'Striking Back' With Top Notch Wrestling: This Weekend's Empire Nationals Recap

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Numerous wrestlers flocked to the campus of SUNY Brockport this weekend for the two-day Brute Empire Nationals.

On Saturday, the individual tournaments took place, with over 60 brackets ranging from 43 pounds to the 285-pound high school division.  And for those who wanted more, Sunday provided a dual meet competition, with 14 squads fighting it out in the Kindergarten-8th grade group and another 10 squaring off at the high school level.

When all was said and done, it was Cobra Wrestling Academy that came out on top in the high school dual tournament and New Jersey’s A & B Core that captured the dual title in the youth division.

Cobra won all five meets, with a team that offered quality wrestlers from top to bottom, including many who competed (and placed) in Albany in February.   In the championship contest against Superior Black, Cobra earned a 46-16 victory.

“Our team was strong across the whole lineup and got a lot of bonus points when the opportunities were there,” said Cobra Executive Director Keith Maute. “We didn’t have close duals, but we did have some great matches.”

Among the highlight bouts, according to Maute, were victories by Tito Colom over All-State lightweight Kelan McKenna and by Matt Booth over Trent Egenlauf, the number two seed at this year’s state tournament.  In addition, Maute mentioned a pair of wins by his team members over 2013 New York second place finishers (Kellen Devlin over Sean Peacock and Nathan Schwab over Rowdy Prior).  For the full list of Cobra grapplers, see the end of this article.

There were many winners in the individual action, but one name that came up quite a few times was “Kropman”.  That’s because the Penfield-based family boasted four first place finishes as well as a runner up showing.  Cooper, Max, Parker and Skylar Kropman all took gold, while Max (first at 70 pounds in Division 3) competed again in Division 4 at 73 pounds and grabbed silver there as well.

Another member of the Kropman clan was well represented at the event as well.  Scott Kropman, the father of all the previously mentioned wrestlers, is currently battling cancer.  In order to raise funds to help in this fight, t-shirts and hoodies that said “Empire Nationals Wrestling Tournament Strikes Back Against Cancer” sold prior to and during the event.

Courtesy of the Empire Nationals Website

“Scott Kropman has always been a supporter of the Empire Nationals as well as a friend to all!” the event website said. “We are very appreciative of everything he has ever done for this tournament and mindful of everything he means to youth wrestling in our area. Scott is a loving husband and father of seven! He is a positive influence and an inspirational person.”

The Kropmans weren’t the only New York family to collect several awards.  Brothers Hector and Tito Colom both competed in two different divisions on Saturday.  Hector won the 105-pound bracket in Division 5 while taking third at the same weight in Division 4.  Meanwhile, Tito was second at 113 in Division 6 and third at 112 one Division down.  Also of note, Journeymen’s Michael Gonyea made the finals twice – grabbing top billing at 73 pounds in Division 4 while recording second at 78 pounds.

In addition, Division 6 featured 2013 New York state placers atop the podium at a number of weights, including Jonathan Haas (113), Bryan Lantry (120), Sean Peacock (126), Dan Reagan (145) and Sam Eagan (220).

For the top four finishers in the individual competition, see below (from KapWrestling):

Division I

43 Pounds
Darren Bailey (Thorobred, NY)
Ethan Illerbrun (Kane, PA)
Cooper Gronowski (Cobra, NY)
James Leuer (Lockport, NY)

48 Pounds
Jaden Crumpler (Power Cats, NY)
Ashton Seymour (Mike’s Garage Grapplers, NY)
Trey Kimball (Camden, NY)
Lucas Tirpak (Rock Solid, PA)

53 Pounds
Ashton Homan (Btw, OH)
Cole Murray (Mineral Wells, WV)
August Hibler (New Canaan, CT)
Ayden Woolston (Nt Sprawlers, NY)

60 Pounds
Julien Griffith (Palmer, OH)
Max Hermes (Edison, OH)
Jack Clough (Ihc Cavaliers, NY)
Jeremiah Russell (Team Erie Vipers, PA)

70 Pounds
Wesley Holley (Gilead Christian, NY)
Mason Maring (Westfield, NY)
Landon Kelly (Rrwc, PA)
Timothy Connolly (Olympic, NJ)

95 Pounds
Ethan Gallo (Underground, NY)
Kevin Daskavitz (Lockport, NY)
Aric Bloomquist (Jamestown, NY)
Troy Legault (Brockport, NY)

Division 2

50 Pounds
Nic Allison (Siglerville, PA)
Jaden Pepe (Rock Solid, PA)
Wesley Wydick (Mt. Vernon Killer Bees, OH)
Michael Santore (Journeymen, NY)

55 Pounds
Jake Craig (Mat Cats, ME)
Jacob Van Dee (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Chase Liardi (Long Beach Gladiators, NY)
Colin Bradshaw (Pin2Win, NY)

60 Pounds
Carson Alberti (Iroquois, NY)
Mark Botello (Smitty’s Barn, MA)
Maximilian Leete (Mercury Rising, MA)
Evan Maag (Rsw, PA)

