By Betsy Veysman

After watching the New York State championships from the sidelines, Chris Araoz couldn’t wait to get back on the mat.

The wait was worth it.

The Wantagh wrestler became a national champion on Friday night at 120 pounds with a 6-3 decision over Philip Anderson of Georgia at the NHSCA Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach.

“It’s so hard to win this tournament, it’s a tremendous accomplishment,” said Wantagh head coach Paul Gillespie. “Chris works extremely hard and this was a culmination of all of his work. You see the magnitude of his effort when you look at the bracket and see over 60 wrestlers and quite a few very good ones.”

Araoz admitted that he entered the tournament “just wanting to place and become an All-American.”

But he did far better than that.  He opened the competition with an 8-5 victory over Luke Welch of Indiana before cruising to a 15-0 technical fall over Nicholas Young of South Carolina.  He continued his march with a pair of comfortable decisions, 7-3 against Montana’s Taylor French and 8-4 over Dalton Henderson of Virginia to set up a semifinal meeting with returning NHSCA Champion Deshun Brown of New Mexico.

Brown jumped out early, taking Araoz down soon after the opening whistle and riding the New York grappler effectively.  But when Brown took down at the start of the second, Araoz and his top wrestling took over.

“I knew he was really good on his feet,” Araoz said.  “He took me down in the first 20 seconds and I was stuck on bottom for the whole first period.  But in the second, I quickly turned him twice and kind of broke him.  I was able to control the match after that.”

“When you wrestle Chris, you better be able to get off the bottom,” Gillespie added.  “He will tilt you.  It’s like [former Hofstra All-American] Charles Griffin.  He got that tilt against every single guy he wrestled.  When you’re persistent and skilled at it, you’ll get the tilt.”

The Wantagh junior captured the 8-3 victory over Brown and a chance to compete for a national title.

“The semis match was really tough,” Gillespie added.  “[Brown] is built like a miniature Jordan Burroughs.  Chris wrestled fantastic, I couldn’t believe he beat him like that.  That just brought him to a whole new level.”

Araoz maintained that level in the final when he faced off with Georgia’s Anderson.

“Going in, I wanted to keep things close in the first and then take my opportunity on top and get some turns,” he said.

But it wasn’t close after the opening stanza, and that was a good thing for Araoz.  He notched a takedown late in the first period and immediately tilted Anderson for a 5-0 lead.  After an escape by his opponent in the second, Araoz held a 5-1 advantage going into the final two minutes.  Anderson chose the top position.

“At that point I was so close,” he said. “I just didn’t want to mess up or get caught.”

Araoz was called for stalling three times, but when the buzzer sounded, he had earned a national championship by a 6-3 score.  He became the first Wantagh wrestler to win NHSCAs.

“It was unbelievable,” he said.  “It’s hard to describe.  I still don’t feel like it actually happened.  It was just awesome. I definitely worked hard and it’s nice to get something to show for the work I did.”

It was a stark contrast to the way Araoz felt in February after the Section 8 tournament.

During the high school campaign, Araoz had registered several wins over top notch opponents, including Corey Jamison, Abubokarr Sow, Justin Corradino, Division II runner up Jeff O’Lena and Roslyn’s John Lanzillotti.

In the finals of the county championships, however, Lanzillotti got revenge with an 8-4 win over Araoz. The result meant that the Roslyn wrestler was headed to the state tournament and Araoz’s fate was out of his hands.

“When you wrestle someone a few times, they know your style and what they need to do to stop you,” Gillespie said. “Chris kind of shut down his offense against Lanzilotti and relied too much on his tilt.  He seemed a little nervous.  He looked nothing like he looked this weekend.”

A few days later, Araoz was informed that he had not received an at-large bid to the New York State Championships in Albany.

“I really wasn’t sure if I would get a wildcard or not,” he said.  “I thought I might because I had beaten a lot of quality kids, but it’s a weird system.  I was really disappointed that I wouldn’t get a shot.”

But Araoz made the trip with his team to the Times Union Center in Albany and cheered on Warrior freshman Jose Rodriguez, who was the runner up at 99 pounds and junior Dan McDevitt, who took fifth at 138.

“It was hard not to be wrestling,” he said. “But it was great to see my teammates do so well. It was really awesome to watch them.  It was also cool to see that the kid who won at my weight [Connetquot’s Sean McCabe] is someone I beat right before the season started.  It was nice to know that I could have done well and that I will do well next year when I wrestle at states.”

Gillespie wholeheartedly agreed.  He already had high expectations for Araoz’s senior year before this weekend and now thinks the bar has been set even higher.

