Buffalo Bound: Onteora's Austin Weigel Set to Join the Bulls

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Austin Weigel knows the route from Onteora to the Albany area well.

Extremely well.

At least three times per week, the Section 9 standout made the 1.5 hour trip after school up to Journeymen Wrestling Club practices. And afterwards, he’d get back in the car for another 1.5 hour drive, typically arriving home around 9 p.m. to start his homework.

However, as Weigel talked about his recent commitment to the University at Buffalo, he had no doubt that all the time on the road was worth it, helping him emerge as a Division I prospect.

“I really got into wrestling after my sophomore year,” Weigel said. “Before that I was a three-sport athlete who wanted to get better but wasn’t totally into it yet. As a sophomore, I lost in the Section 9 finals and it motivated me. Wrestling was what I wanted to do and I wanted to win – not just the Section, but everything.”

Courtesy of Austin Weigel

He decided that competing in the offseason, in addition to his training with Onteora, would provide him with a boost.

“Working with Journeymen pushed me to more serious tournaments and competition,” he said. “I went to Super 32 and Fargo. I went to a lot of new and different places and got more experience.”

That experience showed during his 38-4 junior campaign at 160 pounds (after a 26-11 mark as a sophomore).

“It took me a few matches to realize how different things were, how much better I was,” he said. “I wasn’t cutting a lot of weight and I felt good the whole year.”

He captured the Section 9 title with ease, winning all of his bouts by bonus points. And he followed up with a pair of victories at the state tournament, falling one win shy of All-State status.

“Being there in Albany wasn’t good enough,” he said. “I wasn’t seeded but I just wrestled hard and was just one match away from placing. It was a close [3-1] loss [to the eventual bronze medalist] and it definitely motivated me.”

Weigel perhaps used some of that motivation at the Journeymen Classic in the fall, winning a round robin bracket full of accomplished wrestlers – fourth place finishers Daesean Johnson (New Jersey, 160), John Messinger (New York DII, 170) and Dale White (New York DI, 160).

“It was a really tough group up at 170,” he said. “I wrestled really well and had a lot of good wins there.”

He had a lot of good wins as his senior campaign began for Onteora as well, including a major over 2012 All-State grappler Andrew Martinez of Liberty. In the earlygoing, Weigel wrestled up at 170 but wasn’t sure where he would finish the season.

“I contemplated staying at 170 with my coaches but we felt that my best shot at a state championship was at 160,” he said. “I committed to 160 at Eastern States and knew that’s where I would be the rest of the year.”

It looked like a solid choice as he made the medal stand at the prestigious tournament held at SUNY Sullivan. After winning his first two contests, he faced nationally-ranked Burke Paddock in the quarterfinals. In a hard-fought match, Paddock came out on top, 1-0, his closest victory of a dominant season.

Courtesy of Austin Weigel

Weigel then won two of his three consolation bouts, to grab seventh. His setback was to eventual state placer Andrew Psomas in sudden victory.

“I was pretty happy with how that tournament went overall,” he said. “Getting down to weight wasn’t always ideal this year, but I felt pretty good there. I thought I could beat Paddock and wrestled a tough match against him. I was a little shaky afterwards, and had a really disappointing loss to Psomas. I was in on his legs the whole match, but I just couldn’t score. He kept going out of bounds. It was a frustrating loss.”

He rebounded to pin his way to his second straight Section title and picked up his 100th victory during the campaign for good measure.

He began his quest for a state title well, picking up a major in round 1. He then met Greene’s Mike Beckwith, who handed him a defeat in Albany in 2012. One year later, the outcome was the same and Weigel moved into the wrestlebacks where he dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to Section 6’s Gunnar Van Curen.

“It’s hard to think about, but [Beckwith] just wrestled the better match,” he said. “I didn’t get to do anything I wanted to. He got an early takedown and rode me well. I was really disappointed and tried to get my head straight afterwards. In the next one, I don’t know what it was. It was like the Psomas match because I was in on his legs a lot and couldn’t score. It was one of the worst losses of my career because he escaped with 30 seconds left to win 1-0 and I knew my high school career was over. I didn’t perform like I should have and know I could have. For a while, I felt bad about myself but looking back now, I realize I can’t take away from the rest of my accomplishments because of one disappointing weekend. I’ve beaten kids that did much better at states, but that’s the way it went.”