65 Pounds
Peter Ruiz, (Northeast Elite, RI)
Nolan Fenton (Pa Rednecks, PA)
Andy Lucinski (Lockport, NY)
Nico Berlingeri (Olympic, NJ)

70 Pounds
Shawn Russell (Team Erie Vipers, PA)
Nick Fea (Goshen, NY)
Jacob Deguire (Journeymen, NY)
Ian Darling (Mercury Rising, MA)

75 Pounds
Blake Clayton (The Beast, NJ)
Paniro Johnson (Team Erie Vipers, PA)
Nicholas Fine (NE Elite, RI)
Ethan Sanderson (Titletown Fight Club, NY)

80 Pounds
Nicholas Crisp (Prescott, PA)
Jack Brantly (Olympic, NJ)
Justin Onello (Olympic, NJ)
Aydin Rix McElhinney (Southern Maine Trappers, ME)

90 Pounds
Cooper Kropman (Penfield, NY)
Jeffrey Crooks (Journeymen, NY)
Connor Haroutunian (Waldwick, NJ)
Michael Main (Fusion, NY)

100 Pounds
Hunter McKenna (Journeymen, NY)
Joseph Delgado (Jamestown, NY)

115 Pounds
Mason Lazorchak (Cannonball, NJ)

135 Pounds
Cael Black (Eisenhower, PA)
Mason Lazorchak (Cannonball, NJ)

Division 3

60 Pounds
Jacob Brumett (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Joe Scheeren (Journeymen, NY)
Luke Hoerle (Drill Masters, NJ)
Tyler Bartolomei (Cobra, NY)

65 Pounds
Myles Griffin (Mexico, NY)
CJ Composto (Apex, NJ)
JJ White (Rock Solid, PA)
Alijah Seymour (Mike’s Garage Grapplers, NY)

70 Pounds
Max Kropman (Penfield, NY)
Nicolas Botello (Smitty’s Barn, MA)
Nicholas Sabin (Lake Catholic, OH)
Hunter Adrian (Mercury Rising, MA)

75 Pounds
Nicholas Burgard (Conneaut Cougars, OH)
David Krokowski (Rock Solid, PA)
Jack Darling (Mercury Rising, MA)
Brock DelSignore (Journeymen, NY)

80 Pounds
Kyle Mosher (Long Beach Gladiators, NY)
Noah Castillo (Drill Masters, NJ)
Caleb Dowling (Juniata, PA)
Justin McDougald (Cobra, NY)

85 Pounds
David Berkovich (Long Beach Gladiators, NY)
Jimmy Kramer (Warren, PA)
Noah Strout (Smitty’s Barn, NH)
Cole Hivnor (Lake Catholic, OH)

90 Pounds
Benny Baker (Rock Solid, NY)
Warren McDougald (Cobra, NY)
Ed Scott (Dubois, PA)
Willie McDougald (Power Cats, NY)

100 Pounds
Dempsey Carroll (Copenhagen, NY)
Anthony Hinson (Roughneck, PA)
Tyler Kellison (Vvs, NY)
Joseph Koplow (Lake Catholic, OH)

110 Pounds
Carter Starocci (Team Erie Vipers, PA)
David Cumberledge (Ashtabula, OH)
Harrison Shapiro (Mercury Rising)
Gabriel Onorato (Raw 241, NJ)

135 Pounds
Drew Butera (Lake Catholic, OH)
Colby Johnson (Vvs, NY)
Shaine Luzietti (Newtown, CT)
Cael Black (Midget)

Division 4

73 Pounds
Michael Gonyea (Journeymen, NY)
Max Kropman (Penfield, NY)
Matthew Mustakis (Long Beach Gladiators, NY)
Evan Lesher (G2, NY)

78 Pounds
Sam Bacon (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Michael Gonyea (Journeymen, NY)
Owen Kissell (Viper Garage, NY)
Sam Baker (Cobra, NY)

83 Pounds
Dillan Palaszewski (Journeymen, NY)
Cole Rhone (Benton, PA)
Joe Klock (Benton, PA)
Sam Sallot (Ragin Raisins, PA)

90 Pounds
AJ Burkhart (Superior, NY)
Sebastian Comejo (Drill Masters, NJ)
Jonathan Gomez (Long Beach Gladiators, NY)
Cody Craig (Mat Cats, ME)

95 Pounds
Jacori Teemer (Long Beach Gladiators, NY)
Matthew Cabezas (Smitty’s Barn, MA)
Colton Babcock (Benton, PA)
Farouq Muhammed (Shaker, OH)

100 Pounds
Devon Briton (Rsw, PA)
Creighton Edsell (Wyalusing, PA)
Connor McGonagle (Smitty’s Barn, ME)
Matthew Maquet (Long Beach Gladiators, NY)

105 Pounds
Wade Unger (Olympic, NJ)
Shayne McCann (Smitty’s Barn, NH)
Hector Colom (Scorpion Cobra, NY)
Luke Wymer (Akron, OH)

115 Pounds
Mike Stuart (Rock Solid, PA)
Anthony Martoccio (Drill Masters, PA)
Carnell Andrews (Coldsteel, PA)
Philip Conigliaro (Smitty’s Barn, MA)

