Tag Archives: Journeymen Wrestling

Cadet Greco Roman Recap: Jesse Porter Takes Second; James Bethel, Garyn Huntley and Nick Casella Earn All-America Status

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Jesse Porter was an All-American at Fargo a year ago in Greco Roman action when he grabbed fourth at 132.  In 2013, Porter moved up several weight classes and up a few spots higher on the podium as he earned second place at 152 pounds behind Nick Reenan of Texas, the same opponent he faced in the medal round in 2012.

It was a back and forth affair with a number of flurries in the title bout. After the first period, the score was knotted at 3.  Then Porter got off to a good start in the second with a body lock and throw that led to a 6-3 advantage.  However, his opponent responded with a takedown and exposure with just under a minute and a half to go on the path to a 9-6 triumph.

Courtesy of Shenendehowa wrestling website

Porter, a Shenendehowa and Journeymen wrestler, simply dominated in his pool, capturing all seven of his matches by pin or technical fall and giving up just two total points. He will try to pick up even more hardware when the Cadet Freestyle event commences later in the week. (At the New York State championships in Binghamton back in May, Porter cruised to titles in both international styles).

Also high on the podium for the Empire State was James Bethel, who took third.  After dropping his first contest in Fargo to eventual runner up Jordan Wood by one point, Bethel went on a six-match winning streak, including a pin over fifth placer Kyler Childers and a 7-0 technical fall over Shane Coombs in the bronze bout.

Joining Bethel on the medal stand at 220 was Garyn Huntley, who grabbed sixth after picking up four victories at the event.  He notched two pins and two technical falls.

One more All-American was crowned from New York – Nassau County’s Nick Casella at 120 pounds.  Casella began Day 2 the same way he finished the first day of competition – with a victory (over Roshaun Cooley of Pennsylvania).  He concluded pool action with a 6-2 record, earning a spot in medal round against Raul Nevarez of Idaho in the 75-person 120 pound bracket.  The Section 8 wrestler trailed 8-2 in the opening period but took over from there on the way to a 13-8 final and seventh place.

Coming within one win of the podium was Leonard Merkin of Poly Prep, who went 4-1 on the opening day of the event, but lost his first contest on Monday to Conner Noonan of Oregon at 132 pounds.

Updates from the Junior Greco Roman tournament, which began on Monday, will be coming later.

Other Participants from New York in the Cadet Greco Roman tournament were:

88: Drew Schafer, Justin Lopez, Oscar Lainez

106: Sean Miller, John Luke Destefano

113: Taylor Picciano, Evan Barczak

126: Ian Lupole, Christian Briody, Michael Berkowitz

138: Frank Jilling, Zachery Bendick, Sam Ward

145: Kevin Parker, Gino Titone, Jordan Bushey, Logan Brunick

152: John Vouzonis, William Marcil

160: Vance Cuffie, Collin LaBombard, Zafar Iskandarov, Andrew Cummings

170: Jacob Woolson

182: Joseph Sabia, Colby Stayley

195: Aidan Mathews

285: Peter Strassfield

 

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

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

Extremely well.

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

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

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

Courtesy of Austin Weigel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Courtesy of Austin Weigel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pop & Flo National Duals: X-Cel Takes Third … and Much More from Lake Placid

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A year after winning the tournament championship, X-Cel once again made a strong impression at the Pop & Flo National Duals with a third place showing.

“I really feel that the kids showed tremendous heart to come back and win against a team full of PA studs to take third,” said X-Cel coach Nick Garone. “But we felt that we went up there with the best team and still feel that way. The guys are really disappointed, but to go out of the tournament with a win in our last match was nice, especially for all of our seniors.”

The squad opened with three consecutive triumphs on Saturday to make the semifinal round against Iron Horse, the eventual champions.

In the semis, the New Jersey club got off to a fast start, capturing four of the first six bouts, including two pins, to take a lead that would never be relinquished in a 30-25 result. (One of those falls for Iron Horse was by Section 1 star John Muldoon of Pearl River, who was joined by fellow New Yorker Dale White on the title-winning team).

In the bronze bout, X-Cel rebounded to defeat Pennsylvania’s Young Guns despite dropping the first four bouts to fall behind 14-0. (The dual began at 130 pounds).

However, X-Cel took over from there, beginning with a 7-3 win by Connetquot’s Brendan Dent at 152. It was the first of seven consecutive victories for the Long Islanders, as Corey Rasheed picked up a forfeit at 160 and Steven Schneider (170), Gio Santiago (182) and Steven Mills (225) notched decisions. Putting up key bonus points were Chris Chambers (195) and Mike Hughes (285), who both recorded falls. After the heavyweight bout, X-Cel had turned a large deficit into a 30-14 lead.

“Brendan Dent started us off with a win, and that was great,” Garone said. “All our guys stepped up. Chambers had a really nice throw to get the pin and Hughes just worked the kid, kept working and working. At the end of the second, he closed it out with a really big pin for us. We knew were in good shape going into the lower half, even if we lost a few. Travis Passaro (125) ended the match with a really big one, beating the NHSCA National champ Josh Patrick in overtime, 1-0.”

It was one of many quality wins Garone pointed to from the two-day event. Those triumphs and the overall experience had Garone already talking about the return trip to Lake Placid in 2014.

“Everyone played a key role for us,” Garone said. “It’s a great bunch of guys. To take third at that tournament – it’s nothing to sneeze at. But it’s not what we wanted. Trust me when I tell you that we’ll work all year to get back to the top of the national scene.”

———

X-Cel was the highest placing team from New York in the field, but many other Empire State squads had success over the weekend.

The 32 teams in the high school competition were split into four divisions after the opening round matches. Here’s a rundown of the results for New York:

X-Cel wasn’t the only New York team in the “A” bracket, as Journeymen Black took eighth. The host squad won its first two duals against Pioneer and Doughboy Black on Saturday to make the quarterfinals before falling to a pair of Pennsylvania groups – Young Guns and Dark Knights. In the seventh place dual, Smitty’s Barn came out on top 41-22.

“B” Bracket (For the teams that lost in the first round of the “A” Championship bracket)

631 Elite began the experience in Lake Placid with a setback against the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club 39-28, but then went on a winning streak, taking three in a row over Atlas, Razor and Catamount to earn a spot in the title bout of the “B” Bracket. During that run, the team’s smallest margin of victory was 22 points.

The Long Island-based group kept it going, besting Apex II for the top spot in the “B” Division and finished the weekend with a 4-1 record. Picking up wins in the final dual for 631 were Matteo Devincenzo (106), Jesse Dellavecchia (113), Joe Calderone (120), Jack Taddeo (130), Jimmy Leach (135), Dennis Ferro (152), Dylan Kane (160) and Vincent Feola (225).

Also placing in the same bracket were Iowa Style Black (fourth) and Razor (eighth). Iowa Style notched triumphs against Barre Wrestling Club and Doughboy Gold by a commanding combined score of 102-43 after an initial loss.

Razor was eighth, collecting a win over Metrowest United in Round 2, led by a pin by Chaz Leo at 225 and four major decisions.

“C” Bracket (For the teams that won in Round 1 and lost in Round 2 in the “A” Championship bracket)

In this bracket, Empire State teams claimed third through eighth places.

Cobra took the bronze after getting past Finger Lakes Wrestling Club 33-28, winning nine of the bouts. The contest featured a pair of two point decisions between All-State wrestlers as William Koll topped Kellen Devlin 2-0 at 125 and Vincent Deprez edged Connor Lapresi in sudden victory, 3-1, at 152. Both of those squads were 2-2 heading into their clash in the third place tilt.

Meanwhile, Ascend recorded fifth with a 55-9 victory over Journeymen Gold. It was the third dual win of the weekend for the Nassau County-based club, led by undefeated wrestlers Chris Koo and Jaison White.

In another battle of New Yorkers, Cellar Dwellers picked up seventh with a 53-10 decision over Iowa Style Gold. The Cellar Dweller squad began and ended the tournament with wins.

“D” Bracket

Port Jervis grabbed third, finishing with a 37-33 triumph over Metrowest United. The Section 9 squad also topped Powers Forty High 33-15 in its third meet of the weekend.

For full results, see tournaflex.com.

Vougar's Honors Wrestling Goes Undefeated to Win the Journeymen Freestyle Duals

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Freestyle season is well underway.  That much was clear on Sunday at Messa Rink on the campus of Union College as some of the top teams in the region clashed at the Journeymen Freestyle Club Duals.

When it was all said and done, it was Vougar’s Honors Wrestling (VHW) taking top billing after going 4-0 on the day.

