Tag Archives: Ithaca wrestling

Weekend Recap: News and Notes from Brockport, the NYAC International, Hofstra's Trip to Virginia and Much More

Posted on by
Reply

The following is some of the action that took place this weekend involving New York teams.  It was a busy weekend inside the Empire State borders, with events such as the Brockport/Oklahoma Invitational, the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open, the NYAC Holiday International and the Ithaca Invitational.  And it was also action-packed outside the state, as several New York teams took the mat elsewhere, including Virginia and Michigan.

The recap for the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open is here.

Brockport/Oklahoma Invitational: Tompkins Wins for Army; NCAA Champion Kendric Maple Upset

For the 15th consecutive year, Oklahoma took the title at the Brockport/Oklahoma Invitational.  The Sooners won on the strength of six champions.  However, perhaps the biggest story for the Big 12 school was one of the first big upsets of the college wrestling season.  2013 NCAA champion Kendric Maple was defeated 5-3 in overtime in the 149-pound title bout by Bloomsburg’s Bryce Busler.

Busler, named the event’s Outstanding Wrestler, was one of two titlewinners for the Huskies.  Several of his teammates finished high on the medal stand Saturday, including three who did their high school wrestling in New York.  Josh Veltre won the 165-pound bracket, while Greene graduate Nick Wilcox was second at 133 and Monsignor Farrell’s Kevin Hartnett notched third at 157.

The New York teams at the event — Army, Buffalo and Brockport — finished third, fourth and sixth overall.  The Black Knights were led by 184-pound champion Ryan Tompkins as well as second placers Paul Hancock (157) and Brian Harvey (174) and bronze medalists Logan Everett (133) and Chandler Smith (165).  Meanwhile, Buffalo received solid performances from Nick Flannery and Tony Lock (second at 141 and 184, respectively) as well as Max Soria (third at 125).  The host squad from Brockport had four placers, led by Cole Tristram, who was fourth at heavyweight.

 

Simaz, Francois and Burkert Take Third, Perrelli Grabs Fourth at the NYAC Holiday International

There was more than just folkstyle competition in New York this weekend.  Wrestlers from around the world came to take the mat at the 2013 NYAC Holiday International tournament.

Simaz, Photo by BV

On Saturday, a pair of former Cornell stars made the top four at the event.  Cam Simaz capped off a 4-1 day with an 8-1 victory over Jack Jensen for bronze at 96 kg.  Simaz recorded a fall and his other three wins were all by at least a seven-point margin.  Frank Perrelli lost his first contest to eventual champion Samat Nadyrbek Uulu from Kyrgyzstan, but rebounded with four straight consolation victories over tough foes before dropping the third place bout to Kyle Hutter.  On his winning streak, he topped Mark McKnight, Zach Sanders, Steven Takahashi and Olympian Sam Hazewinkel.

At 84 kg, Army assistant coach Enock Francois earned bronze with a 3-1 record.  His only loss came against the champion, Raymond Jordan.  He outscored his opponents 16-2 in his three victories.

On the first day of action on Friday, Long Island native Jenna Burkert notched third at 63 kg in women’s freestyle competition after going 5-1.  She lost to the first place finisher Yurika Itou in round two, but then finished strong with two falls and two 8-0 wins on the backside.

 

Hofstra Splits Four Duals in Virginia; Ends on a High Note With a Win Over #22 North Carolina

There was quite a bit of action within the New York borders, however, some New York squads went elsewhere over the weekend, including Hofstra.

Vaith, Photo by BV

The Pride traveled to Virginia, where they began with a dual on Friday against nationally-ranked Virginia Tech.  Freshman Jamel Hudson (133), Nick Terdick (157) and Joe Booth (165) all won, however, the Hokies came out on top 28-9.

On Sunday, Hofstra resumed action with a trio of meets.  While Luke Vaith (141) and Dwight Howes (184) picked up major decisions in the opener against Tennessee-Chattanooga, the Mocs captured a 19-14 victory.

The Pride turned things around in a big way in their next competition, besting VMI, 43-3.  The first eight wrestlers in the lineup scored bonus points for head coach Rob Anspach’s squad, giving the team its first dual triumph of the season.