125 Pounds
Joshua McKenzie (Triumph, NJ)
Chris Barker (Fairport, NY)
Tyler Barnes (Journeymen, NY)
Kevin Ciresa (Apex, NJ)

135 Pounds
Joseph Giorlando (Long Beach Gladiators, NY)
Blake Aina (Brockport, NY)
Danny Contino (Marcaurele, CT)
Jacob W (Spencerport, NY)

150 Pounds
Frankie Gissendanner (G2, NY)
Gavin Hoffman (Rock Solid, PA)
Anthony Walters (Young Guns, PA)
Ryan Fredette (Cummings Compound, ME)

175 Pounds
Jerry Ogurkis (Dallas, PA)
Calvin Hayford (Winooski, VT)
David Clayton (The Beast, NJ)
Dominic Salerno (Thorobred, NY)

230 Pounds
Nick Jones (Cobra, NY)

Division 5

98 Pounds
Kelan McKenna (Superior, NY)
Troy Keller (Cobra, NY)
Derek St. James (G2, NY)
Dylan Arena (Cobra, NY)

105 Pounds
Hector Colom (Scorpion Cobra, NY)
Vincent Falvo (Nwaa, NY)
Eli Yoho (Akron, OH)
Kaleb Pascoe (Spencerport, NY)

112 Pounds
Jimmy Hoffman (Rock Solid, PA)
Ta’ Nauz Gregory (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Tito Colom (Scorpion Cobra, NY)
Isaac Yoho (Akron, OH)

120 Pounds
Peter Delgallo (Mtn Valley, ME)
Tyler Craig (Mat Cats, ME)
Logan Gray (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Mitchell Shambo (Mexico, NY)

125 Pounds
Zack Barker (Fairport, NY)
Brian Earlston (Drill Masters, PA)
Brandon Saline (CC, PA)
Austin Coleman (Excelsior United, NY)

130 Pounds
Julian Sirois (Cummings Compound, ME)
Joseph Koontz (Awc, OH)
James Arao (Titan Worldwide, NY)
Paul Bavisotto (Ken West, NY)

135 Pounds
Cody McGregor (Cobra, NY)
Freddy Eckles (Cobra, NY)
Collin Edsell (Wyalusing, PA)
Alex Herringshaw (Vvs, NY)

140 Pounds
Matt Kloc (Cobra, NY)
Jakob Coad (Kenmore West, NY)
Julian Korfine (Finger Lakes, NY)
Connor Dowe (Brockport, NY)

145 Pounds
AJ Aeberli (Olympic, NY)
Nicholas Konovalchik (Mercury Rising, MA)
Corey Farrell (Knights, NY)
Matt Judge (Valley View, PA)

152 Pounds
Jason Hoffman (Journeymen, NY)
Avery Dinardi (Sepa, NJ)
Matt Azzano (Wayne, NY)
Jack Collins (NE Elite, RI)

160 Pounds
Nathan Schwab (Cobra, NY)
Trevor Allard (Mexico, NY)
Ethan Pansa (Mohawk, NY)

171 Pounds
Sonny McPherson (Indian River, NY)
Michael Hughes (Ragin Raisins, PA)
James Geiger (Dallas, PA)
Kameron Miller (Prescott, NY)

189 Pounds
Tyler Hall (NYSS, NY)
Michael Daskavitz (Lockport, NY)
Noah Siesto (Webster Schroeder, NY)

250 Pounds
Austin Slocum (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Lucas Silvis (Goldforce, NY)
Hayden Ricci (East Rochester, NY)
Nick Jones (Cobra, NY)

Division 6

106 Pounds
Parker Kropman (Penfield, NY)
Michael Wicks (Spencerport, NY)
Chris Hoerle (Apex, NJ)

113 Pounds
Jonathan Haas (Spencerport, NY)
Tito Colom (Scorpion Cobra, NY)
Aleksei Cartagena (Pittsford, NY)
Chase Jefferys (Mercury Rising, MA)

120 Pounds
Bryan Lantry (Superior, NY)
Doug Iadanza (Sachem East, NY)
Edwin Serrano (Titan Worldwide, NY)
Jacob Morley (Gates Chili, NY)

126 Pounds
Sean Peacock (Superior, NY)
Anthony Calvano (Iowa Style, NY)
Abdul-Fatah Alishawai (NY)
Daniel Sportello (Ilion, NY)

132 Pounds
Austin Acquard (Cobra, NY)
Kyle Lukowich (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Nick Toutant (Indian River, NY)
Jack Glasi (Brockway, PA)

138 Pounds
Sean O’Hagan (Sachem North, NY)
Keller Watkins (Rrwc, PA)
Codie Gillette (Saranac, NY)
Anthony Pesce (Fairport, NY)

145 Pounds
Dan Reagan (Ransomville, NY)
Daniel Anghelina (Olympic, NJ)
Noah Phillips (Cellar Dwellers, NY)
Deane Twitchell (Ragin Raisins, PA)

152 Pounds
Skylar Kropman (Penfield, NY)
Tristan Broddus (Fayetteville-Manlius, NY)
Hunter Proctor (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Anthony Bell (Hells Bells, NY)