“This is a very hard tournament with very good competition,” said Vougar Oroudjov. “It was our first freestyle tournament this year.  We had a few guys get hurt right before it and we didn’t have a 220 pounder, but we were committed to coming and getting some good matches.  Our team had a variety of wrestlers – some guys who are first and second year wrestlers, some who have not been all-county and also a state champion and other state placers. All the guys came together and wrestled hard and did a great job.”

VHW began action against the host squad from Journeymen in a contest Oroudjov called “a great dual against a very tough team.”  The score was all tied up going into the final bout (at heavyweight).

In that match, Seaford’s James O’Hagan, the third place finisher at the state tournament this year in Division I, got his hand raised to give VHW the victory.  It was the first triumph of an unbeaten day for the Nassau County 285 pounder.

It came down to the wire once again against Shamrock, with the final bout once again decisive.  (This time it was a forfeit).  VHW also had a strong performance against Iowa Style and wrestled well in a win against Ascend.

In that matchup of Long Island powers, Oroudjov pointed to some key victories from his squad, including bonus wins by Ben Lamantia, Steve Schneider and Carlos Toribio.  According to Oroudjov, Toribio, in his first-ever freestyle event, dropped the first period and was trailing in the second when he recorded a fall.  In addition, in a meeting of two of the state’s top lightweights, Vito Arujau topped John Arceri.

Santiago, Photo by BV

The wrestlers that came up big in that dual were strong throughout the day.  Lamantia, Toribio and Arujau all had unblemished records, as did the previously mentioned O’Hagan and a pair of Sachem wrestlers – East’s Jakob Restrepo and North’s Gio Santiago, according to Oroudjov.

“Restrepo wrestled really great,” Oroudjov said. “He lost by pin to one of his opponents last week, but came back and beat him this week.  I have a lot of respect for Gio Santiago.  He kept the team together; he was a leader.  He pumped everyone up and kept everyone going. It was just one tournament, but it was a good experience for us.”

It clearly was a good experience for the squad. And several other teams also had strong showings, with Journeymen taking second, and Shamrock and Ascend next in the overall standings, according to Frank Popolizio.

Freestyle season has begun and with the New York States only a few weeks away, the chance to watch many of the Empire State’s best compete in the international styles again is fast approaching.

—————

The VHW team: (as provided)

105 Pounds: Vito Arujau

112: John Twomey, Daniel Murray

119: Ben Lamantia, Nick Casella

125: Tim Johnson

130: Joe Russ

135: Hunter Sharf

140: Anthony Messina

145: Jakob Restrepo

152: Gino Titone/James Farrell

160: Zack Small/Eric Hunson

170: Steve Schneider

185: Carlos Toribio

195: Gio Santiago/Robert Ng

225: None

285: James O’Hagan

Youth Champions Crowned at the 2013 Pop & Flo Mini Men Nationals

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The poster for the 2013 Pop & Flo Mini-Men Nationals says it is “where the young guns come to settle their differences.”

There were definitely a lot of young guns on hand on Saturday at Union College for the event, which featured hundreds of wrestlers across the Bantam, Midget, Junior and Intermediate competitions.

“It was an awesome tournament,” said G2 World Wrestling Academy’s Adam Burgos. “The competition was phenomenal and with 10 mats, it was very efficient. The certified officials were great and it was easy to watch and follow. It’s a tournament that our club will definitely have on our calendar in the future.”

The top finishers in each class received prizes such as Brute singlets, Forever Fierce hoodies and trophies. 

For the first through fourth placers in each bracket, see below. 

(Please comment with changes or additions).
 

BANTAM

43:
Aidan Shufelt (FLWC)
Seach Park Hibler (Apex)
Jeffrey Ellert (Underground)
Kaden Rice (Wawc)

48:
Gianni Silvestri (Tioga Central)
Ashton Seymour (Mike’s Garage Grapplers)
Davis Motyka (Rock Solid)
Rylan Padelford (Colonie)

53:
August West Hibler (Apex)
Nicky Callaghan (G2)
Luca Manfredi (Newtown Youth)
Ryder Machado (Underground)

60:
William Henckel (Newtown Youth)
Zak Ryder (Underground)
Luca Duva (Iowa Style)
Andrew Reall (Predator Wrestling)

70:
Sonny Sasso (Dark Knights)
Andrew Filip (Underground)
Jack Richardson (Marcaurele)
Benjamin Shue (Basement Boyz)

95:
Ethan Gallo (Underground)
Eddie Terreri (Njac)

 
MIDGET

50:
Jaden Pepe (Rock Solid)
Isiac Paulino (NE Elite CT)
Evan Kinney (Doughboy)
TJ Morton (NJ Scorpions)

60:
Nicholas Palso Jr (Journeymen)
Carlson Porter (Smitty’s Barn)
Daniel Wask (Scorpions)
Nate Chandler (Doughboy)

65:
Ryan Defoney (Intensity)
Cooper Price (Rock Solid)
Jimmy Harrington (Doughboy)
Will Fish (Dark Knights)

70:
Jayden Scott (G2)
Joshua Sharron (Newport Rec)
Nicky Fea (Goshen)
Hayden Rabideau (Catamount)

75:
Caleb Galloway (Hornell)
Luca Pirozzolo (G2)
Stefan Wade (Hoosick Falls)
Ian Burke (Smitty’s Barn)

80:
Preston Machado (Underground)
Sean Kinney (Dark Knights)
Justin Onello (Olympic)
Mark Thomas (Doughboy)

90:
Cooper Kropman (Penfield)
Jeffrey Crooks (Journeymen)
Tylynn Lukens (Team Dynamic)
Brady Roux (Salem Bulldogs)

100:
Hunter McKenna (Journeymen)
Jamikael Boutin (NE Elite)

 
JUNIOR

60:
Zachary Soda (Doughboy)
Joe Scheeren (Journeymen)
Braeden O’Brien (NE Elite)
Nate Chandler (Doughboy)

65:
JJ White (Rock Solid)
Nico Provo (Team Tugman)
Dylan Cedeno (Scorpions)
Greg Diakomihalis (G2)

70:
Drew Munch (Dark Knights)
Zachary Martinez (Olympic)
Aidan Canfield (Iowa Style)
Gregory Hotaling (Journeymen)

75:
Tyler Sung (Apex)
Ryan Burgos (G2)
David Krokowski (Rock Solid)
Max Kropman (Penfield)

80:
Brock Delsignore (Journeymen)
John Worthing (Tioga)
Dean Shambo (Mexico)
Andrew Laubach (Tioga)

85:
Jackson Erb (Sepa)
Malachy Farrell (G2)
Joseph Simons (Farmingdale)
Keenan Taylor (Catamount)

90:
Julian Chlebove (Dark Knights)
Corey Connolly (Longwood)
Ryan Burgbacher (631 Elite)
Hunter Adams (Fisheye)

95:
Zachary Lawrence (Journeymen)
Reid Colella (Olympic)
Dylan Batlle (Newtown Youth)
Shaun Allen (Cobra)

100:
Noah Call (Catamount)
Stefan Major (631 Elite)
Carson Licastri (Iowa Style)
Bassam Qasrawi (Wobum)

110:
Harrison Shapiro (Mercury Rising)
Sampson Wilkins (Catamount)
Liam Mooney (Journeymen)
Jack Dardia (Delaware Valley)

135:
Shaine Luzietti (Newtown Youth)
Nolan Mcneill (Warrensburg)
Chris Charleston (Farmingdale)
Mason Lazorchak (Cannonball)

 
INTERMEDIATE

73:
Michael Gonyea (Journeymen)
Kevin DePalma (Team Evolution)
Jared Defoney (Intensity)
Zachary Cummings (Salem Central)

78:
Dylan Ryder (631 Elite)
Cameron Enriquez (Dark Knights)
Ruddy Paulino (NE Elite)

83:
Adam Busiello (631 Elite)
Jakob Camacho (Dywa)
Orion Anderson (Hoosick Falls)
Cole Wyman (Dungeon)

90:
Brian Kelly (631 Elite)
Dillan Palaszewski (Journeymen)
Conor Thompson (NE Elite)
John DeRidder (VHW)

95:
Dane Heberlein (Alexander)
Ryan Luth (NE Elite)
James Trezza (631 Elite)
Jake Silverstein (631 Elite)

100:
Sam Sasso (Dark Knights)
Rowan Braga (Journeymen)
Tyler Mitchell (G2)
Thomas Leuci (Newtown)

105:
Hector Colom (Scorpion/Cobra)
Ben Tepperman (631 Elite)
Josh Stillings (Sepa)
Christian Gramuglia (Journeymen)

110:
Michael Venosa (Superior)
Anthony Sobotker (631 Elite)
Edward Lovely (Newtown Youth)
Andrei Steinjann (Newtown Youth)

115:
Tyler Delorenzo (Dark Knights)
Colin Hogan (Cellar Dwellers)
Michael Ross (NE Elite)
Shane Connolly (Olympic)

125:
Tyler Hazard (Journeymen)
Eoghan Sweeney (Journeymen)
Nicholas Robbins (Journeymen)
Darrin Simons (Farmingdale)

135:
Anthony Falbo (Newtown Youth)
Trent Goodman (Wrestlers Way)
Travis Stefanik (Dark Knights)
Tyler Barnes (Journeymen)

150:
Cade Moisey (Dark Knights)
Clifton Wang (ISW)
Jason Hoffman (Journeymen)
David Crow (Thorobred)

175:
Joseph Eiden (631 Elite)
Benton Whitley (NE Elite)
Daniel Knapp (Whitesboro)
Brandon Cousino (Vergennes)

230:
Ryan Pinkham (NE Elite)
Cole McKee (Cellar Dwellers)

At the Second Annual NYWAY State Championships Over 900 Wrestlers Compete; Cobra Wrestling Academy Takes Team Title

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According to Cobra Wrestling Academy Executive Director Keith Maute, Sunday was a great day.

