Tag Archives: Kyle Dake

Weekend Watch: "Battle at the Beach" Goes on Despite Severe Hurricane Damage, Plus Andersen Tournament and the Cliff Keen Invite in Vegas

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While the first tournament of the season is always something to look forward to, it’s a little more special for some of those headed to the Lynbrook High School this weekend.

“The start of competition is exciting every year,” said Long Beach head coach Ray Adams. “But this year, it’s definitely a little more exciting than usual.”

That has a lot to do with Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath, as Long Beach was one of the many communities devastated by the storm.

“Every kid was impacted in one way or another,” Adams said. “We had kids whose homes were destroyed, who lost cars, clothes, heat and so much more.  Families were displaced.  Not a good situation at all.”

Long Beach High School also suffered significant damage to the gym, wrestling room, team uniforms and much more.

It was unclear whether the ninth annual Long Beach “Battle at the Beach” would be held.

“We knew we couldn’t have it at our school,” Adams said. “But we really still wanted to keep the tournament going to start off the season.  We knew a lot of teams would be looking forward to coming.  We are thankful to Lynbrook coach Richie Renz and Athletic Director Tom Graham who have done so much.  They stepped up and offered to run it there.”

While the tournament will be in a new location, it will still have the same tough competition.  In addition to Long Beach and Lynbrook, a number of Long Island squads will be in attendance, including one of the state’s best teams – Wantagh.  They will be joined by East Meadow, Clarke, South Side, Syosset and Hewlett. Representatives from the PSAL will also make the trip, including Eagle Academy, Wingate and a PSAL All-Star team as well as the CHSAA’s Kellenberg.

The full entry list hadn’t been submitted at the time of the interview, but Adams pointed to the 113-pound class as one that would feature many accomplished wrestlers.  Adams mentioned the possibilty of Long Beach’s Steven Sewkumar, Wantagh’s Kyle Quinn and Syosset’s Nick Rondino competing in that bracket, among others.

“Practice has been really good for the kids after everything that happened,” Adams said.  “It helped get everyone back with their friends and into a normal routine again. We’ve been traveling about 20 minutes to Calhoun every day to practice and everyone is working really hard.  We’ve been trying to make the best out of the situation.  We can’t wait to get the season started.”

In addition to the Battle at the Beach, there are a large number of high quality high school tournaments taking place this weekend as wrestling season kicks into high gear, including one not too far away at MacArthur which will include teams from Sections 1, 8, 9, the CHSAA and PSAL.

In fact, there are too many events to mention.  However, one to keep an eye on is the Andersen Tournament at Cicero North Syracuse High in Section 3, featuring not only several strong programs in that Section, such as the host school, Canastota, Fulton and South Jefferson, (among many others), but also squads from Section 2 (Amsterdam), 4 (Chenango Forks, Greene, Windsor, Elmira), 5 (Canandaigua, Rush-Henrietta) and 10 (Massena, Canton-Potsdam).

Zack Zupan, Photo by BV

Among the many storylines will be tournament debut of defending state champions Kyle Kelly and Zack Zupan at new weight classes and the start of a new era at Fulton under Chris Stalker after the departure of longtime coach Mike Connors.  In addition, fans will have a chance to watch Christian Dietrich of Greene, who accomplished a rare feat when he was All-State as a seventh grader in the middleweights (152 pounds).  After missing a full year due to injury, Dietrich made a successful return this week up at 195 pounds, with a pin against Dryden in just over a minute.

College Action

On the college scene, the biggest tournament of the weekend takes place in Nevada.  Two of the Empire State’s squads, Cornell and Army, will participate in the 32-team Cliff Keen Invitational, which features close to 70 ranked wrestlers this year.

Kyle Dake was the champion in Vegas a year ago at 157 and will look to repeat at 165.  In the 2011 version of the competition, the Big Red also had finalists at 125 (Frank Perrelli) and 184 (Steve Bosak).

Cornell’s new starting 125 pounder, Nahshon Garrett, is off to a 13-0 start in his freshman campaign and will look to go deep into the tournament in a class featuring six of the nation’s top 20.  With Bosak not ready to return to the lineup yet, former Palmyra Macedon star Craig Scott will look to keep the Big Red on the podium at 184 and improve upon his 10-2 rookie record.

Both Mike Nevinger and Chris Villalonga have placed at this event in the past and will aim to do so again, at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively.  The Big Red captured the tournament title in 2010.

Army will take part in the Cliff Keen for the second consecutive year.  The Black Knights will be led by nationally-ranked 149 pounder Daniel Young and 184 pounder Collin Wittmeyer, who has compiled a 10-5 record to date.  In his rookie campaign, Bryce Barnes has picked up nine wins at 197 pounds, matching the victory total of 165 pounder Paul Hancock.