And the momentum continued later in the day, when Hofstra improved to 2-3 for the year with a 25-15 win over #22 North Carolina.  After falling behind 3-0, Hudson tied things up with an overtime victory and then Vaith followed with an extra session win of his own – over #5 Evan Henderson, to put Hofstra in the lead for good.

The Pride returns to the mat next weekend at #5 Oklahoma.

 

Matt Bystol Takes Second, Josh Houldsworth Nabs Third for Columbia at the Michigan State Open; Zach Hernandez Wins the Freshman/Sophomore Division

While Hofstra went South, much of Columbia’s roster traveled to the Wolverine State for the Michigan State Open.  In the Open division, Matt Bystol went to the finals at 141, taking second behind Zach Horan of Central Michigan with a 4-1 mark on the day. Fellow NCAA qualifier Josh Houldsworth also had a strong performance, nabbing third at 165.

Also losing just once at the event was freshman Markus Schiedel, who had a strong debut at 157, taking fifth (only semifinal losers can enter the third place match at the event).  In his last bout, Schiedel beat Edinboro’s Johnny Greisheimer, a nationally ranked opponent (and Wantagh native) by a point.  Another New York high school wrestler, Ernest James of Edinboro, was fifth at heavyweight.

The Michigan State Open also offers a Freshman/Sophomore division and Columbia grapplers saw success there as well, including a championship showing by 184-pounder Zach Hernandez.  He was joined on the podium by a pair of 141 pounders – Ryan Murdock (second) and Matt Leshinger (fourth) as well as fifth placers Britain Carter (125) and Troy Hembury (184).  In addition, Frewsburg High School graduate Nick Mitchell (Edinboro) was the runner up at 174.

 

Also in Michigan . . .

Speaking of Michigan, Jamestown Community College and Niagara CCC traveled there as well.  Jamestown swept a pair of duals on Friday night over Triton (Illinois) and Mott (Michigan), led by Mike Southwick, Austin Lynn, Jake Nicholson, Pat McCarthy and Kevin Mulcahy, who each won twice. At the Ben McMullen Open in Muskegon, Niagara featured a number of placers, including champions Kevin Strong and El Shaddai Van Hoesen (285). Tyler Bruce grabbed second, Eric Velez was third and a trio of grapplers – Jude Gardner, Max Antone and Shane Currey, were fourth.

 

Bombers Win The Ithaca Invitational With Five Champions

Ithaca started the season off strong at home, capturing first in the standings with five champions at the Ithaca Invitational.  Earning first for the host squad were Alex Gomez (133), Dominick Giacolone (141), Kris Schimek (165), Carlos Toribio (174) and Mathew Booth (197). Both Gomez and Giacolone are currently nationally ranked while Schimek was an All-American last season for Niagara County Community College. Freshmen Toribio and Booth were both All-State wrestlers in high school in 2013 – Toribio a state champion for Brentwood and Booth a third place finisher for Cattaraugus Little Valley.

Last year’s team champion, Johnson & Wales, nabbed second with a pair of titlewinners –  Everet Desilets (157) and Colin Lenhardt (184), while Springfield was third with Tom Casper (125) and Irakli Kakauridze (285) capturing their brackets.  Former PSAL wrestler Abubakarr Sow of Oswego won the 149 pound class.

NYU took fourth, while Oswego (fifth), Alfred State (seventh) and Sullivan (eighth) also competed.

————————–

For full results from the Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open, Brockport/Oklahoma Invitational, NYAC Holiday International, Michigan State Open and Ithaca Invitational, see http://www.trackwrestling.com and search for those tournament names.

To report results, e-mail newyorkwrestlingnews@gmail.com

 

Advertisement

Cam Simaz Grabs Championship, $2500 at Inaugural Tour ACW Event; Kyle Borshoff Takes Second

Posted on by
Reply

Simaz, Photo by BV

On Sunday, Cam Simaz was the ‘First 2 ten’ and he earned $2500 in the process.