The fact that he got married was the obvious and most important reason for that sentiment.

But Maute admitted that he took glances at his phone at points during the day for another reason – to check on how his wrestlers were doing at the NYWAY State Championships in Elmira.

The Cobra grapplers gave him a wedding present as the Buffalo-area club captured the team title by a slim two-point margin over Journeymen a year after finishing second in a close race behind G2 World Wrestling Academy (third in 2013).

“I’m really excited that we won,” he said. “I’m really excited for the kids, our club and our section. Last year we lost by a point or two and this year we’re on the flip side of that.  The fact that it was a tight team race makes it exciting for everyone.  It’s really nice to have 20 kids in the finals and another bunch of All-State kids.”

Cobra was led by 10 champions and 10 second placers**, as well as another six bronze medalists.  The champions were: Cooper Gronowski, JJ Lucinski, Justin McDougald, Tyler Bartolomei, Hector Colom, Jacob Brewer, Tito Colom, Jake Weber, Carson Alberti and Dane Heberlein.  The last two, Alberti and Heberlein, won this event last year as well.

But taking the championship this season was a bit different than doing so in the inaugural NYWAY event in 2012.  The tournament had over 930 participants this weekend as opposed to 640 a year ago and had representation from the all corners of New York this time, something that wasn’t quite the case before.

“We were extremely happy with the number of wrestlers we had and especially that we had a cross section from across the state,” said NYWAY President Clint Wattenberg. “We had at least 50 kids from each of the eight regions.  Every region had some champions and it was really a unifying event across the state.”

Courtesy of NYWAY

Making Wattenberg equally excited was the quality of the competition.  For example, a pair of state silver medalists – Vincent DePrez of G2/Hilton and Connor Lapresi of the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club/Lansing squared off in a match won by DePrez in sudden victory in the semifinals in the high school division.  (It was a good weekend to be named DePrez as all four brothers – Vincent, Anthony, Louie and Sam – took first at the event).

In addition to DePrez and Lapresi, many others who competed at the Times Union Center in late February also took part. In fact, the 113-pound bracket in Division 6 included All-Staters Ryan Hetrick and Kelan McKenna as well as Eastern States champion Chris Cuccolo. And none of those accomplished wrestlers came out on top; instead it was 30-plus match winner Blake Abbey of Corning (who won this tournament at 103 pounds in 2012).

Similarly, the younger divisions featured wrestlers who have placed and won prestigious youth tournaments across the country.  Some of those picked up their second straight NYWAY State championship, including (in Division 2) Waverly’s Bryce Bailey, G2’s Jayden Scott, the previously mentioned Carson Alberti and Lockport’s JR Leuer; in Division 3 Stevo Poulin of Journeymen and Myles Griffin of Mexico and in Division 4 Journeymen’s Michael Gonyea and Dillan Palaszewski as well as Orion Anderson and Benny Baker.  (Repeat gold medalists in Divisions 5 and 6 were Dandre Norman of Edge, Andrew McFarland of Carthage and the previously discussed Dane Heberlein and Blake Abbey).

Courtesy of NYWAY

For the full list of placers from first to fourth in each division and weight, see here.

While this weekend’s action at the First Arena in Elmira represented the largest event on NYWAY’s calendar, Wattenberg stressed that the second-year organization is much more than just a state championship tournament.

“It was a great, but it’s only a small part of our mission,” Wattenberg said. “We’re dedicated to creating continuity and direction for New York wrestling.  It’s all about the lifecycle of developmental wrestling and tying it all together at the youth, high school and college levels.  We want to find out where we’re losing people and try to help fill those gaps.  We think one of the critical pieces of the development puzzle in New York is in modified wrestling.  That’s why having Division 5 (middle school and some freshmen) as our biggest division at this event was encouraging.  New York continues to lose modified programs or have the mat time cut down significantly.  We feel that this is a role we can fill in the state, helping develop wrestlers that aren’t getting what they need through modified programs.”

Of course, it’s no secret that wrestling is losing more than the modified level.  The IOC’s decision to drop the sport from the 2020 Olympic Games is fresh on the minds of fans and Wattenberg said all $600 of total proceeds from the sales of programs will be donated to the ‘Keep Wrestling in the Olympics’ movement.

In addition, a portion of every online NYWAY transaction this season has been allocated to the President’s Fund, which is dedicated to strengthening and advancing college wrestling.  According to Wattenberg, that money will be “spread around to not only strengthen current programs in New York but to encourage additional schools in the state to start new wrestling programs.”

The link with the college level of wrestling wasn’t hard to see over the weekend.  On Saturday night, Cornell All-Americans Kyle Dake, Steve Bosak and Mike Nevinger attended the event, signing autographs and talking with participants and fans.

Meanwhile, some of their peers were on the mat – as referees.

Photo by John Drew

“It’s core to our mission to reintegrate college wrestlers into youth wrestling to help the next generation,” Wattenberg said. “Having a group of officials being college age wrestlers, along with veterans as the head officials, helps keep that development cycle going and makes the wrestling community stronger.  That’s the reason we like to stick to that format, but we are trying to integrate some other experienced officials as well.  As a whole, the feedback on the structure and set up of the tournament was positive.”

And so the second NYWAY season came to a close with Cobra standing on the top step.   While Maute kept tabs on the day’s events from his wedding, he expects to be in attendance in 2014 to help his club defend its crown.

“This tournament grew so much in just one year,” Maute said. “It’s awesome that there were almost 1000 kids there this year. Hopefully next year it will be 1300 wrestlers or even more.”

—————————————————————————

Wattenberg wished to thank the NYWAY Board of Directors, especially the state tournament committee (Kristine Maslin, Adam Burgos, Kevin Lucinski, Mel Cutrie) for their time and dedication and for making decisions with “best intentions to provide opportunities and create a level playing field.”  He also wished to thank Eric Padelford for setting up the technology portion of the event, especially on short notice.

 

**Some of the Cobra wrestlers, according to Maute, weren’t listed under Cobra in the brackets

NYWAY State Championships – Top Placewinners for Each Division and Weight

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The following is the list of top finishers in all Divisions and Weight Classes for the 2013 NYWAY State Championships. Over 925 wrestlers participated in the event in Elmira, New York, with representation from all around the Empire State.

We will provide a full recap of the event, so please check back.