“Winning this tournament puts a target on your back,” the coach said.  “Chris will have to be up for every single match he wrestles now because everyone will want a piece of him.  I think he’s up to the challenge.  I think he’ll be one of the favorites next year, even with a lot of good wrestlers coming back.  He’s right there to have a shot at his first state title, I really believe it.”

One of the reasons Gillespie feels so confident is Araoz’s work ethic.  In addition to the training he does with the Wantagh squad, he also puts in time with Craig Vitagliano at the Ascend Wrestling Club and with strength coach Will Ellinger.

“[Vitagliano] definitely fixes a lot of my technical mistakes and motivates me,” Araoz said. “He’s a mentor for me too.  [Ellinger] has done a great job.  I feel like I’m stronger than everyone I wrestled and that’s because of him.”

Araoz also mentioned having great workout partners, including McDevitt, who took fifth at 138 in Virginia Beach this weekend, and Wantagh assistant coach Ray Handley, who he said “has made me a lot better.”

All of that isn’t enough wrestling for Araoz, though.  He also attends youth practices and helps to coach the younger grapplers in his hometown.

“I have a nine year old brother who just started wrestling,” he said.  “I really like to help out because when I was younger, there were always older kids helping us and teaching us.  I just try to give back.”

Gillespie said that such thinking is typical of a student athlete he calls “one of a kind.”

“I’ll tell you what, you can’t get much better than Chris,” Gillespie said. “He has a 95 average and great board scores.  He’s a very disciplined person and one of the nicest and most polite young men you’ll associate with.  It makes sense that he’s interested in West Point.”

Araoz said he has had his eye on Army for a while although he knows he may have many options at the collegiate level.

“West Point is a school I’d really like to go,” he said.  “I like that it’s really structured and I’ve always been interested in joining the military. It would be a great honor.  But after this weekend, a few more other doors may have opened for me too.”

Araoz plans to keep those doors open.  He will continue honing his folkstyle skills while delving into freestyle this summer.  After standing on top of the podium on Friday night, he will keep his sights set on standing on a different podium in Albany in February of 2013.

“I definitely want to win a state title next year,” he said.  “I feel like I should have this year.  Then, I hope to come back to Virginia Beach and win another national title.”

Check out our video interviews with five of the Empire State’s FloNationals All-Americans below.

126:

Fourth place Maverick Passaro (Eastport South Manor)

Sixth place Sam Speno (Fox Lane)

160: Eighth place Rrok Ndokaj (Monsignor Farrell)

170: Eighth place Zach Zupan (Canastota)

182: Eighth place McZiggy Richards (Wingate)

220: Fourth place Patryk Kopczynski (Brooklyn Tech)

285:

Third place Cole Lampman (Shenendehowa)

Fourth place Cory Quintana (Mohonasen)

Sean McCabe, Dylan Palacio and Tony Lock all earned New York State titles a month ago in Albany.  On Sunday, all three will have an opportunity to become national champions as well, as they take the mat in the finals of the NHSCA Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach.

Connequot’s McCabe, who rebounded from a third place showing at the Suffolk County tournament to capture gold at the Times Union Center, won three tight matches, 6-4, 4-1, and 4-3 to begin the event before emphatically punching his ticket to the title bout with a pin over Delaware’s Kaleb Lemaire in the third period.

UPDATE: Rodriguez notched multiple takedowns on his way to a 7-4 victory.

Fellow Long Island grappler Palacio began the event with a 6-4 decision over Tyler McMichael of Kansas before notching a 9-1 victory over California’s Taylor McCormick.  The Long Beach grappler next edged Kyle Ash of Oklahoma, 4-3 and then registered two commanding major decisions, 16-3 over Samson Imonode of Arizona in the quarters and 15-4 against Minnesota’s Ben Sullivan in the semis.

UPDATE: Palacio wasted very little time against Austin Trott of Georgia, going on the attack from the opening whistle.  He got on the board first with a go behind for a takedown and remained in control on top to end the first period 2-0.  In the second, Palacio selected bottom.  Trott had a strong ride, but the Long Beach wrestler continued to work until he earned the reversal in the latter portion of the middle period to take a 4-0 advantage into the third.  The Georgia grappler notched a quick escape, but Palacio continued pushing the action and scored another TD off a front headlock to move ahead 6-1.  Trott’s escape made it 6-2 and that was the final.  Congratulations to Palacio on a national title!