In the inaugural event of Tour ACW (Association of Career Wrestlers) in the Grand Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Pittsburgh, the former Cornell NCAA titlewinner was one of five champions. Each winner received a $2500 check. (Those victors were Daniel Dennis at 135 pounds, Frank Molinaro at 155, Nick Marable at 170, Simaz at 205 and Dom Bradley at 265).

How do you win in Tour ACW?  Quite simply, you score 10 points.  There are no time limits or periods and some freestyle elements, such as a point for a pushout, are combined with typical folkstyle rules.

Simaz had a bye in the first round and then defeated Division III national champion Evan Brown 11-3 in just over four minutes in his first action.  In the title bout, he jumped out to an 8-0 advantage against Deron Winn after just over two minutes with a takedown and a pair of three-point near falls. He closed out a 10-5 victory with two escapes.

In addition to Simaz, there were several other participants with New York ties, including 155-pound runner up Kyle Borshoff.  The Pittsford native, who is currently an assistant coach at American, beat Danny Sheehan and Jake Patacsil before dropping the final against Frank Molinaro at 155 by a 10-1 score.

At 135 pounds, Chris Notte and Jeffrey Streu competed.  Notte attended Nassau Community College while Streu went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Former Ithaca College standout Jeremy Stierly entered at 155, as did Kirk Landon, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.  In addition, former Lehigh grappler Trevor Chinn, a multiple-time New York state champion from Canandaigua, wrestled in that class.

For more on Tour ACW, see touracw.com.

Gomez Captures 125-Pound Title at the NCAA Division III Championships; Ithaca and Cortland Finish in the Top 10

Posted on by
2

 
 
Last weekend, Cornell brought the EIWA trophy back home. Now, more hardware is on its way to Ithaca, this time from Division III, as three of the four national qualifiers from the Ithaca Bombers made the medal stand in Iowa, including champion Ricardo Gomez at 125 pounds and runner up Jules Doliscar at 174.

R. Gomez, Photo by BV

Gomez, the #1 seed at his weight, opened with a 3-1 victory and added a pin in his second match. In the semifinals, he recorded a 2-1 triumph in the tiebreakers to move on to the title bout, where he topped Jimmy Gotto of Coe 4-2 to capture the national crown.

Doliscar, a returning All-American, began with a dominant 14-2 major decision before winning by fall in round two. He outpointed fellow New Yorker Lou Puca of Cortland in the semis to earn a meeting with top seeded Kyle Kwiat of Ohio Northern. Kwiat collected his second straight 174-pound gold medal with an 8-0 major.

With Alex Gomez’s sixth place finish at 133 factored in, the Bombers took fifth in the team standings.

Also making the top 10 overall was Cortland, which boasted multiple All-Americans. Leading the way were bronze medalists Bobby Dierna (149) and Jared Myhrberg (197). The two grapplers took different paths to the third position. Dierna won his opening two bouts to make the semifinals, where he lost a tight match to top-seeded Kodie Silvestri of Wartburg. He followed up with a pair of wins in the wrestlebacks. Meanwhile, Myhrberg, the #1 seed at 197, dropped a 3-2 bout to Andrew Lovins in his second contest, but then won five in a row, including a pin over Lovins.

Also on the podium for the Red Dragons was Lou Puca, who grabbed sixth at 174.

Those weren’t the only All-Americans representing New York. Brandon Jones of NYU earned fifth at 133, while Brockport’s Matthias Ellis notched eighth at 125. Empire State native Joseph Grippi of Fox Lane High School also made his mark in Cedar Rapids with a sixth place showing at 141 for Springfield.