He got a chance to face some of those that fared better in Albany this spring, at the Journeymen Freestyle Duals. He said he expected to wrestle at 182, but due to team needs, he cut to 170.

In the first dual of the day, Journeymen met Vougar’s Honors Wrestling (VHW), the eventual winner of the event. Weigel was set to face Division I 160-pound state runner up Steven Schneider of MacArthur.

“I was really tired that morning after the cut, but I was excited because we were wrestling a team of Long Island studs first,” he said. “I saw Schneider at Eastern States – he beat Psomas and other guys I lost to. My teammate Jimmy Marquez got a pin at 160 and he came off the mat and slapped my hand and got me all amped up because he lost to Schneider at the state tournament. He told me I could beat him and I got fired up.”

Weigel took the first and third periods to get the victory in what he called an important win for him.

“I was in a funk, still getting over the season and that was a big momentum moment – wrestling to my potential against a great wrestler. I was relaxed and wrestled the match I wanted.”

There wasn’t much time to celebrate, however, as he next faced Matt Fisher, the Sacred Heart-bound senior who earned bronze in the same bracket as Weigel at the state tournament.

“I knew he beat Beckwith to take third at states,” he said. “I was thinking about the win I just had and there wasn’t a time I was worried about giving up points or losing. I got back on track and showed what I didn’t show at the state tournament.”

The future exercise science major hopes to keep showing what he can do at Buffalo, where he believes he will begin at 174 pounds but could go up higher given his six-foot-one frame.

“I took trips to other schools and liked every school I saw,” he said, mentioning Binghamton and Bloomsburg, among others. “I really liked Coach Stutzman when I went to Bloomsburg and when I heard he moved to Buffalo, I felt like I was basically done with the process. I liked everything about Buffalo – the campus, the facilities, the big school atmosphere. I’m really excited to be part of a program that’s going in the right direction and revamping everything. I think Coach Stutzman will rebuild the program strong.”

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Austin Weigel had a long list of people he wanted to thank.

“I want to thank my family, friends, coaches and the community for everything. The support for the program is amazing and helped me to get where I am.”

He mentioned the huge contributions of Journeymen’s Frank Popolizio and his high school coaches Lou Chartrand and Eric Pezzello “who are more than coaches – they are second and third fathers to me.” He also thanked Donnie Van Buren, CJ Goldizen and Dustin MacKenzie for being influential workout partners and his “brother” Avery Leighton who “was my best practice partner because we did everything together. I owe a lot to him. He made me the hardest worker I could be and was a huge part of my wrestling career.”

Army Head Coach Joe Heskett Inducted into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame

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Army head coach Joe Heskett was one of five inductees into the Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame over the weekend, joining Dale Brand, Kirk Myers, Troy Steiner and Terry Steiner.

The Glen Brand Wrestling Hall of Fame began in 2002 and recognizes individuals who “have impacted the sport of wrestling on a national level, as well as in the state of Iowa”.

Heskett, a graduate of Iowa State University, was a four-time All-American and three-time finalist, who won an NCAA title in his senior campaign.

In a February article on goarmysports.com, Heskett said the following about his selection:

“First and foremost, I would like to thank the selection committee, as well as the Dan Gable Museum and Glen Brand Hall of Fame. I would also like to congratulate my fellow inductees. As I reflect upon my career, I am so grateful for the sport of wrestling and its role in developing my character and mentality. Being recognized in my sport at the highest level is an absolute honor. This humbling honor is an extension of the love and support that I have received throughout my life. This induction directly correlates to the love and sacrifice of the woman who raised, supported and mentored me, my grandmother, Evelyn.

“I am blessed beyond belief, and this induction is shared with all my coaches, specifically Bobby Douglas and my high school coach Bill Barger. This honor is also shared with my family, close friends, the Iowa State community, the Cal Poly and Ohio State communities and the community here at West Point. In closing, this honor is shared with my three gold medals Olivia, Ava and Joey.”