Like Palacio, Pioneer’s Tony Lock was an undefeated state titlewinner this season.  Lock kept his unbeaten streak alive with four consecutive wins.  He began with a technical fall over Aaron Wing of Connecticut and followed with a pair of 3-2 decisions over Gray Jones of Georgia and Bryan Loughlin of New Jersey.  The Buffalo-bound senior then used back points to earn a 6-3 victory over nationally ranked Reece Wright-Conklin of Kansas to cement his spot in tomorrow’s finale.

UPDATE: Lock and Oklahoma’s Nolan Boyd ended the first period scoreless.  In the second, Lock chose bottom and fought off tilt attempts on the edge.  Off a restart, he made a quick first move and was able to get the reversal.  Boyd responded with a reversal of his own and Lock escaped to take a 3-2 lead into the third.  Boyd got out from bottom to tie the score and the bout went to overtime.

In sudden victory, both wrestlers were cautious, although there was a solid flurry with about 10 seconds to go.  Lock took down in the first tiebreaker and was able to escape after a Granby roll.  The Pioneer wrestler also received an additional point for a locked hands call on Boyd.  Boyd escaped when it was his turn on bottom, but Lock held on for a 5-4 victory and a national championship!

Several other New York wrestlers earned All-American status. For a complete list, see below:

106:

Third place Eric Orellana (Brentwood) 

Fifth place Krishna Sewkumar (Long Beach)

Seventh place Jimmy Gill (St. John the Baptist)

113:

Fifth place Mark Raghunandan (Long Beach)

Eighth place Patrick Skinner (Kellenberg)

120: Second place Sean McCabe (Connetquot)

138: Fifth place James Dekrone (John Glenn)

152: Champion Dylan Palacio (Long Beach)

160: Fifth place Tristan Hamner (Medina)

182: Champion Tony Lock (Pioneer)

NHSCA Nationals Middle School Division – Virginia Beach, VA

National Champions from New York

80 Pounds: Dane Heberlein

Heberlein fall Jarrod Kimball (SC), 1:48

Heberlein tech fall Brock Talko (PA), 16-1

Heberlein decision Zachary Sherman (FL), 6-4 ot

Final: Heberlein major Joshua Humphreys (WV), 10-2

90 Pounds: Kelan McKenna

McKenna fall Jarred Stoy (PA), 0:42

McKenna decision Kahlan Lee-Lermer (MD), 6-1

McKenna major Micah Crewdson (WV), 9-1

Final: McKenna major Dakota Galt (ND), 9-1

119 Pounds: Chris Mauriello

Mauriello decision Casey Ritchie (WV), 10-3

Mauriello tech fall Danny Mullan (NJ), 15-0

Mauriello decision Kellen Devlin (NY), 4-0

Final: Mauriello decision Kollin Wade (SC), 4-2

154 Pounds: Jordan Torbitt

Torbitt fall Wes Sorey (VA), 3:49

Torbitt fall Adam Soldridge (PA), 2:48

Final: Torbitt fall Caperton Humphrey (WV), 1:44

165 Pounds: Nick McShea

McShea decision Koree Morgan (SC), 6-2

McShea fall Tyler Kleinhans (OH), 0:35

McShea decision Ryan Mills (WV), 9-3

Final: McShea major Brandon White (WV), 12-0

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For a list of New York placewinners, see below:

FRESHMAN DIVISION

106: Eighth place Kyle Quinn (Wantagh)

113: Sixth place Anthony Orefice (Lockport) 

126: Second place Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich)

132: Seventh place Jakob Restrepo (Sachem East)

138: Third place Thomas Dutton (Rocky Point)

152: Seventh place Nathan Schwab (Clarence)

160: Eighth place Nick Wentland (Minisink Valley)

182: Sixth place Garrett Duval (Sherburne-Earlville)

195: Eighth place Cody Marshall (Sherburne-Earlville)

SOPHOMORE DIVISION

145: Second place Corey Rasheed (Longwood)

152: Fourth place Michael Pistone (Sachem East)

152: Seventh place Derek Holcomb (Newark Valley)

160: Second place Burke Paddock (Warsaw)

160: Fourth place Tyler Silverthorn (General Brown)

160: Fifth place Franky Nassivera (Queensbury) 

160: Eighth place Daniel Smith (South Jefferson) 

195: Sixth place Reggie Williams (Johnson City)

285:  Third place James O’Hagan (Seaford)

JUNIOR DIVISION

106: Fifth place Kyle Kelly (Chenango Forks)

120: Champion Chris Araoz (Wantagh)

120: Sixth place TJ Fabian (Shoreham Wading River)