For a summary of performances from New York schools, see below:

Brockport
125: Matthias Ellis, 8th
141: Jordan Dyer 2-2
285: John Wilkinson 1-2

Cortland
133: Alec Dierna 0-2
149: Bobby Dierna, 3rd
157: Troy Sterling 1-2
174: Lou Puca, 6th
197: Jared Myhrberg, 3rd
285: Corey James 1-2

Hunter
197: Musa De’Reese 0-2

Ithaca
125: Ricardo Gomez, Champion
133: Alex Gomez, 6th
141: Dominick Giacolone 0-2
174: Jules Doliscar, 2nd

New York University
133: Brandon Jones, 5th
184: Patrick Sheehan 2-2

Oneonta State
165: Shaun Gillen 0-2

Oswego
157: Blake Fisher 0-2

Bold italic = All-Americans

NCAA DIII Championships Update: Ithaca and Cortland Each Send Multiple Wrestlers to Tomorrow's Semifinals

Posted on by
Reply


 
 
New York has a number of wrestlers in the running for national titles after Day 1 of the Division III National Championships in Iowa.

Punching their tickets to the semifinal round on Saturday were:

  • Ithaca’s Ricardo Gomez (125), Alex Gomez (133) and Jules Doliscar (174)
  • Cortland’s Bobby Dierna (149) and Lou Puca (174)
  • NYU’s Brandon Jones (133)
  • Former Fox Lane standout Joseph Grippi at 141 for Springfield

Full brackets and results are available on http://www.trackwrestling.com.

For a summary of the wrestlers from New York colleges on Day 1, see below.

Brockport
125: Matthias Ellis 2-1
141: Jordan Dyer 2-2
285: John Wilkinson 1-2

Cortland
133: Alec Dierna 0-2
149: Bobby Dierna (Semifinalist)
157: Troy Sterling 1-2
174: Lou Puca (Semifinalist)
197: Jared Myhrberg 3-1
285: Corey James 1-2

Hunter
197: Musa De’Reese 0-2

Ithaca
125: Ricardo Gomez (Semifinalist)
133: Alex Gomez (Semifinalist)
141: Dominick Giacolone 0-2
174: Jules Doliscar (Semifinalist)

New York University
133: Brandon Jones (Semifinalist)
184: Patrick Sheehan 2-2

Oneonta State
165: Shaun Gillen 0-2

Oswego
157: Blake Fisher 0-2

NCAA Division III Brackets Released; Ithaca's R. Gomez (125) and Cortland's Myhrberg (197) Earn Top Seeds

Posted on by
1

 
 
New York will be well represented at the NCAA Division III Championships this weekend in Iowa.  Cortland, Ithaca, Oneonta State and Oswego State will all have participant(s) on the mat.

For the Red Dragons, 197-pounder Jared Myhrberg will be the top seed.  Joining him as high seeds will be Lou Puca (third at 174), Bobby Dierna (fifth at 149) and Troy Sterling (fifth at 157).

Like Myhrberg, Ithaca’s Ricardo Gomez (125) will be in the top line in the bracket.  Other Bombers to pick up high seeds are Alex Gomez (third at 133) and Jules Doliscar (second at 174).

The full brackets for the tournament can be found here.

 

Cortland Wins DIII Northeast Regional With Four Champions; Stony Brook Earns First National Qualifiers as NCWA Program

Posted on by
Reply

On to Nationals! A number of wrestlers from New York schools punched their tickets this weekend in Division III and the NCWA on Saturday and Sunday.

In a field consisting of 18 squads, Cortland took top honors at the Division III Northeast Regional in Massachusetts, with four champions. It was the first year of the new Regional format in which the top three finishers move on to Nationals.

B. Dierna, Photo by BV

Leading the way for the Red Dragons were gold medalists Bobby Dierna (149), Troy Sterling (157), Lou Puca (174) and Jared Myhrberg (197). Also getting a bid to the NCAAs in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on March 15 and 16 were Alec Dierna (third at 133) and Corey James (third at 285).

Ithaca also had a strong showing at the event, earning bronze in the team race. Ricardo Gomez (125) and Alex Gomez (133) won titles for the Bombers, while Jules Doliscar (second at 174) and Dominick Giacolone (third at 141) are also heading to the NCAAs after notching spots high on the podium.

A few additional Empire State representatives will be joining those wrestlers in Cedar Rapids – Oswego State’s Blake Fisher grabbed second at 157, while Oneonta State’s Shaun Gillen was the bronze placer at 165.

Full brackets and results are available on http://www.trackwrestling.com.