Full brackets and results can be found at http://www.trackwrestling.com. (Search for NYWAY)

Division 1 – 37 Pounds
1st Place – JJ Lucinski of Lockport Kids Club
2nd Place – Zoey Jewett of General Brown Mighty Lions
3rd Place – Russell Maddox of Tioga
4th Place – Decklan Mckee of Waverly

D1 – 40
1st Place – Caleb Cole of Unatego
2nd Place – Cooper Mower of Ilion
3rd Place – Cameron Granger of Waverly
4th Place – Gary McDowell of Unattached

D1 – 43
1st Place – Cooper Gronowski of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
2nd Place – Lucas Mason of Canisteo
3rd Place – Aiden Shufelt of Unattached
4th Place – Mason Brown of Phoenix

D1 – 46
1st Place – Gavin Bob of Canisteo
2nd Place – Kolton Kelly of Camden
3rd Place – Aidan Gillings of Newfane
4th Place – Quinn Hoppel of LOWVILLE WRESTLING CLUB

D1 – 49
1st Place – Rylan Padleford of NY Titan Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Chase Nevills of Copenhagen
3rd Place – Nathanial Higgins of IHC Cavaliers
4th Place – Jackson Koppers of Unattached

D1 – 52
1st Place – Ryder Machado of Underground
2nd Place – Caden Bellis of Unattached
3rd Place – Tavian Camper of Copenhagen
4th Place – Evan Fort of Gowanda

D1 – 56
1st Place – Zak Ryder of Underground
2nd Place – Kieran Cullen of Journeymen
3rd Place – Brady Lynch of Indian River Pee Wee Wrestling
4th Place – Te`Shaun Matthews of NFPC

D1 – 60
1st Place – Cade Allen of Canisteo
2nd Place – Shey Williams of Lockport Kids Club
3rd Place – PJ Duke of Unattached
4th Place – Jaylon Yearwood of Union Endicott

D1 – 65
1st Place – Isaac Gibson of South Lewis
2nd Place – Ryan Burton of Underground
3rd Place – Ryley Monica of SOUTH JEFFERSON
4th Place – Gage LaPlante of Tonawanda

D1 – 75
1st Place – Elijah Diakomihalis of G2 World wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Dominic Dunstan of NWAA
3rd Place – Mason Maring of Unattached
4th Place – Rocky Files of Central Square

D2 – 43

1st Place – JR Leuer (Lockport Kids Club)

D2 – 46
1st Place – Jayden Crumpler of NFPC
2nd Place – Landon Machado of Underground
3rd Place – Xavier Dejesus of Unattached
4th Place – JR Leuer of Lockport Kids Club

D2 – 49
1st Place – Bryce Bailey of Waverly
2nd Place – Trevor Tufano of Unattached
3rd Place – Michael Santore of Journeymen
4th Place – Joseph Florence of Thorobred

D2 – 52
1st Place – Colin Bradshaw of Phoenix
2nd Place – Jake Daly of Brockport
3rd Place – Garrett Skeens of Waverly
4th Place – Logan Reynolds of Gouverneur

D2 – 55
1st Place – Braidon Woodward of Canisteo
2nd Place – Myles Gronowski of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
3rd Place – Ethan Dibble of Thorobred
4th Place – John Chamberlain of IHC Cavaliers

D2 – 58
1st Place – Carson Alberti of Unattached
2nd Place – Joey Rumola of Unattached
3rd Place – Tristan Petretti of SWR
4th Place – Teddy Raes of Midlakes

D2 – 61
1st Place – Carter Schubert of Superior
2nd Place – Dominck Algieri of Blue Wave
3rd Place – Trent Reid of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
4th Place – Maddox Browning of Gowanda

D2 – 64
1st Place – Caden Granger of Waverly
2nd Place – Rocco Camillaci of G2 World wrestling Academy
3rd Place – Andrew Filip of Underground
4th Place – Anthony McMillen of Unattached

D2 – 67
1st Place – Brady Unger of Unattached
2nd Place – Trayton Tupper of Gouverneur
3rd Place – Aaron Briones of SOUTH JEFFERSON
4th Place – Anthony Cooper of Midlakes

D2 – 70
1st Place – Jayden Scott of G2 World wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Matthew Mahoney of Unattached
3rd Place – Josh Durant of The Square
4th Place – Bryson Vabdunk of Whitney Point Youth Wrestling Club

D2 – 75
1st Place – Nicholas Rogers of IHC Cavaliers
2nd Place – Zachary Duessler of IHC Cavaliers
3rd Place – AJ Fricchione of Underground
4th Place – Brian Bielec of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY

D2 – 80
1st Place – Ethan Gallo of Unattached
2nd Place – Sam Ricci of Victor
3rd Place – Evan Day of Hoosick Fall Wrestling Club
4th Place – Kevin Daskavitz of Lockport Kids Club

D2 – 88
1st Place – Colton Simpson of LOWVILLE WRESTLING CLUB
2nd Place – Jake Whitmore of Indian River Pee Wee Wrestling
3rd Place – Gabriel Monroe of Thorobred
4th Place – Simon Lingle of Newfane

D2 – 100
1st Place – Hunter John of Gowanda
2nd Place – Frank Carino of RPEEWC
3rd Place – Aidan Pendergrast of Unattached
4th Place – Tyler Beeman of Unattached

D2 – HWT
1st Place – Ryan Stein of NY Titan Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Logan Ramadan of Grand Island
3rd Place – Matthew Jansen of Midlakes
4th Place – Bryce Benedict of Gowanda

D3 – 51
1st Place – Andrew Brown of Unattached
2nd Place – Lucas Randisi of Superior
3rd Place – Austin West of LOWVILLE WRESTLING CLUB

D3 – 55
1st Place – Jace Shafer of Superior
2nd Place – Gavin Henrikson of Blue Wave
3rd Place – Antoine Walker of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
4th Place – Evan Hewett of Underground

D3 – 59
1st Place – Dante Geislinger of Unattached
2nd Place – Andy Lucinski of Lockport Kids Club
3rd Place – Joe Scheeren of Journeymen
4th Place – Mason Drew of Unattached

D3 – 62
1st Place – Stevo Poulin of Journeymen
2nd Place – Majai Coubles of Brockport
3rd Place – Micah Roes of LOWVILLE WRESTLING CLUB
4th Place – Ryan Daly of Brockport

D3 – 65
1st Place – Myles Griffin of Mexico Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Darren Ketcham of RPEEWC
3rd Place – Mason Bush of Ilion
4th Place – Lucase Riley of Elmira

D3 – 68
1st Place – Zach Redding of RPEEWC
2nd Place – Nicky Fea of Unattached
3rd Place – Drake Dille of Elmira
4th Place – Ryan Nugent of Newfane

D3 – 71
1st Place – Jalen McCarty of Waverly
2nd Place – Logan Sciotto of RPEEWC
3rd Place – Aidan Cullen of Journeymen
4th Place – Marek Bush of Ilion

D3 – 75
1st Place – Brock Del Signore of Journeymen
2nd Place – Ethan Ferro of Thorobred
3rd Place – Joshua Post of Thorobred
4th Place – Jacob Payne of Falconer Wrestling Club

D3 – 80
1st Place – Justin McDougald of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
2nd Place – Dean Shambo of Mexico Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Ethan Stotler of Waverly
4th Place – Jason Pittman of G2 World wrestling Academy

D3 – 85
1st Place – Anthony Rasmussen of SOUTH JEFFERSON
2nd Place – Mitchell Tyler of Gouverneur
3rd Place – Jacob Scibek of Unattached
4th Place – Joseph Dixon of NFPC

D3 – 90
1st Place – Ian Bogardus of Fulton Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Adam Hermanson of Copenhagen
3rd Place – Peter Marion of Blue Wave
4th Place – Ryan Martin of Brockport

D3 – 95
1st Place – Keagen Case of Adirondack Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Hunter Mckenna of Journeymen
3rd Place – Bryson Solomon of NFPC
4th Place – Cuinn Burlingham of Fulton Wrestling Club

D3 – 100
1st Place – Hunter Edwards of DAWGS
2nd Place – Husdons Evingham of Canisteo
3rd Place – Duncan Zubrzycki of Copenhagen
4th Place – Brock Johnson of Falconer Wrestling Club

D3 – 110
1st Place – Zackery Goolden of Canton
2nd Place – Noah Kennedy of Thorobred
3rd Place – Kody Miller of Union Endicott
4th Place – Tyler Pelech of RPEEWC

D3 – 125
1st Place – Christopher Alberti Iii of The Square
2nd Place – Brandon Fafulovic of Unattached
3rd Place – Matthew Woodworth of Fulton Wrestling Club
4th Place – Colton Briggs of NY Titan Wrestling Club

D3 – HWT
1st Place – Benjamin Bowen of Carthage Wrestling Association
2nd Place – Sean Prunty of Unattached
3rd Place – John Robyck of Elmira
4th Place – Christopher Geer of Thorobred

D4 – 60
1st Place – Tyler Bartolomei of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
2nd Place – Logan Lauck of Unattached

D4 – 65
1st Place – Greg Diakomihalis of G2 World wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Mike Alberti of Unattached
3rd Place – Dawson Mower of Ilion
4th Place – Dylan Allman of Journeymen

D4 – 70
1st Place – Michael Gonyea of Journeymen
2nd Place – Nathan Lehr of Unattached
3rd Place – Max Kropman of G2 World wrestling Academy
4th Place – Bradley Cheek of Canisteo

D4 – 75
1st Place – Christian Kee of Mexico Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Ryan Burgos of G2 World wrestling Academy
3rd Place – John Tyler of Unattached
4th Place – Matthew Muhlbauer of Tonawanda

D4 – 80
1st Place – Orion Anderson of Unattached
2nd Place – Dylan Callahan of Journeymen
3rd Place – John Worthing of Owego Youth Wrestling
4th Place – Owen Kissell of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY

D4 – 85
1st Place – Dillan Palaszewski of Journeymen
2nd Place – Kyle Greene of South Lewis
3rd Place – Wyatt Smith of Midlakes
4th Place – Malachy Farrell of G2 World wrestling Academy

D4 – 90
1st Place – Benny Baker of Unattached
2nd Place – Cory Day of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
3rd Place – Matthew Reese of Elmira
4th Place – Tyler Mitchell of G2 World wrestling Academy

D4 – 95
1st Place – Sam Deprez of G2 World wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Zachary Lawrence of Journeymen
3rd Place – Connor Greiner of Underground
4th Place – Jack Bokina of RPEEWC

D4 – 100
1st Place – Hector Colom of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
2nd Place – Taylor Philpotts of vvs youth wrestling
3rd Place – Deven Lampron of DAWGS
4th Place – Jonathan Lillie of SOUTH JEFFERSON

D4 – 105
1st Place – Kadden Brown of Indian River Pee Wee Wrestling
2nd Place – John Carl Petretti of SWR
3rd Place – Vincent Catanzaro of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
4th Place – Nathan Elliot of Penn Yan

D4 – 112
1st Place – Dylan Greer of Pine Bush
2nd Place – Charlie Mahon of Elmira
3rd Place – Eoghan Sweeney of Journeymen
4th Place – Lance Evans of NFPC

D4 – 120
1st Place – Tyler Barnes of Journeymen
2nd Place – Connor Fredericks of Titletown FC
3rd Place – Korey Brown of Indian River Pee Wee Wrestling
4th Place – Gabe Mastrangelo of Marcellus

D4 – 130
1st Place – Brennan Slater of Norwich
2nd Place – Steven Hark of Ken-Ton
3rd Place – Micah Kelly of LOWVILLE WRESTLING CLUB
4th Place – Gaven Thornton of Canton

D4 – 140
1st Place – Raymond Leach of Unattached
2nd Place – David Mirabella of Ken-Ton
3rd Place – Richie Snyder of Hornell
4th Place – James Bundy of Owego Youth Wrestling

D4 – 155
1st Place – Steven Daskavitz of Lockport Kids Club
2nd Place – Dominic Salerno of Thorobred
3rd Place – Roger Weber of Indian River Pee Wee Wrestling

D4 – 170
1st Place – Harrison Williams of Unattached
2nd Place – Dominic Brown of Ken-Ton

D4 – HWT
1st Place – James McVay of NWAA

D5 – 75
1st Place – Matthew Garland of SOUTH JEFFERSON

D5 – 81
1st Place – Jacob Brewer of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
2nd Place – Lucas King of Unattached
3rd Place – Drew Shafer of Superior
4th Place – Seth Kerscher of Ken-Ton

D5 – 87
1st Place – Dylan Walker of Unattached
2nd Place – Trent Nadeau of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
3rd Place – Jeffrey Gress of Unattached
4th Place – Oscar Lainez of Unattached

D5 – 93
1st Place – Dane Heberlein of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
2nd Place – Connor Day of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
3rd Place – Aj Burkhart of Waverly
4th Place – Ian McKenna of vvs youth wrestling

D5 – 99
1st Place – Derek St. James of G2 World wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Hammond Raes of G2 World wrestling Academy
3rd Place – Dylan Arena of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
4th Place – Jordan Walker of Unattached

D5 – 105
1st Place – Theo Powers of Pheonix
2nd Place – Brandon Gould of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Parker Kropman of G2 World wrestling Academy
4th Place – Vincent Falvo of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY

D5 – 111
1st Place – Tito Colom of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
2nd Place – Michael Venosa of Superior
3rd Place – Max Tempel of NY Titan Wrestling Club
4th Place – Jacob Smeader of Unattached

D5 – 118
1st Place – Andrew McFarland of Carthage Wrestling Association
2nd Place – Kobe Garrehy of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Zachary Burke of Unattached
4th Place – Anthony Argentieri of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY

D5 – 125
1st Place – Louie Deprez of G2 World wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Nicholas Gaiser of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
3rd Place – Madison Hoover of Unattached
4th Place – Jacob Peru of Falconer Wrestling Club

D5 – 132
1st Place – Nathan Grubham of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Grant Frederick of Unattached
3rd Place – Luke Rogers of General Brown Mighty Lions
4th Place – Sean Galla of Titletown FC

D5 – 139
1st Place – Aj Aeberli of Unattached
2nd Place – Kevin Parker of Journeymen
3rd Place – Jordan Kayes of Prescott
4th Place – Tim Holden of Fulton Wrestling Club

D5 – 146
1st Place – Tyler Green of Unattached
2nd Place – Collin Flynn of Fulton Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Ethan Wormuth of Unattached
4th Place – David Crow of Thorobred

D5 – 153
1st Place – Jason Hoffman of Journeymen
2nd Place – Adam Gullo of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
3rd Place – Michael Spallina of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
4th Place – Dylan Gifford of Unattached

D5 – 160
1st Place – Gavin Kovalik of General Brown Mighty Lions
2nd Place – Addison Grosbeck of NY Titan Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Kenneth Dean of Byron-Bergen
4th Place – Jordan Ringer of Gowanda

D5 – 170
1st Place – Travis Race of Fulton Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Mike Daskavitz of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
3rd Place – Jonathan Duryea of Elmira
4th Place – Chase Toal of Byron-Bergen

D5 – 185
1st Place – David Hernandez of NFPC
2nd Place – Christopher Singleton of Unattached

D5 – HWT
1st Place – Zachary Gifford of Unattached
2nd Place – Alex German of Unattached
3rd Place – Nick Jones of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
4th Place – Thomas Randall of South Lewis

D6 – 113
1st Place – Blake Abbey of Unattached
2nd Place – Kelan McKenna of vvs youth wrestling
3rd Place – Christopher Cuccolo of Pine Bush
4th Place – Ryan Hetrick of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY

D6 – 119
1st Place – Dandre Norman of EDGE
2nd Place – Ryan Burns of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
3rd Place – Christopher Meloni of Unattached
4th Place – Tristan Canova of Unattached

D6 – 126
1st Place – Nick Garone of Unattached
2nd Place – Eric Januszkiewicz of Unattached
3rd Place – Mitchell Woodworth of Fulton Wrestling Club
4th Place – Gabe Naviasky of NY Titan Wrestling Club

D6 – 133
1st Place – Richard Burke of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Shawn Widrick of LOWVILLE WRESTLING CLUB
3rd Place – Jack Welsh of Unattached
4th Place – Alec Rowsam of Unattached

D6 – 139
1st Place – Sean Romanski of NY Titan Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Hobie Strassner of G2 World wrestling Academy
3rd Place – Danny Murphy of Unattached
4th Place – James Matias of RPEEWC

D6 – 145
1st Place – Vincent DePrez of G2 World wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Jamiel Stapleton of Unattached
3rd Place – Connor Lapresi of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
4th Place – Austin Hulse of Unattached

D6 – 152
1st Place – Anthony DePrez of G2 World wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Skylar Kropman of G2 World wrestling Academy
3rd Place – Jimmy Devine of NY Titan Wrestling Club
4th Place – Brian Westerdahl of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY

D6 – 162
1st Place – Trevor Allard of Mexico Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Mark Stucke of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
3rd Place – Dan Woughter of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
4th Place – Kyle Ross of Falconer Wrestling Club

D6 – 172
1st Place – Jake Weber of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY
2nd Place – Danny Khomitch of Byron-Bergen
3rd Place – Joseph Russo of Unattached
4th Place – Garrett Davis of NY Titan Wrestling Club

D6 – 184
1st Place – Andrew Cole of Ogdensburg Youth Wrestling Association
2nd Place – Rob Cuomo of Unattached
3rd Place – Douglas Els of Unattached
4th Place – Marquis Buchanan of COBRA WRESTLING ACADEMY

D6 – 198
1st Place – James Bethel of Unattached
2nd Place – Tim Flower of Unattached
3rd Place – Chris Tangora of NY Titan Wrestling Club
4th Place – Jake Pehnollow of Falconer Wrestling Club

D6 – 220
1st Place – Connor Calkins of Unattached
2nd Place – David McKee of Unattached
3rd Place – Sean Ferguson of RPEEWC
4th Place – Adam Groesbeck of NY Titan Wrestling Club

D6 – 288
1st Place – Dylan Ashwood of Indian River Pee Wee Wrestling
2nd Place – Alex Ruiz of Clarence Wrestling Club

Northeast Duals Recap: From Cornell Victories to Standout Performances to Celebrating Jeff Blatnick

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By Matt Diano

On an afternoon that marked the 10th anniversary of its creation, the 2012 edition of the Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals did not fail to live up to the purposes of its origin. Seeking to establish an event which would both capture the ambiance and intensity of the classic Iowa/Oklahoma State showdowns (which he had been exposed to while watching his brother, Pat, compete for John Smith’s Cowboys) as well as promote the world’s oldest and greatest sport to the upstate community, Frank Popolizio has seen his brainchild grow from being hosted in the Niskayuna High School gymnasium to being considered one of, if not the, preeminent early season clash of the titans.