Heskett coached at Cal Poly and Ohio State before becoming the head coach at West Point.

For more, see here.

All-State Wrestler Jimmy Overhiser Ready for New Challenges as He Transfers to Wyoming Seminary

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BY ZAKKARIAH ROLFE

What do the “Walsh Ironman”, the “Beast of the East”, and “The Clash” all have in common? For one, they are all FloMajor wrestling tournaments for the upcoming season. What else? They’re all on the Wyoming Seminary schedule for 2013-14. And they are three of the reasons 2012 All-State wrestler Jimmy Overhiser of Corning is transferring to Intermat’s second-ranked high school program for his junior campaign.

“Have you ever seen a tournament in New York that nationally ranked guys go to and don’t place?” Overhiser asked about the schedule he is determined to dominate. “Well, that’s what happens at those tournaments. The biggest reason I’m transferring to Wyoming Seminary is opportunity. They wrestle the toughest schedule in the USA. If you want to get college recognition, you need to wrestle the top competition week in and week out. That’s something I can’t get in Corning. ‘Sem’ is the perfect fit – but not only for wrestling; for every aspect of my life. I feel it gives me the greatest chance to succeed in whatever I choose to do.”

A big part of that is the coaching he will receive from a familiar face to many New York wrestling fans – Scott Green, a former Binghamton assistant and leader of the Shamrock Wrestling Club.  Green’s list of achievements is long, including being named the USA Wrestling FILA Junior/University Person of the Year in 2009.

“We are excited to have Jimmy on board,” the coach said. “His success in New York shows he has the potential to compete at the national level.  Making a jump to a boarding school like ours is a big step and Jimmy has shown by taking it that he is serious about his academic and athletic goals. I was just as impressed with Jimmy’s academic profile as I was with his wrestling ability in the admissions process. We think we can surround him with the right training partners to help him achieve his goals.”

Indeed, there’s little doubt that Overhiser will have a number of stellar wrestlers to push him.

“I’m going to be surrounded by around 11 state finalists and 10 Prep National All-Americans,” Overhiser said. “I’ve wrestled in hundreds of wrestling rooms, and not one room has ever given me the stability the ‘Sem’ room will give me.”

That stability will also be in place off the mat, although there will be a transition academically and in living away from home.

“It’s going to be great – I’m going to be living thirty seconds from some of the best wrestlers in the country, and I’m going to be living with my friends,” he said. “Who doesn’t want that? As for the academic standards, I’m living on campus right next to a library if I need to study or work on a project, I have a quiet place to work. Seminary has great resources and I’m looking forward to being able to use them to the fullest extent I can.”

It’s something that many others have done before. It certainly worked for two-time National Prep Champion and future Ivy League wrestler Eric Morris.

“’Sem’ helped develop me in ways that I didn’t even realize I was lacking before coming,” Morris said on Facebook. “Suddenly I became more than an athlete; I became a student-athlete. I grew to love learning and as a result I was able to achieve higher grades and test scores than I thought I was capable of. My college ambitions changed from going to a good school to going to a great school. I came to Sem as a talented wrestler and I graduated as a promising Division I athlete and future student at Harvard.”

After a fourth place finish in New York at 106 pounds in 2012 and a 36-5 campaign in 2013 at the same weight, Overhiser has similarly high expectations for himself. (He will likely wrestle at 113 or 120 pounds this year).

He said he is looking to go undefeated and win a Prep National title, and in the long run Overhiser looks to compete for Cael Sanderson and the Penn State Nittany Lions.

“Wyoming Seminary gives me the best opportunity to complete all those goals,” he said. “My job is to take that opportunity and run with it.”

New York Goes Undefeated at Freestyle Schoolboy National Duals on Sunday to Capture First in Red/Blue Pool

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Team New York finished the Schoolboy National Duals on a high note on Sunday, winning all four meets to capture first place in the Red/Blue Pool. The squad completed the two-day Freestyle tournament with a 6-2 record.