First Qualifiers for Stony Brook . . . And Many for RPI

It may be Stony Brook’s first season in competition, but that didn’t stop the Seawolves from making their presence felt at the NCWA Northeast Regional tournament in New Hampshire.

The Suffolk County school took sixth place in the team standings and qualified six wrestlers for the Nationals, which will take place in Allen, Texas on March 14-15. Mike Shimer was the runner up at 149 pounds while Bobby Beneventano (133) and Juan Velasquez (heavyweight) were third. Also locking up spots for the big show were a trio of fifth placers, Scott Dunkirk (165), Mike Lloyd (197) and Kyle Folk-Freund (235).*

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) will take seven placers to the NCWA Nationals, according to head coach Brad Nelson. Automatically qualifying by finishing in the top five in New Hampshire this weekend were: Will Bonagura (second at 165), Alec Vogel (third at 125), Stuart Curtis (fourth at 184), Omar Abdoun (fourth at 197) and Enrico Cascio (fifth at 174).

Earning wildcard spots were Brad Huzinga at 285 and Ray Douglas at 197. RPI finished seventh out of 22 teams despite not having scorers in five weight classes.

 

*Results from Stony Brook’s Facebook page

** RPI results from head coach Brad Nelson

 

 

Dake, Garrett, Doliscar, Myhrberg Among Leaders in NCAA "Most Dominant" Standings

Posted on by
Reply

At the end of the season, the NCAA will present awards to the Most Dominant Wrestler in Divisions I, II and III as well as the wrestlers with the most pins and technical falls. On Wednesday, the NCAA announced the current standings for each of those categories.

A pair of Cornell wrestlers appear in the Division I rankings. Three-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake sits eighth in the Most Dominant standings and second in pins, with 10. (Ohio State’s Logan Stieber and Kent State’s Dustin Kilgore lead those categories, respectively).

Dake’s freshman teammate Nahshon Garrett is tied for the lead with six technical falls but stands second in that race behind Penn State’s David Taylor because the Nittany Lion has taken less total time to record those tech falls.

In Division III, two New York wrestlers appear in the Most Dominant rankings.  Ithaca’s 174-pound starter Jules Doliscar is seventh while Cortland’s 197-pounder Jared Myhrberg is tied for eighth.

For more details on the standings and the formula for calculating “Most Dominant”, see here for Division I and here for Division III.

 

 

Weekend Recap: Garrett Earns MOW as Cornell Wins New York State Collegiate Title; Columbia Crowns Three Champions

Posted on by
1

 

This weekend, the focus of New York college wrestling was in Ithaca.

First, on Friday night, Cornell defeated Binghamton 30-7 in a rematch of the dual won on criteria by the Big Red a year ago in Vestal.  For full results of the meet between the Big Red and the Bearcats, see here.

On Saturday and Sunday, most of the Empire State’s squads across all divisions competed in the New York State Championships, with the varsity competition on the first day and the “B” event on Sunday.

For final brackets from Saturday’s event, see:

NYS Tournament Final Brackets

To watch a video replay of the championship matches, see here.

 

Here are a few quick observations from Saturday’s action:

Cornell Freshmen Didn’t Look Like Rookies

Craig Scott, Photo by BV

Without two defending NCAA champions (Kyle Dake and Steve Bosak) and a number of other starters, the Big Red won the team title on Saturday by more than 30 points.  Contributing significantly were freshmen such as Nahshon Garrett, Chris Dowdy and Craig Scott.  All three won their debuts in a Cornell singlet against the Bearcats on Friday night and they all followed up with strong showings in the tournament.

Nahshon Garrett, Photo by Boris V

Garrett earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors after capturing the 125-pound title with a 13-9 victory over returning All-American Steve Bonanno of Hofstra.   It was the second week in a row on top of the podium for the California native, who won the Binghamton Open during the season’s opening weekend.

Scott beat NCAA qualifier Cody Reed of the Bearcats in the dual on Friday and then did it again, by a larger margin, on Saturday.  That victory put him in the finals, where he upended Tyler Beckwith to win the tournament a week after taking second at the Binghamton Open.