In other Division I action, both Hofstra and Binghamton will be looking for their first ‘W” of the season when the Pride take on Penn, Lehigh and Drexel and Binghamton faces Oklahoma.  Meanwhile, Buffalo will participate in the Nittany Lion Open in Pennsylvania.

 

To report results of weekend events, please contact: newyorkwrestlingnews@gmail.com

 

Cornell Wrestle-Off Results and Link to Watch Replay

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UPDATE: To watch the replay of the Cornell wrestle-offs, follow this link:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/26857579

Results:

125- Nahshon Garrett (W) maj. dec. vs. Logan David (R), 16-2
133- Nick Arujau (R) dec. Josh Kennedy (W), 8-1
141- Joe Stanzione (R) dec. Mike Nevinger (W), 9-2
149- Chris Villalonga (R) dec. Ryan Dunphy (W), 3-2 OT
157- Jesse Shanaman (W) inj. Def. Craig Eifert (R)
165- Kyle Dake (R) win by fall Patrick Sullivan (W), 1:18
174- Marshall Peppelman (W) dec. Duke Pickett (R), 2-1
184- Craig Scott (R) dec. Pete Mesko (W), 9-4
197- Jace Bennett(R) dec. Billy George (W), 7-4
285- Jacob Aiken-Phillips (W) dec. Stryker Lane (R), 1-0

Photo by Bori

 

Results of Preliminary Wrestle-Off Bouts

125: Nahshon Garrett over Logan David, 13-0

141: Joe Stanzione over Connor David, 7-3

149: Ryan Dunphy over Scott Bosak, 6-0

157: Jesse Shanaman over Chris Dowdy, 9-2

165: Patrick Sullivan over Casey O’Malley, 7-4

174: Duke Pickett over Michael Alexander, 5-2

174: Marshall Peppelman over Matt Cunningham, 5-2

197: Jace Bennett over Lukasz Stala, 5-3

The Big Red returns to action on Sunday at the Binghamton Open.

Watch Cornell Wrestle-Offs LIVE on Friday Night at 6:30 p.m.

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Photos by Boris V

On Friday, November 9, Cornell will hold the Red and White Eliminations at 6:30 p.m.

If you can’t be in Ithaca, you can watch the wrestle-offs streaming live at this link:

http://newyorkwrestlingnews.com/cornell-red-and-white-eliminations/

The lineup will be finalized later in the week, but the tentative matchups provided by the Cornell staff are:

125: Nahshon Garrett vs. Bricker Dixon

133: Nick Arujau vs. Josh Kennedy

141: Mike Nevinger vs. Joe Stanzione

149: Chris Villalonga vs. Ryan Dunphy

157: Craig Eifert vs. Jesse Shanaman

165: Kyle Dake vs. Patrick Sullivan

174: Duke Pickett vs. Marshall Peppelman

184: Craig Scott vs. Peter Mesko

197: Jace Bennett vs. Billy George

285: Stryker Lane vs. Jacob Aiken-Phillips

Results of Preliminary Wrestle-Off Bouts

125: Nahshon Garrett over Logan David, 13-0

141: Joe Stanzione over Connor David, 7-3

149: Ryan Dunphy over Scott Bosak, 6-0

157: Jesse Shanaman over Chris Dowdy, 9-2

165: Patrick Sullivan over Casey O’Malley, 7-4

174: Duke Pickett over Michael Alexander, 5-2

174: Marshall Peppelman over Matt Cunningham, 5-2

197: Jace Bennett over Lukasz Stala, 5-3

Results from the First Weekend of the Season: Buffalo and Ithaca Invitationals, NUWAY Southwest Kickoff and More

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Things got off to a good start for New York wrestling on Saturday night when Cornell’s Kyle Dake earned a 2-1 victory over Penn State’s David Taylor at the NWCA All-Star Classic at American University.  In the “Match of the Century”, the wrestlers traded a pair of escapes in regulation to send the contest to overtime.  After a scoreless minute in neutral, Dake rode Taylor for the full 30 seconds of the first rideout period and then escaped when it was his turn on bottom to get the win at 165 pounds.

That was just the start of the weekend, however, for New York wrestling.  The following provides some of the results from action on Saturday and Sunday, including the Buffalo Invitational which saw some strong performances from the host school, Army and the Finger Lakes Wrestling Club.  In addition, several New York natives placed at the Hokie Open on the campus of Virginia Tech as well as at the Ithaca Invitational.  And we didn’t forget about the young wrestlers who went to Vegas to compete at the NUWAY Southwest Kickoff Classic, representing New York and NYWAY.