138: Fifth place Dan McDevitt (Wantagh)

152: Seventh place Chris Koo (Great Neck)

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

170: Second place Troy Seymour (Peru)

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

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

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

By Betsy Veysman

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To watch videos from the NYWAY State Championships:

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

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

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

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

 D1 (2005-2007)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D2 (2003-2004)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D3 (2001-2002)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D4 (1999-2000)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

175: Roddy Rodgers (Seneca Grappler)

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

D5 (1997-1998)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D6 (High School)

 95:  Nick Johnson

103: Blake Abbey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

195: Todd Oakes (Fulton)

220: Corey Gaffney decision Ethan Venosa, 3-1

By Betsy Veysman

While sitting on the bench in Fitzgerald Field House on Sunday in Pittsburgh, Brian Realbuto received a text message from his father, letting him know that New York had defeated New Jersey at the NY/NJ Charity Challenge on Long Island.

“I was really happy to hear that the team beat New Jersey for the second straight year,” Realbuto said. “New York wrestling has been doing a great job.  There are so many competitive guys.  I think we’re showing we’re a really tough state.”

Realbuto is a big part of that.  He was in Pittsburgh wrestling at 152 pounds for the USA All-Star team, which took on the best from Pennsylvania at the prestigious Dapper Dan Classic on Sunday.

He represented New York well, earning a convincing 6-1 victory over Pennsylvania State Champion Cody Copeland of Greenville.

“It was just really cool to be able to wrestle at such an amazing event in front of all of those people,” he said. “It was a lot of fun to be on a team with so many highly ranked guys, so many talented wrestlers.”

Realbuto had never faced Copeland before, but came into the bout feeling good about his chances.

“I saw a little video on him,” he said. “I never go into matches doubting myself.  You have to have confidence and be prepared to beat anyone.  I felt that if I wrestled my match and my style, I would come away with a win.”

The Somers native took control early with a pair of first period takedowns to grab a 4-1 advantage after the first two minutes.  He earned a reversal in the second, and finished the middle period with an effective ride.  The last two minutes were a lot of the same, as Realbuto dominated from the top position, not allowing his opponent to escape.

For Realbuto, the strategy was slightly different than his typical matches.

“I watched NCAAs last weekend and saw so many guys ride people out,” he said. “It showed me how important top wrestling is at the college level.  I’ve been working really hard on top, especially recently, trying to get ready for college.  I don’t usually ride people that long, but I was happy to be able to keep him down and try out some of the things I’ve been practicing.”

His practices will change a bit now, as he switches to freestyle in preparation for the FILA Juniors tournament on April 14 in Madison, Wisconsin.  The 2011 Junior National Freestyle champion will compete at 60 kg (145.5 pounds) and hopes to qualify for the FILA World Team Trials in May.

“My goal is to make the Junior World Team,” he said. “That’s my main focus.”

The three-time New York state champion will also put some focus on another All-Star event on April 20 when he competes for the USA Dream Team versus a select squad from Iowa.  Realbuto will face Zach Witte of Cedar Rapids Prairie.

“A little before the Dream Team, I’ll switch back to folkstyle,” he said. “I don’t find it so hard to go back and forth because I find freestyle is really good training for folk.  You really have to work on finishing cleanly. I will do a lot of work on my feet and hopefully that will show.”

Realbuto was honored to be chosen for both the Dapper Dan and Dream Team.

“I didn’t really expect to be picked twice,” he said. “I was really excited about the Dapper Dan and then an invitation to the Dream Team made me even more happy.  It’s a great experience and it gives me a few more tough folkstyle matches, which will help me get ready for college.”

The senior has committed to Cornell but will almost certainly defer his admission for one year and work out with the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club in Ithaca.

“I think next year I will spend the time taking a few classes locally and preparing with the club coaches and wrestlers,” he said. “I hopefully will get ready to come in and contend for a national title as a freshman the following year.”

Realbuto saw what contending for an NCAA crown is all about in St. Louis last weekend where he watched three Big Red wrestlers, Steve Bosak, Kyle Dake and Cam Simaz, win their respective weight classes.

He looks forward to having the chance to take the mat at NCAAs as well.

“It was really exciting,” he said of his trip to nationals. “To watch a team of great guys do so well, I just can’t wait to be a part of it.  Cornell wrestling is such a fantastic community.  Three champions is amazing and the next step is the team title.  I’m hoping in a couple years I can be a part of that for Cornell.”

For now, his hand gets raised as an example of the Empire State wrestling prowess.