160 Pounds
Kyle Bova (Coudersport, PA)
Rowdy Prior (Pin2Win, NY)
Mark Stucke (Cobra, NY)
David Burke (Danville, PA)

170 Pounds
Evan Delong (Kane, PA)
Cole Shirey (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Joshua Goodman, Gates Chili, NY)
Brayden Denk (Prestige, NY)

182 Pounds
Jared Mesiti (Brockport, NY)
Taylor Saline (CC, PA)
Marquis Buchanan (Cobra, NY)
Shane Currey (Kenmore West, NY)

195 Pounds
Troy Uhrin (Mat Assassins, PA)
Andrew Phelps (Ragin Raisins, PA)
Trent Egenlauf (Spencerport, NY)
Dan Norris (Hilton, NY)

220 Pounds
Sam Eagan (Empire, NY)
Connor Calkins (Finger Lakes, NY)
Paul Herrera (Wolf Pack, NY)
Dylan Grant (Cobra, NY)

285 Pounds
Wyatt Morris (Morrisville-Eaton, NY)
Jakob Rowe (Mat Assassins, PA)
Mason Cross (Titans, NY)
Kasey Kubiniec (Newfane, NY)

High School Dual Team Champions – Cobra Wrestling Academy (as provided by Keith Maute)

101 Troy Keller and Dylan Arena

108 Tito Colom

115 Michael Wizniewski

122 Ryan Burns and Nick Gaiser

128 Kellen Devlin

134 Cody McGregor and Freddy Eckles

140 Matt Kloc

147 Danny Graham

154 Jude Gardner

162 Nathan Schwab

172 Matt Weber

184 Anthony Liberatore and Marques Buchanan

197 Matt Booth

222 Marshall Taylor and Mike Ziolo

285 Matt Montesanti and Nick Jones

'Keep Calm and Fight On': Saranac's Sectional Champion Nathan Wood Battling Cancer

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A year after making the top 8 at the 2012 New York State tournament, Saranac’s Nathan Wood hoped to be wrestling for the Section 7 title on February 9. Instead, he watched as two grapplers he defeated earlier in the season battled for a chance to go to Albany.

“It was really hard for him not to be on the mat,” Saranac coach Heath Smith said. “He was there rooting his teammates on, but it was tough for him, especially not knowing what was going on with his health.”

Courtesy of Saranac Wrestling Facebook

It had been a challenging time for Wood. After winning 16 of his first 17 bouts of the 2012-13 campaign at 195 pounds, including 12 by fall, he began to feel sick. Shortly afterwards, he began to have some issues with his leg, including severe pain. On top of that, he was losing weight.

“He went from winning and looking and feeling good in December to all kinds of problems within several weeks,” Smith said. “The doctors saw some enlarged lymph nodes in his leg and removed them. About a week after Sectionals, we found out that they found cancerous cells. It was shocking. We thought maybe he pulled something or had some type of injury. To go from that to something life threatening – you’re not prepared for that. You don’t expect a 17-year old boy to come back from the doctor hearing he has cancer.”

To receive his treatments for Ewing’s Sarcoma, Wood has been spending most of his time in a Vermont hospital. And while he fights, the wrestling and surrounding communities have stepped up to assist him.

During Saranac’s pee-wee tournament, a 50/50 drawing raised over $1000 for the Wood family. There have been sales of t-shirt and bracelets and multiple car washes to raise more for the family.

In addition, on May 5, a spaghetti dinner will be held at Assumption of Mary School in Redford. The event, which will begin at noon, will feature a raffle, bake sale, face painting, 50/50 and live music, among other things.

“We really want to help them out with the medical expenses and all the traveling back and forth to Burlington,” said Beckie Mann, an organizer of the event. “From what I know, it will probably be a lengthy stay in Vermont for him and we want to do what we can.”

Courtesy of the Benefit for Nathan Wood Facebook page

Whether or not Wood will attend the May 5 festivities is unknown. But he did make the trip back to New York recently, according to Smith, and hopes to do so on a periodic basis.

“It’s good that he was able to come back for a little bit,” Smith said. “I remember him as a little kid, coming up to the pee wee program and thinking how good he would be. He wanted to be on the mat – he gave it a shot in January before we knew what was going on and made it to the finals [of the Dan Wickham Classic]. But the pain was too much. As much as we think wrestling is important sometimes, it needs to be on the backburner now. Some things are much bigger.”

For more information on Nathan Wood’s fight and the efforts to assist him and his family, see this Facebook page.

McFarland, Schubert and Scott Win Championships at NUWAY Nationals in Michigan

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It was a small but successful New York contingent that traveled to Michigan this weekend for the NUWAY National Championships.

Both Carter Schubert (58 pounds) and Jayden Scott (72 pounds) won titles in Division 2, while Andrew McFarland captured first place as well at 118 pounds in Division 5.

Schubert registered a pin and otherwise outscored his opponents 10-0 on his path, while Scott won three of his five matches by bonus points, including a 16-5 major in the finals.  McFarland outpointed his foes 17-1 and also had a fall on his way to the top of the medal stand a week after becoming an All-American at NHSCAs in Virginia Beach.