While still relatively young in age, the NE Duals are, and continue to be, an environment where magic happens. Yesterday would prove no different as the field of 14 teams (seven of which are nationally ranked by at least one major poll) would put it all on the line in the ultimate war for bragging rights in which the real winners were not as much the victorious teams, but rather, the masses of people sitting in the stands of the Hudson Valley Community College Athletic Center. All were treated to nine hours of the most exhilarating action found on the planet Earth. Whether “your team” went 3-0 or 0-4, you walked to your car with an ear-to-ear grin, because you knew you had just spent the 24th in the company of warriors.

Big Red Emerge as the Mighty
Posting an unblemished 3-0 record for the day, if you had to single out a specific program that rose to the occasion, there would be no better choice than the Rob Koll-led Big Red crowd favorites. Round-by-round, the Cornell wrestlers found themselves running the gauntlet, having to best a pair of top-12 teams in back-to-back duals in order to keep “the 0” intact.

Jace Bennett, Photo by BV

As expected, sitting at the head of the table in this effort was three-time NCAA Champion Kyle Dake, who was his dominant self, surrendering a mere two points total in his three matches. Perhaps the Lansing native’s biggest win was the only one in which he did not score bonus points, a 5-0 decision over #8 ranked Bubby Graham of the University of Oklahoma. Having watched his teammates drop three bouts in a row to knot the match at 10 apiece, the seasoned veteran knew that in order for the Big Red to regain the momentum, he needed to come up big. And, as he has done countless times before, he delivered in grand fashion, controlling the action for the full seven minutes in pitching the shutout against the Sooner. The win would serve as a catalyst as Cornell would win three of the final four matches of the dual, including Jace Bennett‘s clincher at 197 when he pinned OU’s Brad Johnson half a minute into the second period to provide the Empire State powerhouse with an insurmountable nine point lead. For good measure, big man Stryker Lane would close out the 25-13 dual win with a 5-2 decision over previously nationally-ranked Keldrick Hall. Nick Arujau‘s 34 second pin of the Sooners’ Cody Brewer in a match-up of the #12 vs. #13 ranked wrestlers in the nation would also stand out. Countering a deep shot from his OU opponent, Arujau would lock up a tight cradle and in the blink of an eye, it was goodnight for Mr. Brewer.

Nahshon Garrett, Photo by BV

In a contest that pitted the #8 Big Red against the #9 Chippewas of Central Michigan, it would be Dake (a 14-2 major decision winner over Mike Ottinger), Bennett and freshman Nahshon Garrett taking care of business, with the latter getting Cornell off on the proper footing with a 6-3 decision over #12 Christian Cullinan. Additional key victories would come from the 141/149 duo of returning All-American Mike Nevinger (2-0 over Scott Mattingly) and Chris Villalonga (5-1 over Donnie Corby). As nice and pertinent as these wins might have been in ultimately propelling the EIWA powerhouse to the eventual 17-15 dual victory, the biggest performance might have come in a losing effort when Lane pushed the #3 ranked heavyweight, Jarod Trice, to the second tiebreaker before dropping a 2-1 decision. Because 285 has been a spot in recent times where the Big Red has struggled to find that hammer at the back-end to complement the rest of the lineup, this hard fought win has given Koll and his staff reason to feel optimistic about what the future may hold for them at heavyweight.

In their first dual of the day, the Cornell wrestlers would go 10-for-10, goose-egging the Dragons of Drexel (coached by former Cornell assistant, Matt Azevedo), 40-0.

Illini And Scarlet Knights Also Finish with the Perfecto
Joining the Big Red as the only other teams to avoid the bitter taste of defeat was the #6 ranked University of Illinois and Rutgers University. While neither program wrestled the same caliber of opposition as Cornell, there was no mistaking their dominance as the Illini outscored Binghamton, Princeton, and Maryland 117-16.  Head coach Scott Goodale’s Scarlet Knights were not far behind, tallying an 86-27 edge over a common opponent in the BU Bearcats, as well as fellow New York institutions, Columbia University and the United States Military Academy at West Point (Army).

Opening up the morning with a 46-0 drubbing of the Tigers, the tone was set for the kind of day it would be for the Big 10 conference member. Simply put, anything and everything that could go the way of the Illini did.  125 pound All-American Jesse Delgado would beat Maryland’s Shane Gentry, Daryl Thomas would get his hand raised over Geoff Alexander, BJ Futrell would pin Binghamton’s Joe Bonaldi, etc. As the day continued to progress, one had to wonder if an Illinois wrestler would ever lose a bout pitting nationally ranked competitors against one another. While Tony Dallago would eventually lose to Maryland’s Jimmy Sheptock, it would come only after Illinois posted the biggest individual win of the day when #6 Jordan Blanton avenged his loss from a few weeks ago at the NWCA All-Star Classic, beating #3 Josh Asper of the Terps 3-1 in a fight among the nation’s creme de la creme.

Stephen West, Photo by BV

Spearheading Rutgers to an undefeated record would be upperclassmen — #14 Scott Winston (157), #10 Greg Zannetti (174), and #13 Dan Rinaldi (184). Each tallying at least one victory over a fellow nationally ranked opponent, this trio would be among the seven Scarlet Knight wrestlers to go 3-0. Winning a pair of rather low scoring affairs, it would be the former two who really “did work” against EIWA rival Columbia, as they etched out 3-1 and 1-0 decisions over #11 Jake O’Hara and #13 Stephen West, respectively, en route to the team’s 30-6 victory.  Rinaldi, would earn his signature “w” one dual later when he doubled up Binghamton’s Cody Reed 4-2, one of eight wins for the Garden State school in yet another 30-6 final. In their swan song, the Scarlet Knights would have their closest dual on paper (26-15) against Army, but that would be slightly misleading as they forfeited the 149-pound weight class and inserted a backup at 165 pounds. Rinaldi’s 6-2 victory over Collin Wittmeyer constituted the most significant individual result. Senior Mario Mason, the once highly touted recruit out of Blair Academy, continued to struggle, dropping both of his matches to ranked opponents, 10-2 to the Bearcats’ Donnie Vinson (ranked as high as #1 in some polls; as low as #4 in others) and 4-3 to #10 Steve Santos from Columbia.  Santos remains undefeated this season.

Burning Down the House: Dual of the Day Goes to Maryland/Purdue
In a dual that may have gone overlooked by many because of its location on a far mat in the corner of the HVCC Athletic Center, unofficial honors for “Dual of the Day” unquestionably goes to the back-and-forth slugfest between Maryland and Purdue. A dual of mini streaks, each team would take a turn running off a series of consecutive wins, commencing with the Kerry McCoy-guided Terps jumping out to the early 6-0 lead behind the efforts of Shane Gentry and Geoff Alexander. Ranked towards the bottom of a few polls, each would enter their respective bouts as underdogs on paper. However, as a testament to the cliche about why matches are not wrestled on paper, the two lightweights would find a way to get the job done, as they peeled off back-to-back wins over the #19 and #8 wrestlers in the land, Camden Eppert and Cashe Quiroga by the respective scores of 5-4 and 9-3 to give their team the initial lead.

Unwilling to lie down and play dead, the Boilermakers would waste no time in striking back; and when they attacked, they bit hard, stringing together four straight wins from 141-165 (including two bonus point victories) to launch themselves to the 16-6 lead with only four matches remaining. Playing a prominent role in this rally would be Brandon Nelsen and Tommy Churchard, whose pin and major decision efforts at 141 and 157 would put the Indiana-based program in the driver’s seat.

But alas, you don’t win “Dual of the Day” honors on the strength of one lead change. Nope, with backs against the wall, it would be Maryland’s turn to go streaking, beginning with Asper’s 16-4 major decision against Purdue freshman Chad Welch. Sheptock posted a nearly identical score in his bout against Patrick Kissel, surrendering one extra point (16-5) to bring the ACC contender without a two point margin, 16-14. But again, I say to you, what fun would it be if Maryland simply just came back to win? Instead, drama would ensue when Braden Atwood channeled his inner Cael Sanderson, leading #10 Christian Boley, 11-0 in the third period. Knowing that a major decision would make it impossible for his team to win in regulation, Boley was keenly aware that he would need to get things done in the last two minutes. He responded to the pressure, darn near pulling a rabbit out of his hat when he locked up a tight cradle in the third period, causing the Terp loyalists to go crazy in the stands. While Boley would be unable to earn the fall (Maryland fans might disagree), the five point move would prove to be the difference between victory and defeat. By keeping the bout to a regular decision, the former stud from Brockport High School, would set the stage for what would come next. Needing a technical fall to force criteria or a pin for the win, Maryland big man, Carl Buchholz apparently did not get paid by the hour as he came out like a man on a mission, quickly putting his Purdue opponent on his back and sticking him 24 seconds into the first period to secure the 20-19 win.