The finals of the Cornell wrestle-offs at 157 pounds featured Craig Eifert and Jesse Shanaman, but with both out due to injuries, Chris Dowdy made sure the Big Red remained strong at the weight class.  Dowdy notched a convincing 5-0 shutout in the meet against Binghamton and then fought his way to the finals on Saturday, where he took silver behind NCAA qualifier Jake O’Hara of Columbia.

The performances of the three first-year Cornell students bodes well for the future of the Ivy League squad, as does the work of 141-pounder Mike Nevinger who didn’t yield a point all day.  He recorded three pins and outscored his opponents 13-0 in his other two bouts to win the tournament.  Similarly dominant was 197-pounder Jace Bennett, who pinned his way to the championship match, where he notched a major decision.

 

Champions from Columbia

The Lions led the team race for portions of the day on Saturday and boasted three champions – Steve Santos (149), Jake O’Hara (157) and Stephen West (174).  There’s no question that the trio will make the Lions tough in the middleweights in 2012-13.  Santos and O’Hara both won multiple matches at the NCAA tournament last year and West was on the verge of receiving an at large bid. All three were in control throughout the day, but they weren’t alone in excelling for the Lions.  The New York City-based team also had other top four finishers — Penn Gottfried (fourth at 125), Joe Moita (fourth at 133), Josh Houldsworth (third at 165) and Nick Mills (second at 197).

 

Hofstra Takes Third

Luke Vaith, Photo by Boris V

Hofstra had one champion on the way to third place in the team competition, but it wasn’t one of the Pride’s returning 2012 NCAA qualifiers.  It was Paul Snyder, who breezed through the early rounds before a 3-1 decision over Buffalo’s Justin Heiserman in the title match.  Rob Anspach’s squad had five other representatives earn top four spots, with Steve Bonanno (125) and Jermaine John (174) taking second; Jamie Franco (133) and Luke Vaith (141) grabbing third; and Nick Terdick notching fourth.

 

Standout Performances for Cortland

Tyler Beckwith, Photo by Boris V

Only one non-Division I wrestler made the finals – Tyler Beckwith of Cortland at 184 pounds.  But Beckwith wasn’t the only grappler from the Red Dragons to impress.  Bobby Dierna took third at 149 with his only loss coming by a point to champion Steve Santos.  Jared Myhrberg  was fourth at 197 and Corey James rebounded from a first round loss to take fourth at 285.  Brad Bruhn’s squad finished sixth in the team standings, the highest finish for a non-Division I team.

Another DIII team, Ithaca, had some strong showings, including bronze finishes for both Jules Doliscar at 174 and Ricardo Gomez at 125.

 

Mark Lewandowski Knows How to Pile Up the Points

Photo by Boris V

You could say Lewandowski was dominant on his way to the crown at 165 pounds.  In his first four matches, he outscored his opponents by a combined 62-1 tally, winning each bout by technical fall.  Two of the matches ended in less than one period.  His prowess in winning by at least 15 points wasn’t surprising – he had the most technical falls in the nation last year.  But we saw first hand that if you look away for too long, you can miss a lot of points when the Buffalo senior is on the mat. (He won 12-6 in the finals).

Lewandowski’s teammates Andrew Schutt and Justin Heiserman also went to the championship bout before taking second.  None of Schutt’s matches went the distance.  He won his first three by fall and then was pinned in the finale by Cornell’s Mike Nevinger.

 

The “B” Tournament

Cornell had four champions on Saturday and another three on Sunday in the “B” tournament.  Ryan Dunphy (149), Michael Alexander (174) and Jacob Aiken-Phillips (285) all captured first place for the Big Red.

In addition, two more more Ithaca-based grapplers earned gold with Taylor Simaz (157) and Gabe Dean (184) winning for the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club.

Buffalo and Columbia each boasted a pair of victors. Sean Walton (133) and Dominic Montesanti (165) won for the Bulls while Robert Dyar (125) and Matt Idelson (197) were champions for the Lions.  Army’s Tyler Rauenzahn rounded out the champions as he stood on top of the medal stand at 141 pounds.

Final brackets for the “B” tournament are here.