Meanwhile, Ethan Ferro dropped his opening bout at 76 pounds but bounced back with five straight wins in the wrestlebacks to record fourth place in Division 3.  Also making the podium was Dylan Ellingsworth, who was eighth at 140 in D5.

Gary McDowell entered in the youngest division at 40 pounds.

For full results and brackets, see http://www.trackwrestling.com and search for NUWAY Nationals.

Beat the Streets's "Rumble on the Rails" Will Feature Team USA vs. Russia and Iran in NYC in May

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For years, the annual Beat the Streets event in New York City has featured some of the best wrestling talent around.

2013 will be no exception.

On May 15, Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall will be the host of the “Rumble on the Rails”, involving three of the world’s top wrestling nations – the United States, Russia and Iran.  Action is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. when the United States takes on the Iranians.  Shortly afterwards, Beat the Streets exhibition matches will take place before the US and Russia square off in another dual at 6 p.m..  Following the competition, the annual Beat the Streets Gala will begin at the Bryant Park Grill.

The nations will come together to support both the Beat the Streets program as well as show unity for the Keep Olympic Wrestling movement.

For more information, see Here.

 

 

Homecoming!: Nassau Wrestler of the Year Choi Receives Awards and a Special Gift from VHW

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Being intimidated was new.  Vougar Oroudjov said he didn’t remember feeling that way – even when competing on the biggest stages, such as the Olympics and the World Championships.

But earlier this week, at the Section 8 Dinner, Oroudjov, the head of Vougar’s Honors Wrestling (VHW), met his match.

Choi, Photo by BV

“I was never scared like that before,” he said. “I went up to give a speech and I couldn’t say anything.  All those people were looking at me. It was very different.  But I had to give the speech.  It was very important to me to give this award to [Syosset senior] Dan Choi.”

It wasn’t the only trophy of the evening for Choi, the 2013 195-pound New York State champion in Division I, who also collected several other accolades, including Nassau’s Most Outstanding Wrestler (Newsday and Friends of Long Island Wrestling), Navy ROTC Award, Matanna Family Scholarship and an NYSPHSAA All-Academic honor.

But the award Oroudjov spoke about was perhaps more valuable.  Because what VHW gave Choi was a chance to finally go home.

“When I found out that Dan didn’t go to Korea to see his mother for two years, I felt terrible,” Oroudjov said. “With my Olympic dream, I traveled a lot – camps and tournaments.  It was non-stop traveling.  I always missed my family and friends. I know that feeling.  So, we bought Dan a round trip ticket to go back to Korea to see his family for the first time in years before he goes to college at Cornell University.”

We detailed Choi’s amazing story of coming to the United States just three years ago without his parents and earning an ROTC scholarship to the Ivy League institution in Ithaca in this article.

However, that story was published before Choi’s tremendous run through the field at the Times Union Center to earn a state championship.  But those victories in Albany aren’t what stand out most for Oroudjov.  The title wasn’t the reason that he and Nebraska recruit Anthony Abidin held a clinic to raise some of the funds for Choi’s journey to Asia.

“He is just unbelievable,” Oroudjov said. “How many high school kids could do everything he has done without seeing their parents for two years?  He works a job, he does great in school, he wrestles. We’ll go to tournaments and he always has such a heavy bag because he’s doing his calculus and other homework at the tournaments.  He also has a lot of fun – we dance Gangnum style together after big wins. We’re going to miss him. He’s a great person to have around. He deserves all his awards but we needed to give him the award of going home.”

——-

Choi wasn’t the only wrestler to come away from the event with hardware.  State champions Kyle Quinn (Wantagh) and Louis Hernandez (Mepham) were also named to Newsday’s All-Long Island team, as was runner up Chris Koo of Great Neck South.  Joining them on the squad were Suffolk grapplers Matt Leshinger (Sayville), TJ Fabian (Shoreham Wading River), Corey Rasheed (Longwood), Tyler Grimaldi (Hills West), Carlos Toribio (Brentwood), Michael Hughes (Smithtown West), Alex Tanzman (Westhampton Beach) and Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville). Piccininni was named Wrestler of the Year for the State of New York by WIN Magazine.

Why Do You Wrestle? The Inspirational Story of Nishan Patel (by John Passaro)

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For more information on the subject of this story, Nishan Patel or the author, John Passaro, see the end of the article.

BY JOHN PASSARO

While I was on the side of the mat next to some wrestlers who were warming up for their next match, I found myself standing side by side next to an extraordinary wrestler.

He was warming up and he had that look of desperation on his face that wrestlers get when their match is about to start and their coach is across the gym coaching on another mat in a match that is already in progress.

“Hey do you have a coach?” I asked him.

“He’s not here right now.” He quietly answered me ready to take on the task of wrestling his opponent alone.

“Would you mind if I coached you?”

His face tilted up at me with a slight smile and said, “That would be great.”

Through the sounds of whistles and yelling fans I heard him ask me what my name was.

“My name is John,” I replied.

“Hi John, I am Nishan,” he said while extending his hand for a handshake.

He paused for a second and then he said to me, “John, I am going to lose this match.”