The 50-28 championship dual victory over Michigan followed a similar pattern as each of New York’s contests on Sunday. After falling behind early with forfeits in the first two classes (70 and 77), the Empire State squad went to work, piling up victories in the lightweights.

Trent Svingala got the ball rolling with a pin at 84 pounds, followed by a decision by Trey LaFlamme at 91 and a technical fall by Jacori Teemer at 98. Michigan bounced back with a win at 105, but New York responded with four consecutive technical falls (Elijah Rodriguez at 112, Hunter Dusold at 120, Hunter Richard at 128 and Tyrese Byron at 136) to take control. The middle and upperweights were solid from there, as New York grabbed five of the last six bouts, finishing well with a pin by David Wingate at 210 and a 9-0 triumph by Larry Baker at 265.

After splitting a pair of duals on Saturday to move into the Red/Blue bracket, New York came out firing on the final day of action, topping Colorado (54-23), Kansas (56-20) and Florida (42-26) before the previously mentioned victory over Michigan.

The squad had numerous standout Freestyle performances in Indianapolis, including unbeaten 98-pounder Jacori Teemer of Long Beach, who tallied a 6-0 mark with three pins and two techs. Dylan Dubuque notched the same record, while several others had six victories. They included 6-1 grapplers Hunter Richard (128) of Holland Patent, who also was a standout in Greco earlier in the week and Vito Arujau (112), who won all his matches by 10 or more points. In addition, both 210-pounder David Wingate and Dan Knapp registered 6-2 marks. Larry Baker led the group in wins, going 7-1 at heavyweight.

Here’s a look at Team New York:

84:
Trent Svingala 2-2
Salvator Jones 1-3

91:
Johnathan Gomez 2-1
Trey LaFlamme 3-3

98:
Jacori Teemer 6-0
Paddy Lupole 0-1

105:
Matt Maquet 3-1
Jonathan Loew 2-2

112:
Vito Arujau 6-1
Elijah Rodriguez 1-0

120:
Charlie Spada 3-1
Hunter Dusold 2-2

128:
Hunter Richard 6-1
(128/136)Tyrese Byron 1-3

136/144:
Eric Bartnick 2-2
Noah Grover 1-7

152:
Colin Lawler 3-3
(152/160)Vito Smolyak 2-3

160/175:
Dan Knapp 6-2

175/190:
Dylan Dubuque 6-0

210:
David Wingate 6-2

265:
Larry Baker 7-1

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

New York Earns Two Victories at Freestyle Schoolboy National Duals on Saturday

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Team New York split a pair of duals on Saturday at the 2013 Schoolboy National Freestyle Duals in Indianapolis to take fifth in pool action. The squad registered wins against Georgia (58-17) and Arizona (38-33) while falling to Indiana and Washington.

Syosset’s Vito Arujau went 3-1 on the day at 112 pounds, outscoring his opponents 31-0 in his victories.  Also collecting three wins for the Empire State was Larry Baker at 265. Jacori Teemer (98), Charlie Spada (120) and Dylan Dubuque (190) won their only two bouts of the day, while Dan Knapp (175), Hunter Richard (128), Eric Bartrick (136) and David Wingate (210) all also notched a pair of victories.

Competition resumes on Sunday, with New York wrestling in the Red/Blue bracket versus Colorado.

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

Team New York Completes Greco Competition at Schoolboy National Duals

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Team New York brought over 20 wrestlers to Indianapolis for the 2013 Schoolboy Duals and finished in sixth place in the Red/Blue pool after tallying a 2-6 record over the two-day Greco Roman action.

The Freestyle tournament will begin on Saturday and continue through to Sunday.

A number of grapplers collected five or more victories during the event for the Empire State group. Although the team mostly forfeited at 190, the upperweights got their hands raised quite a bit, with Dylan Dubuque (175), recording a 6-1 mark and David Wingate (210) going 7-1 and Larry Baker (265) coming in at 6-2. In addition, Hunter Richard, who was a Section 3 champion as an eighth grader for Holland Patent last season, was strong at 128 pounds, earning a 5-1 record with two pins and two technical falls. 128 was a solid weight throughout, as Tyrese Byron won his two appearances in that class as well as his other bout at 136 to go 3-0 with two pins and a technical fall.

