Tournament were Cornell graduate Cam Simaz (84 kg) and Columbia assistant Adam Hall (66 kg), who both took fourth with 2-2 marks.  Simaz opened and concluded with losses to Jon Reader. In between, he toppled Max Askren and Enock Francois by 7-0 and 9-2 scores, respectively.  Hall’s setbacks came to Challenge Tournament champion Brent Metcalf and third placer Chase Pami while he defeated Kyle Ruschell and Phillip Simpson.

Speaking of Simpson, the Army graduate went 3-2 with wins over Rollie Peterkin, Jason Chamberlain and Kyle Borshoff.  Borshoff, an American assistant coach originally from the Rochester area, dropped a one-pointer to Kyle Ruschell in round one before facing Simpson.

Another Simpson – William Simpson – picked up one victory at 60 kg in Greco with a pin, while Army assistant Enock Francois also had a 1-2 mark (at 84 kg) with a 7-0 win over Austin Trotman.

Yet another West Point coach, Danny Mitcheff, also collected a victory (at 55 kg), eliminating Cornell All-American Frank Perrelli in the consolations.  Mitcheff was then knocked out of the competition by former Buffalo grappler Mark McKnight, who also went 1-2.

On the women’s side, Jenna Burkert, recorded a technical fall at 63 kg against Lauren Louive, while another New York native, Joe Uccellini, competed at 74 kg in Greco.

Wrestling continues on Sunday in Stillwater with the Junior World Team Trials in both Freestyle and Greco.

For full results, see here.