#10 Sooners Defeat #11 Chippewas
Unlike the wild dual cited above, when the Mark Cody-coached University of Oklahoma made a move early into the dual against Central Michigan, there would be no looking back as the murderer’s row of Cody Brewer, #1 Kendric Maple, the Lester twins (#8 Nick @149; #12 Matt @157), and Bubby Graham, turned a 3-0 deficit at the onset of the match into a 21-3 advantage late in the dual. Igniting the spark with first period pins in consecutive matches would be Brewer (who did not face #3 Scotti Sentes as originally planned) and Maple, giving the Big 12 school the 12-3 lead. Because everything they do has to bare some resemblance, the Lesters would make it a family affair by etching out back-to-back wins in sudden victory, with Nick getting 4-2 decision over Corby and Matt breaking a 0-0 deadlock with a takedown against Lucas Smith. Adding that always appreciated extra insurance would be Graham who toppled Ottinger 4-1, making it perhaps the toughest day in the wrestling career of the CMU sophomore (lost early to top-ranked Dake).

Central Michigan would get within 10 pouts following a pair of major decisions out of Craig Kelliher and three-time All-American Ben Bennett, but any hopes of a come-from-behind victory would be dashed at 197 when Sooner Brad Johnson reversed his fortune a bit and went from being the goat (loss by fall to Jace Bennett in Cornell dual) to hero when he put the team win on ice with a 6-5 decision over Jackson Lewis. Big Daddy extraordinaire, Trice, would close out the dual with a 7-2 win over Hall in a losing effort for CMU.

Honoring Blatnick; Video Tribute Fitting For the Local Legend

Jeff Blatnick

In what was the most emotional and soul satisfying portion of the afternoon, tournament organizers would awe the crowd with a beautiful video tribute to Section II icon, Jeff Blatnick, who passed away on October 24th from complications following heart surgery. A cancer survivor who would go on to win the gold medal at the 1984 Olympic Games, Blatnick never strayed far from his roots as a Niskayuna graduate who got his start on the mat under the tutelage of iconic coach Joe Bena, and reached levels that most of us only dream of, belonging to an exclusive company of men who have won a state title, an NCAA title (for Springfield College), and the Olympic hardware. Only 55 when he passed, Blatnick was coaching at Burnt Hills High School at the time of his death. (For more tributes to Blatnick, see here).

Immediately following the glowing tribute which featured highlights from the gold medal match, as well as interviews/recollections from Bena and Dan Gable, donations were taken to assist the family. And, in the spirit of generosity in which Blatnick lived his life, when it came time to give back, those in attendance did so without hesitation, in some instances actually chasing down the individuals holding the donation cups to make sure they had the privilege of contributing to the cause. It was the most selfless act I have ever seen in my decade plus of going to and covering wrestling matches; it was befitting of Mr. Blatnick and would have made him proud the way he did for the us so many times prior.

Full results from yesterday’s action can be accessed by clicking here:

Results from the Northeast Duals for the Five NY Teams; Cornell Notches 3-0 Mark

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Five of the Division I teams from New York competed at the Northeast Duals on Saturday in Troy, NY.  Here are the summaries from the Cornell, Binghamton, Columbia, Army and Hofstra websites.  New York Wrestling News will publish a recap later this weekend.

Cornell Stays Undefeated With 3-0 Weekend

The No. 8 Cornell wrestling team notched three wins at the Journeymen Northeast Duals on Saturday. The Big Red opened the day with a 40-0 win over Drexel and followed with a 17-15 victory over No. 9 Central Michigan. Pins by Nick Arujau and Jace Bennett led the Big Red to its final win of the day, 25-13, over No. 12 Oklahoma.

Freshman No. 9 Nahshon Garrett went 3-0 for the day with a tech fall and a major decision. No. 1 ranked Kyle Dake was also 3-0 with a pin and a major decision. Bennett notched bonus points in all three of his wins with two major decisions to add to his fall.

The Big Red will travel to Sin City next weekend for the Las Vegas Invitational on Friday, Nov. 30 through Saturday, Dec. 1.

For the remainder of the summary from cornellbigred.com, click here.

Vinson and Schiedel 3-0 As Binghamton Drops Three Matches

Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

VESTAL, N.Y.—Binghamton wrestling dropped three matches at the 10th Annual Journeymen/ASICS Northeast Duals, held Saturday at the Edward F. McDonough Sports Complex at Hudson Valley Community College.

The Bearcats (0-5) lost to Army (16-15), RV Rutgers (30-9) and No. 6 Illinois (39-10).

Binghamton’s nationally-ranked senior duo of 149-pound Donnie Vinson and 197-pound Nate Schiedel each went 3-0 to highlight BU’s performance.

Vinson, 10-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation by Amateur Wrestling News, collected two major decisions and a decision. He opened with a narrow 1-0 win over 20th-ranked Daniel Young of Army. Vinson then posted a 10-2 major decision against Rutgers and finished his day with an 8-0 win against Illinois.

For the remainder of the summary from bubearcats.com, click here

Army Edges Binghamton on Criteria, Goes 1-2 at Northeast Duals

TROY, N.Y. – Freshman Bryce Barnes pinned his opponent at 197 pounds, but Rutgers won seven of the other nine bouts contested en route to a 26-15 victory over the Black Knights on Saturday at the Northeast Duals.

Rutgers (4-0) won the first three bouts to establish an 11-0 lead it would not relinquish. Army senior Daniel Young was awarded a win by forfeit in the 149-pound match, and Black Knight junior Paul Hancock posted a 6-3 verdict against Anthony Volpe at 165 pounds to pull Army (1-2) to within 14-9 with four bouts remaining.

RU won the next two matchups to extend its lead to 20-9, but Barnes pinned Hayden Hrymack in 1 minute, 32 seconds in the 197-pound match.  For the remainder of the Army summary and the summaries of the other Army duals, see goarmysports.com

Steve Santos Remains Unbeaten as Columbia Notches 1-2 Mark in Troy

TROY, N.Y. – The Columbia wrestling team took down Drexel, 26-9, but fell to No. 16 Maryland, 27-10, and Rutgers, 30-6, at the 2012 Journeyman Wrestling/ASICS Northeast Collegiate Duals in Troy, N.Y. Saturday. Steve Santos improved to 11-0 on the year at 149 pounds with a trio of victories.

For the remainder of the summary from gocolumbialions.com, click here.

Snyder Earns Three Wins for Hofstra in Troy, NY

The Hofstra wrestling team dropped four matches, including three to Top 25 ranked opponents, at the 10th Annual Journeymen/Asics Northeast Duals at Hudson Valley Community College on Saturday afternoon.

The Pride dropped decisions to Bloomsburg (24-10), #10 Oklahoma (36-6), #11 Central Michigan (24-9) and #23 Purdue (32-8).  Hofstra is now 0-6 in dual matches this season.

Senior Paul Snyder (Greensburg, PA), led the Pride with three victories in four matches including a win by forfeit in Hofstra’s finale against Purdue.  Snyder is 7-3 on the year.  For the remainder of the summary from gohofstra.com, see here.


Northeast Duals Preview – What to Watch for As Cornell, Hofstra, Columbia, Binghamton and Army Take the Mat

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Five of the six Division I New York teams will compete at the Northeast Duals on Saturday in Troy.  The following provides a preview for each team, including matches to keep an eye on during the event.

Cornell: vs Drexel, Central Michigan and Oklahoma

The Big Red opened with a convincing 30-7 victory over Binghamton without starters Nick Arujau, Chris Villalonga, Craig Eifert/Jesse Shanaman and Steve Bosak.   Arujau and Villalonga are expected back for what should be strong tests, especially from the Chippewas and the Sooners.  It will be the first time Drexel head coach Matt Azevedo faces Cornell, where he was an assistant before taking over the Dragons program.

Matches to Watch:

#9 Nahshon Garrett vs. Christian Cullinan/Joe Roth (Central Michigan) – Garrett entered the 125-pound rankings this week after getting off to a 10-0 start with titles at the Binghamton Open and the New York States.  After defeating #10 Steve Bonanno in his last match, he’ll face either Cullinan, who has a quality win over Sean Boyle of Michigan this season or #12 Roth, who was a mainstay in the national rankings last season.