Also going undefeated was Charlie Spada, who won both of his bouts, via fall and tech, at 120. Registering four wins were Noah Grover (144) and Trent Svingala (84).

On Day 1 of the tournament in Indiana, Team New York began Pool C action with a loss to Ohio before controlling a 54-20 triumph over Oklahoma Blue. After the squad forfeited the opening weights of 70 and 77 (which happened in all duals) to fall behind the Sooners 10-0, Trent Svingala got things on track with an 8-0 victory at 84 pounds. Trey LaFlamme and Jacori Teemer followed up with a pair of falls to put the squad ahead for good. Between 120 and 175 pounds, the Empire Staters captured seven consecutive bouts, with Hunter Dusold, Hunter Richard, Eric Bartnick, Noah Grover, Vito Smolyak, Dan Knapp and Dylan Dubuque all victorious.

After falling against Texas Blue in the next contest, New York was edged 40-39 by Virginia to move into the Red/Blue division for Day 2.

On Friday morning, Michigan prevailed 42-33 over New York in the opening dual of the day, but the Empire Staters responded to top Maryland 37-31. Matt Maquet picked up the first win of the meet for New York at 105 by a 7-0 score and then the team picked up steam, capturing four in a row, beginning with Charlie Spada at 120. In the ensuing match against Missouri, a 56-18 setback, Hunter Richard (128) and Tyrese Byron (136) provided bright spots with falls. The squad finished against Florida, notching six victories.

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

State Champion Drew Hull Ready to Make His Mark at the University of Virginia

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Going into the third period of the 2013 145-pound Division II state championship match, Drew Hull held a 2-0 lead over Norwich’s Frank Garcia.  While a two-point advantage might not seem like a lot, the way Hull wrestled as a senior, it was nearly insurmountable.

Garcia chose down for the final stanza and two minutes later, Hull completed his high school career with a 45-0 campaign and his first state title.

“I consider top to be my best strength,” Hull said. “I had the reversal in the second period and if it wasn’t in that venue, the state finals, I think I would have pushed the pace and tried to rack up the points.  But I didn’t take chances, didn’t want to get pinned in that spot. I knew I could win 2-0 after he took bottom in the third.”

He did just that.  And now, the three-time state placer and NHSCA All-American is focused on the next step – competing at the Division I level for the University of Virginia.

The future engineering major also looked at Princeton, Binghamton and North Carolina State, but chose the Cavaliers, a program he became familiar with after attending a wrestling camp in Charlottesville as a sophomore.

“There aren’t many places to go in wrestling other than the Olympics and even that might not be an option,” Hull said. “So I wanted to go to a school that was really good academically and in wrestling. The UVA team really focuses on both wrestling and school and Virginia gives a ton of academic support to athletes. I feel like the team is moving in the right direction with great coaches and facilities. It’s the right place to make me a champion.”

A champion, just like he was on New York’s biggest stage in February in a season in which he registered double digit wins over state placers. It was the ending he was striving for after coming up with silver in 2012.

Photo by BV

As a junior, Hull came into the Times Union Center and dominated his way through his first three contests, with a pin and two shutouts before facing Phoenix’s Tyler Button in the title bout.  After falling behind 6-0 after two periods, Hull bounced back with a vengeance, but it wasn’t quite enough in a 6-5 decision.

“I tensed up and didn’t wrestle well until the third period,” he said. “I think I let the pressure get to me. That match was a huge motivator for this year. But what also really motivated me was to become my school’s second state champion. We’re a small school and don’t have a ton of success athletically.  It really drove me.”

He was driven to do more than finish on top of the podium in Albany in 2013, however.

“I didn’t want to only focus on a state title,” he said. “I wanted to make sure I was ready to compete on the college level right away. I thought if I was shooting for a goal higher than the state title, the state title would come. I also really didn’t want to get scored on at all.”

He almost made it through the entire campaign without surrendering offensive points.  The streak was broken in an exciting state semifinal showdown with familiar foe Jude Gardner of Fredonia – the fourth meeting between the Section 6 stars in the 2012-13 campaign.