He said that as if he was preparing me so I wouldn’t get hurt when my coaching skills didn’t work magic with him today.

I just said, “Nishan – no score of a match will ever make you a winner.  You are already a winner by stepping onto that mat.”

With that he just smiled and slowly ran on to the mat, ready for battle, but half knowing what the probable outcome would be.

When you first see Nishan you will notice that his legs are frail – very frail.  So frail that they have to be supported by custom made, form fitted braces to help support and straighten his limbs.

Braces that I recognize all too well.

Some would say Nishan has a handicap.  I say that he has a gift.

To me the word handicap is a word that describes what one “can’t do.”  That doesn’t describe Nishan. Nishan is doing.

The word “gift” is a word that describes something of value that you give to others.

And without knowing it, Nishan is giving us all a gift. I believe Nishan’s gift is inspiration. The ability to look the odds in the eye and say “You don’t pertain to me.”  The ability to keep moving forward. Perseverance. A “whatever it takes” attitude.

As he predicted, the outcome of his match wasn’t great.  That is, if the only thing you judge a wrestling match by is the actual score. Nishan tried as hard as he could, but he couldn’t overcome the twenty-six pound weight difference that he was giving up to his opponent on this day in order to compete.  You see, Nishan weighs only 80 pounds and the lowest weight class in this tournament was 106.  Nishan knew he was spotting his opponent 26 pounds going into every match on this day.  He wrestled anyway.

I never did get the chance to ask him why he wrestles, but if I had to guess I would say, after watching him all day long, that Nishan wrestles for the same reasons that we all wrestle for. We wrestle to feel alive, to push ourselves to our mental, physical and emotional limits – levels we never knew we could reach. We wrestle to learn to use 100% of what we have today in hopes that our maximum today will be our minimum tomorrow.  We wrestle to measure where we started from, to know where we are now, and to plan on getting where we want to be in the future.  We wrestle to look the seemingly insurmountable opponent right in the eye and say, “Bring it on – I can take whatever you can dish out.”

Sometimes life is your opponent and just showing up is a victory.

You don’t need to score more points than your opponent in order to accomplish that.

No, Nishan didn’t score more points than any of his opponents on this day, that would have been nice, but I don’t believe that was the most important thing to Nishan.  Without knowing for sure – the most important thing to him on this day was to walk with pride like a wrestler up to a thirty two foot circle, have all eyes from the crowd on him, to watch him compete one on one against his opponent – giving it all that he had.  That is what competition is all about.  Most of the times in wrestling you are competing against yourself. Nishan is no different.

They say 80% of life is just showing up.  Nishan showed up today.  He showed up when most others would have stayed in the stands.  Today all of Nishan’s opponents may have scored more points than him, but he competed. He competed against his opponents, he competed against himself and he competed against life. And no matter what the score may have said in any one of his matches – he won in every case.

You later learn in life how important the disciplines of wrestling are to you in handling real life problems, especially when facing a seemingly insurmountable opponent in a disease or illness.

If you live long enough, life will throw you to your back.

And when it does – you are much better off if you have wrestled. You will know how to fight like hell to get off of your back, to get back on your feet and to move forward.

Chances are that I probably will never see Nishan again. That is just how life works.

“Wrestling brother” – keep moving forward.

And thank you for the gift.

You are an inspiration.

—— Nishan Patel is looking to represent the USA later this year at the Paralympic Games.  For more on him and how to help make his dreams a reality, see here.

For more on John Passaro, author of the book “6 Minutes Wrestling With Life”, see here.

CAA Awards: Vinson Earns Wrestler of the Year; Bonanno Named Top Scholar-Athlete and Anspach Receives Coaching Honors

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Vinson, Photo by BV

The CAA recently announced its end-of-year accolades and New York was well represented.  Binghamton 149-pounder Donnie Vinson captured Wrestler of the Year honors for the second straight year.  He also was the conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler as both a junior and senior, making him the first wrestler in CAA history to win those two prestigious awards in consecutive campaigns.

Also earning an impressive achievement for the second straight season was Hofstra’s Steve Bonanno, currently a graduate student working toward his MBA.  Bonanno was named the CAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as he was in 2012.

Bonanno wasn’t the only member of the Pride to be honored as Rob Anspach collected the conference’s Coach of the Year award after leading his team to the CAA crown for the second time in a row.

For more on Vinson from the Binghamton Athletics site, see here.

For more on Bonanno from the Hofstra site, see here.

For more on Anspach from the Hofstra site, see here.

 

 

Aerial Conquest: Rodriguez-Spencer Uses the Flying Squirrel to Win National Championship

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For Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, it was time to take flight.

Trailing by a point with under 15 seconds to go in the NHSCA 138-pound Junior Nationals title bout on Saturday, the Cheektowoga junior knew he’d have to try something different as his previous offensive attempts had been thwarted by his opponent, Maryland’s Alfred Bannister.

“He was pretty low and I couldn’t get to a shot,” Rodriguez-Spencer said. “The obvious option was to go over the top. Once I decided to do it, I knew I had to hit it hard and do it strong.”