#12 Nick Arujau vs. #2 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan) and #13 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) – After missing a weekend of action, Arujau won’t be able to ease his way back into the lineup as he has a pair of acclaimed foes to battle – an experienced multiple-time All-American in Sentes and a highly touted freshman in Brewer.

Mike Nevinger, Photo by BV

#9 Mike Nevinger vs. #1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) – The seventh and fourth place finishers at last year’s NCAA met in the second round in St. Louis with Maple coming away with the victory.  After a solid run last weekend at the New York States we’ll see what adjustments Nevinger has made for his second bout with the nation’s top ranked grappler.

Chris Villalonga vs. #8 Nick Lester (Oklahoma) – Villalonga won his first two bouts of the year before defaulting out of the Binghamton Open.   He will get his first major test of the campaign when he takes on the Oklahoma All-American who is stellar on top.

#1 Kyle Dake vs. #12 Joe Booth (Drexel), #18 Mike Ottinger (Central Michigan) and #7 Bubby Graham (Oklahoma) – Booth may not be in the lineup, but if he is Dake will be the only Big Red wrestler scheduled to meet three ranked opponents. With the Ithaca native in his last year of college competition, every one of his matches is “one to watch”, that is, if you like viewing one of the greats.

#2 Steve Bosak vs. #5 Ben Bennett would be a headliner, but it won’t take place with the 2012 184-pound NCAA champion unlikely to be back on the mat.  In Bosak’s place, freshman Craig Scott has been very effective.  How will he fare against the multi-time All-American Bennett?

Jace Bennett vs. #19 Brandon Palik (Drexel) – Bennett was totally dominant at the New York States last Saturday, with three pins and a major.  He’ll look to keep things going against a wrestler considered to be among the top 20 nationally.

 

Hofstra: vs. Bloomsburg, Oklahoma, Central Michigan and Purdue

Hofstra has already faced two top 25 teams in road duals and the Pride will match up against another three ranked teams – Oklahoma, Central Michigan and Purdue on Saturday as they look for their first victory of the season.  A talented Bloomsburg squad is also on the docket for this weekend.

Matches to Watch:

Steve Bonanno, Photo by BV

#10 Steve Bonanno vs. Christian Cullinan/Joe Roth and #19 Camden Eppert (Purdue) – Bonanno has faced a challenging early slate with Minnesota’s David Thorn and Cornell’s Garrett.  Cullinan/Roth and Eppert will provide additional tough battles.

#17 Jamie Franco vs #2 Scotti Sentes (Central Michigan), #13 Cody Brewer (Oklahoma) and #8 Cashe Quiroga (Purdue) – There’s no rest for Franco after taking third at the New York States.  He’ll have a great opportunity to wrestle some of the nation’s top competitors and move up higher in the top 20.  His fourth opponent, New York native Nick Wilcox of Bloomsburg, isn’t in the Intermat rankings, but is #20 according to Amateur Wrestling News.

#10 Luke Vaith vs. #1 Kendric Maple (Oklahoma) and Brandon Nelsen (Purdue) – Vaith has looked tough this season, defeating Nick Dardanes of Minnesota and losing squeakers to returning All-Americans Tyler Graff and Mike Nevinger.  He’ll get another medalist in the nation’s #1 141-pounder, Maple, and the solid Brandon Nelsen.

Justin Accordino hasn’t taken the mat yet this season but if he does, he’ll be welcomed back by #8 Nick Lester of the Sooners, #14 Ivan Lopouchanski of Purdue and Bloomsburg’s Josh Roosa.

Paul Snyder vs. #4 Jarod Trice (Central Michigan) and #17 Justin Grant (Bloomsburg) – Snyder won the New York State crown last weekend and will look to carry that momentum to Troy.  Grant recently cracked the top 20, while Trice is a top 5 heavyweight nationally.

 

Binghamton vs. Army, Rutgers and Illinois 

Binghamton opened the campaign with duals against EIWA squads Lehigh and Cornell.  The Bearcats are looking to earn first-year head coach Matt Dernlan’s initial victory when they take on two other EIWA foes –  Rutgers and Army – as well as the Big 10’s Illinois.

Matches to Watch:

Joe Bonaldi vs. #3 BJ Futrell (Illinois) and Trevor Melde (Rutgers) – Bonaldi broke into the rankings during the Binghamton Open when he topped a number of heralded wrestlers on his way to first place.  It is unclear whether he will take the mat after sitting out last week with an injury, but if he does, he will face tough tests in All-American Futrell and Melde.

#4 Donnie Vinson vs. #20 Daniel Young (Army) and Mario Mason (Rutgers) – Young made some noise early in the campaign when he defeated returning NCAA fourth place finisher Cam Tessari of Ohio State.  Vinson looked on last weekend as Young took second at the New York States.  This week, the Bearcat 149-pounder will have his chance against the Army wrestler and against the talented Scarlet Knight Mason.

Cody Reed vs. Collin Wittmeyer (Army), #13 Dan Rinaldi (Rutgers) and #11 Tony Dallago (Illinois) – There will be an air of familiarity in Reed’s first bout, as he’ll take on Wittmeyer.  The two wrestled for third place at the New York States last weekend, with the Army grappler taking the bronze. They’ll compete again in Round 1 before Reed faces top 15 competitors Rinaldi and Dallago.

#7 Nate Schiedel vs. #6 Mario Gonzalez (Illinois) – Schiedel’s transition to 197 pounds has been smooth so far, as he sports a 6-0 mark with a victory over All-American Micah Burak of Penn.  This should be another good one between two strong podium contenders for 2012-13.

 

Army vs. Purdue, Binghamton and Rutgers

The Black Knights have been busy in the early season with the Buffalo Invitational, Brockport/Oklahoma Gold and the New York States, but they will participate in their first duals this weekend against Purdue, Binghamton and Rutgers.

Matches to Watch:

Injuries have left some interesting matches in doubt.  Jordan Thome, who won a pair of bouts at the NCAA tournament last year, could get a shot at former All-American Cashe Quiroga of Purdue.  However, Thome defaulted out of the New York States due to injury and goarmysports.com doesn’t list him as the starter.

As discussed above, Joe Bonaldi missed last weekend’s action for Binghamton, but if he returns to the mat, he’ll have a meeting with Connor Hanafee, who has placed fourth and fifth at the Oklahoma Gold and New York States, respectively.  Hanafee will be busy with tough matches as he’s also set to face Brandon Nelsen of Purdue and Trevor Melde of Rutgers.

The match between #20 Daniel Young and #4 Donnie Vinson was discussed above, but Young will get another challenge from a ranked grappler – #14 Ivan Lopouchanski of Purdue.  Also already mentioned in the Binghamton section was the match between Collin Wittmeyer and Cody Reed.  In addition to Reed, Wittmeyer should see Scarlet Knight Dan Rinaldi, currently 13th nationally.

If Coleman Gracey makes his debut at 174 pounds, he’ll take on Greg Zannetti of Rutgers, currently #11 according to Intermat.

Freshman Bryce Barnes has already faced top 10 foes in his rookie campaign – dropping close decisions to Ohio State’s Andrew Campolattano and Maryland’s Christian Boley. He’ll see how he measures up against #7 Schiedel and Purdue’s NCAA qualifier Braden Atwood, currently ranked 18th.

 

Columbia vs. Maryland, Rutgers and Drexel

The Lions had strong performances at the MSU Open and the New York States, with a trio of wrestlers – Steve Santos, Jake O’Hara and Stephen West earning titles at both events.  They’ll seek to keep their undefeated streaks going against some solid competition.

Matches to Watch:

#15 Steve Santos vs. Mario Mason (Rutgers) Mason isn’t in the current rankings but has been in the top 5 in the past and was one of the nation’s top recruits when he was at Blair Academy.  Santos handed Mason a loss a few years ago and will look to do so again.

Jake O'Hara, Photo by BV

#13 Jake O’Hara vs. #9 Scott Winston (Rutgers) – O’Hara is unbeaten in his eight bouts.  In comes Winston, who has risen to ninth in the country.  Who will keep their undefeated run alive?

#18 Stephen West vs. #11 Greg Zannetti (Rutgers) and #3 Josh Asper (Maryland) – West is 9-0. A good weekend against two highly touted wrestlers will certainly move him up further in the national picture.

Nick Mills vs. #10 Christian Boley (Maryland) and #19 Brandon Palik (Drexel) – Mills earned silver at the New York States and will look to continue his improved wrestling against two experienced and ranked foes.

 

***Individual rankings from Intermat