“I’ve wrestled [Gardner] a ton of times,” Hull said. “That was one of my toughest matches because he knew me so well. When we were young, in eighth grade, he beat me twice.  Since then, we wrestled at least once, and usually more than once, every year, and I won them all.”

But with a spot in the Saturday night championships on the line, Gardner broke the scoreless streak against Hull, notching a takedown to take a brief 2-1 lead in the second period.  A Hull escape tied it at 2 going into the third.  Gardner chose neutral.

“One of my more common shots is the slide by,” Hull said. “I tried it earlier and didn’t get it, but with time running out, I did it again.  I got the takedown with three seconds left to win 4-2 and get to the finals. I was confident that I would beat him, but I knew he could keep it close. After I pinned him early in the season while I was winning 9-1, we had two 1-0 matches. He has some of the best coaches in the state and they had good strategy.”

As good as the strategy was, Hull found a way to come out on top.  In fact, he got his hand raised more times than any wrestler in the history of the Royalton-Hartland program (184 victories) – topping Olympian Lou Rosselli (currently an assistant coach at Ohio State).

“I came into the season wanting to break [Rosselli’s] record for career wins,” Hull said. “I hoped to pass him to someday be the best in my school’s history. I want to beat him in every aspect. I want to win an NCAA title and place higher at the Olympics than he did.”

Like Rosselli, a member of the Western New York Wrestling Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame, Hull was recognized for his excellence, as he was awarded the 2013 Ilio DiPaolo Scholarship.  The honor goes to Western New York’s top wrestler, but is not only based on performance on the mat.

“I always hoped to win that award,” Hull said. “It was a true honor to win because it was about a lot more than just wrestling.  There are academic and community service components to it also.”

Hull, who holds a 94 average in the classroom, also volunteers at youth wrestling and football programs, helps out with political council members and assists at a nursing home.

“I think the discipline you need in wrestling helps with being disciplined in academics,” he said. “You have to work at all the things you do.  You can’t be one-dimensional. I think that’s true in all aspects of life. A one-dimensional wrestler is easy to beat.”

Drew Hull keeps getting better in every dimension of his wrestling. He’s now ready to make his mark at UVA.

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Drew Hull wished to thank his parents, who “did everything they possibly could to help me.” He also wanted to thank his siblings and the fans and supporters in the community, saying “It was awesome to wrestle for Royalton-Hartland.”

He also thanked all his coaches who have helped him along the way. He discussed Jeff Prescott, Dee Gugel, Jeff Brigham, Jeremy Stopa, Kevin Lawson and Cobra Wrestling (Keith Maute).

Hofstra's Steve Bonanno Earns First Team Academic All-American Honors

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Photo by BV

Hofstra’s Steve Bonanno has received a number of honors during his career with the Pride. On Thursday, he added to that list when he was named to the Academic All-American First Team. (The squad is named by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA and is for “at large” sports such as fencing, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, lacrosse, rifle, skiing, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo and wrestling). Bonanno was one of three wrestlers included, along with Penn State’s Matt Brown and Nebraska’s Josh Ihnen.

Bonanno, was also an Academic All-American in 2012, when he earned second team accolades. During that season, he made the podium at the NCAAs, taking eighth at 125 pounds. The Wantagh native was the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a junior and senior and is currently a graduate student working toward his MBA.

For the full story from gohofstra.com, see here.

A Win Against Cancer: The Match Against Leukemia Raises Over $10K; Provides Great Competition

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A number of teams hoisted trophies over Memorial Day weekend at the Albany Academies Field House, but perhaps the true winner was the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. That’s because the fifth annual “Match Against Leukemia” tournament raised $10,380 for the organization.

The event, hosted by the New York Titan Wrestling Club, featured 12 teams from states such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Hampshire.  Each squad had an action-packed weekend, with seven dual meets.

“The competition was pretty fierce with a lot of high level wrestlers,” said event organizer Jefferson LaMountain. “There were at least 30 wrestlers who placed at their state tournaments.”