That’s what he did, using the “Flying Squirrel” to earn the winning takedown and a 4-3 victory over Bannister, a champion at this event the past two years and Intermat’s #14 ranked recruit in the Class of 2014. See it here.

The triumph made him a national champion at an event he hadn’t attended in the past. In fact, Rodriguez-Spencer, who enjoys wrestling the international styles in the offseason, wasn’t really considering attending the NHSCA event until his high school coaches persuaded him to do so.

Photo by BV

“I initially wasn’t planning to go,” he said. “I was going to get ready for the freestyle season, but my coach thought I could be a national champion and talked me into it. I’m glad I went, it was a good tournament overall and a good time.”

He certainly made the most of the trip, even playing some golf at a driving range in Virginia Beach.

But when it came time for competition, Rodriguez-Spencer was all business at 138 pounds (up from 132, where he was the 2013 Division II New York State Champion).

He majored his first two opponents and then doubled up fellow New Yorker Matt Caputo, 6-3. The Section 6 wrestler then showed his offensive explosiveness again in a 11-3 quarterfinal victory and in his 13-8 semis win over Brock Wingbermuehle, leading him to the title bout where he would win in dramatic fashion with the Flying Squirrel.

It wasn’t the first time he used the maneuver famously utilized by Greco star Ellis Coleman.

“I sometimes do it in practice and I think it did it twice during the year,” he said. “I know it’s there if I need it. It’s one of those moves that no one expects and I know it works.”

Those in attendance certainly appreciated it.

“I normally don’t hear much when I wrestle,” he said. “But I heard the crowd a little bit when I hit the move. And then once I got my hand raised, it was pretty loud.”

Beating an accomplished foe like Bannister and adding a new trophy to his collection made it a great weekend for Rodriguez-Spencer, but he said on Sunday that he already moved on.

“It’s nice to beat good opponents, but it doesn’t change much for me,” he said. “I went there to win and now it’s time to get back to practice to win more national tournaments.”

Photo by BV

Next on the schedule: the FILA Juniors, a freestyle and Greco event in which Rodriguez-Spencer has been successful in the past.

“My goals now are of course to win FILA Juniors in Las Vegas, make a World Team and finally win a Fargo national championship this summer,” he said.

He has placed at Fargo before, including a bronze showing in Greco in 2012.

But he emphasized that it’s time for him to take gold in North Dakota. Who knows, he could get to the top of the podium by going over the top of his opponents again, Flying Squirrel style.

Fabian and Burgos Capture Championships, Many Others Make the Podium as NHSCAs and FloNationals Come to an End

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A weekend full of national-level competition came to an end on Sunday, with many more trips to the podium for New York wrestlers.

Fabian, Photo by BV

TJ Fabian capped off his spectacular senior year by adding a national title to the state gold medal he earned in Feburary. The Shoreham Wading River wrestler won six matches in Virginia Beach, including a 10-4 decision over Pennyslvania’s Kyle Krasavage in the 126-pound championship bout at the NHSCA Senior Nationals.

He was joined on the medal stand by a number of other Empire State grapplers on Sunday, including fellow Long Islander Michael Hughes of Smithtown West, who was the runner up at heavyweight. For a full list of New York All-Americans at the Senior NHSCA competition, see below.

In addition, a number of Middle School and Elementary wrestlers put their talent on display at the FloNationals in Pennsylvania, with G2 World Wrestling Academy’s Ryan Burgos winning a national crown of his own at 75 pounds. Burgos pinned his way to the finals, where he captured an 8-4 decision over Jimmy Carmany of Ohio.

See below for more information on additional New Yorkers who placed at the event.

For the NHSCA Middle School, Freshman, Sophomore and Junior medalists as well as the FloNationals High School All-Americans, see this link.

NHSCA SENIOR NATIONALS

Champion:

126: TJ Fabian (Shoreham Wading River)

Second Place:

285: Michael Hughes (Smithtown West)

Fourth Place:

106: Steven Lee (West Babylon)

Fifth Place

106: Jake Yankloski (Wayne)
138: Nick Tighe (Phoenix)
170: Carlos Toribio (Brentwood)

Sixth Place

113: Mat Bradice (William Floyd)
126: Chris Araoz (Wantagh)
160: Troy Seymour (Peru)
170: Dan McDevitt (Wantagh)

Seventh Place:

113: Dillon Stowell (Gouverneur)
132: Matt Leshinger (Sayville)
152: Chris Koo (Great Neck South)

Eighth Place:
113: Steven Sewkumar (Long Beach)
126: Dylan Realbuto (Somers)
170: Johnny Vrasidas (St. Anthony’s)

FLONATIONALS – MIDDLE SCHOOL AND ELEMENTARY

Champion:

Middle School (MS) 75: Ryan Burgos

Third Place:

MS 126: Louie DePrez
Elementary 68: Greg Diakomihalis

Fourth Place:

MS 119: Matt Grippi
MS 135: Conor Melbourne
MS 145: Andrew Passaro
MS 157: Mike Spallina
Elementary 105: Hunter John

Fifth Place:

MS 145: Ray Cotto
MS 157: Jason Hoffman
Elementary 78: Ethan Ferro

Seventh Place:

MS 95: Sammy DePrez
MS 135: Josh Shamp

Mauriello, Torbitt, Rodriguez-Spencer, Rasheed Earn High School National Titles; Numerous Others Become All-Americans at NHSCAs and FloNationals

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There’s going to be a lot of hardware headed back to New York. On Saturday, numerous Empire State wrestlers earned All-American status, including several who went all the way to the top.