Coming out on top was the host team, Titan Red, followed by the Canastota Raiders from Section 3 in second place. Right behind them in the Gold Division in third and fourth were the Silverback squad from Connecticut and the North Jersey Warriors. (Rockland Force took top honors in the Silver competition, while Excelsior did the same in the Bronze bracket).

But there were many other awards in addition to the trophies awarded to the top squads. A Most Outstanding Wrestler and Coaches Award were selected for each club. (For the championship Titan Red squad those honorees were Tyler Moses and Nolan Foster, respectively).

And the biggest trophy of them all went to Ironman Wrestling of Dutchess County, for raising the most money for the cause ($2100).

“Ironman, under Jim Baker, has been here since Year 1 of the event and we appreciate their support,” LaMountain said.

Helping to make the event successful were around 50 volunteers, doing everything from running the concession stands to ensuring that every match was recorded and posted on the Flowrestling website.

And the weekend included more than wrestling. On Saturday night, the competitors enjoyed a dinner full of pizza, wings and more. Each participant also received a t-shirt with the leukemia ribbon on the back and his club name on the front. There was even a therapist on hand to provide massages for the wrestlers when they weren’t on the mat.

“It went really well with a good number of kids and strong donations,” LaMountain said. “Everyone loved the event – I got 40-45 e-mails from parents saying they enjoyed it and that the community service component makes it special.  Most of the time tournaments raise money for clubs or teams, but this is different.”

It’s different because it is held in memory of the late Sol Kahn, a founding member of the New York Titan Club, who passed away from an aggressive form of leukemia as a high schooler. (He was set to attend the University of Rochester). According to LaMountain, his story was read at the beginning and end of the event.

“Sol possessed more than a willingness to help others; it would be better described as a desire to help others,” the event website said. “He helped his friends, family, teachers and coaches whenever necessary and also went out of his way to help people he did not know. He was committed to his community and his dream was to work in the field of Law Enforcement.”

His community and wrestlers from all over the East Coast showed their willingness to help (and compete) on the holiday weekend.

“Although fierce rivals on the mat, these clubs are working together off the mat to defeat leukemia,” the event website said. “This is a great example of the local wrestling community coming together to support the fight against blood cancers while honoring and remembering one of their own.”

To learn more about the Match Against Leukemia or to contribute, see this link.

To watch the action on Flowrestling, see this link.

The results of the event:

Gold Division

  1. Titan Red (NY)
  2. Canastota Raiders (NY)
  3. Silverback (CT)
  4. North Jersey Warriors (NJ)

Silver Division

Rockland Force (NY), Ironman (NY), Pin2Win Combat (NY), Gate City (NH)

Bronze Division

Excelsior United (NY), Colonie Raiders (NY), Titan Black (NY), Ravena Fury (NY)

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LaMountain wished to thank many people for the success of the event.  They include:

Club President Ken Walberg

Strength and conditioning coach/club spokesperson George Featherstonhaugh

Gabrielle LaMountain, the communications director and business manager who organized the corporate sponsors

Frankie Tangora, the head of concessions

Tournament director Bill Shell

Jim Romanski, who ran the film crews and made sure all the matches were placed online

 

Matt Hamill, Former RIT Star, Inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame

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Matt Hamill is now a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.  The former Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) standout was honored with the Medal of Courage at the ceremonies in Oklahoma over the weekend.

Hamill, who was born deaf, starred on the mat at the Division III level, earning three NCAA championships as well as two Outstanding Wrestler trophies.  His stellar 89-3 overall mark for the Tigers featured a plethora of pins and he was inducted into the RIT Hall of Fame in 2007.

The Ohio native also made his presence felt in the international styles, collecting gold medals in both Freestyle and Greco at the World Games for the Deaf and following up with a gold (Freestyle) and silver (Greco) at the Deaflympics in 2001.

After completing his wrestling career, he competed in MMA, winning double digit contests in the octagon.

Hamill wasn’t the only Hall of Fame inductee with New York ties.  Joshua Harris, a current owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, was inducted as an Outstanding American.  The former University of Pennsylvania wrestler currently lives in New York City and serves on the Board of Trustees for the United States Olympic Committee.

For more on the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, see here.