At the NHSCAs in Virginia Beach, two ninth graders earned crowns as Hauppauge’s Chris Mauriello captured the 132 pound title and Whitney Point’s Jordan Torbitt joined him as a gold medalist at 152.

Later in the day, a pair of 2013 state champions – Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (138) and Corey Rasheed (152) added national titles to their resumes when they were victorious in the NHSCA Junior event. Also making it all the way to the finals were Reggie Williams (195) and James O’Hagan (285) in the 11th grade tournament and as well as a trio of freshmen – Kellen Devlin (120), Christian Araneo (182) and Edwin Rubio (285).

But that wasn’t all. The Empire State boasted some gold medalists in the Middle School competition as well – Mack Berkowitz at 127 and Travis Race at 165. (New York grabbed first in the team standings in both the Junior and Middle School competitions).

Tomorrow, two grapplers who stood atop the podium at the Times Union Center – TJ Fabian (126) and Mike Hughes (285) – will try to add their names to the list of champions when they take the mat in the finals of the Senior tournament.

Meanwhile, Virginia wasn’t the only place Empire Staters were showing off their skills. A number of New York wrestlers made the medal stand at the FloNationals, including runner up Nick Piccininni (113) and bronze medalist Tyler Grimaldi (160).

For more information on the placers at all of those events, see below.

FLONATIONALS

Second Place:
113: Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville)

Third Place:
160: Tyler Grimaldi (Hills West)

Fourth Place:
132: Nick Kelley (Shenendehowa)
170: Christian Dietrich (Greene)

Seventh Place:
152: Joe Mastro (Yorktown)

Eighth Place:
120: Travis Passaro (Eastport South Manor)

NHSCA NATIONALS

NHSCA JUNIORS

National Champions
138: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Cheektowoga)
152: Corey Rasheed (Longwood)

Second Place:
195: Reggie Williams (Johnson City)
285: James O’Hagan (Seaford)

Fourth Place:
220: Ryan Wolcott (Waverly)

Fifth Place
170: Adis Radoncic (RKA)

Seventh Place
106: Danny Murray (Brentwood)
120: Sean Peacock (Midlakes)
152: Derek Holcomb (Newark Valley)

Eighth Place
113: Bryan Lantry (Wayne)

NHSCA SOPHOMORES

Third Place
106: Kyle Quinn (Wantagh)

Fifth Place
106: Jesse Dellavecchia (East Islip)

Sixth Place
113: Nick Casella (Locust Valley)
138: Jakob Restrepo (Sachem East)
145: Brandon Aviles (Newfield)
160: Richie Jones (St. Joseph’s)

Seventh Place
113: Ben Lamantia (St. Anthony’s)
160: Trevor Allard (Mexico)

Eighth Place
132: Sam Ward (Locust Valley)
220: Vincent Feola (Whitman)

NHSCA FRESHMEN

National Champions
132: Chris Mauriello (Hauppauge)
152: Jordan Torbitt (Whitney Point)

Second Place
120: Kellen Devlin (Amherst)
182: Christian Araneo (Ward Melville)
285: Edwin Rubio (John Glenn)

Fourth Place
220: Owen Albanese (Canastota)

Fifth Place
170: Wil Hilliard (Phoenix)
182: Ricardo Dawkins (General Brown)

Sixth Place
106: Anthony Argentieri (Kenmore West)

Seventh Place
113: Andrew McFarland (Carthage)
132: Freddy Eckles (Lake Shore)
170: Sonny McPherson (Indian River)

NHSCA MIDDLE SCHOOL

Champions:
127: Mack Berkowitz
165: Travis Race

Second Place:
100: Hector Colom

Third Place:
85: John DeRidder
90: Dane Heberlein
100: Anthony Cirillo
154: Jeffrey Browne

Fourth Place
75: James Langan
85: Mitch Seaver
100: Benjamin Tepperman

Fifth Place

230: Larry Baker

Sixth Place
75: Riley Retell
105: Zachary Ancewicz
112: Hunter Dusold
180: Dominic Pistone

Seventh Place:
95: William Sims
142: Nick Bushey

Eighth Place
80: Christopher Rivera
90: James Trezza
100: Jacori Teemer
135: Nick Coppola
142: Richard Dawkins

NHSCA SENIORS – WRESTLING TO BE COMPLETED ON SUNDAY

Finalists:
126: TJ Fabian
285: Mike Hughes

Others All-Americans:
106: Steven Lee, Jacob Yankloski
113: Mat Bradice, Dillon Stowell, Steven Sewkumar
126: Dylan Realbuto, Chris Araoz
132: Matt Leshinger
138: Nick Tighe
152: Chris Koo
160: Troy Seymour
170: Johnny Vrasidas, Dan McDevitt, Carlos Toribio