 

Buffalo Invitational

Championship Results

125 Pounds: Max Soria (Buffalo) over Kory Mines (Edinboro), 8-3

133 Pounds: Logan Stieber (Ohio State) win by forfeit Johnni DiJulius (Ohio State)

141 Pounds: Hunter Stieber (Ohio State) over Ian Paddock (Ohio State), 3-2

 

149 Pounds: Michael DePalma (Edinboro) over David Habat (Edinboro), Fall 4:12

157 Pounds: Josh Demas (Ohio State) over Ian Miller (Kent State), 5-3

165 Pounds: Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) over John Greisheimer (Edinboro), 6-3

174 Pounds: Nick Heflin (Ohio State) over Jake Waste (Buffalo), 4-1

184 Pounds: Casey Newburg (Kent State) over Victor Avery (Edinboro), 4-2 SV2

197 Pounds: Dustin Kilgore (Kent State) win by forfeit Cody Magrum (Ohio State)

285 Pounds: Peter Capone (Ohio State) over Keith Witt (Kent State), 2-0

Other New York Placers

Buffalo

Mike Soria, fourth at 125

Erik Galloway, third at 133

Andrew Schutt, sixth at 141

John Northrup, fourth at 149

Blake Ruolo, fifth at 149

Justin Lozano, third at 165

Jeff Palmeri, fourth at 174

Angelo Malvestuto, fifth at 197

Justin Heiserman, fifth at 285

Army

Hunter Wood, sixth at 125

Jordan Thome, fourth at 133

Daniel Young, sixth at 149

Chris Marchetti, fourth at 157

Paul Hancock, fifth at 157

Collin Wittmeyer, third at 184

Travis Mallo, sixth at 184

Bryce Barnes, fourth at 197

Stephen Snyder, fourth at 285

Finger Lakes Wrestling Club

Brian Realbuto, third at 157

Mark Grey, fifth at 133

Other – Ernest James (Edinboro, Longwood HS), sixth at 285

 

Ohio State won the team race (148 points), with Kent State second (111) and Buffalo third (108).

Full brackets can be found: here

 

Hokie Open (at Virginia Tech)

Quinton Murphy, Photo by Boris V

A number of Hofstra wrestlers as well as wrestlers who competed in the Empire State in high school took the mat at the Hokie Open in Virginia on Sunday.  Those who made the medal stand include Nick Gwiazdowski (Duanesburg) of NC State, who won the championship at 285 pounds with a pin over Indiana’s Adam Chalfant.  Also making the finals was Indiana’s Ryan LeBlanc (Morrisville-Eaton), who took second at 165 pounds behind All-American Peter Yates of Virginia Tech.  LeBlanc’s Hoosier teammate Quinton Murphy (Holley) also made the podium, taking fifth at 133 pounds.

 

Ithaca Invitational – Championship Results

125 Pounds: Ricardo Gomez (Ithaca, Brentwood HS) over Tom Casper (Springfield College)

133 Pounds: Alex Gomez (Ithaca, Brentwood HS) over Derek Adams (Springfield College)

141 Pounds: Michael Gentilcore (Oswego, Greece Olympia HS) over Abubakarr Sow (Oswego, Brooklyn International HS)

149 Pounds: Kevin Collins (Ithaca, Randolph HS) over Dylan Foley (Springfield College)

157 Pounds: Derek Brenon (Ithaca, Immaculate Heart Central HS) over Everet Desilets (Johnson & Wales)

165 Pounds: Frank Marotti (Johnson and Wales) over Blake Fisher (Oswego, Seaford HS)

174 Pounds: Jules Doliscar (Ithaca, Trinity HS) over Jerrold Roosa (Thiel College, Randolph Central HS)

184 Pounds: Jacob Lowry (Thiel College) over Michael Labell (Johnson and Wales)

197 Pounds: Shane Bartrum (Ithaca, Oswego HS) over Blake McNulty (Johnson and Wales)

285 Pounds: Humphrey Swift (Johnson and Wales) over John Garbordi (Springfield College)

 

NUWAY Southwest Kickoff (“The Freak Show”)

A group of elementary school wrestlers took a trip to Vegas for the NUWAY Southwest Kickoff.  Team New York competed well against top talent from the West Coast, boasting three finalists and a number of other strong performances.

Champion: Carter Schubert (7/8 year old) 55 pounds

Second Place: Carson Alberti (7/8 year old) 55 pounds

Second Place: Michael Gonyea (11/12 year old) 70 pounds

Fourth Place: Andy Lucinski (9/10) 61 pounds

Fifth Place: Jason Hoffman (13/15) 145 pounds

Eighth Place: Justin Hoffman (9/10) 100-110 pounds

Also competing:

Jakob Lucinski (5/6) 37-40 pounds

Garrett Skeens (7/8) 52 pounds

Josh Gill (11/12) 70 pounds

Caiden Mondore (11/12) 80 pounds

AJ Burkhart (13/15) 89 pounds

Mitch Seaver (13/15) 89 pounds

(More results may be added as available.  Feel free to send results to newyorkwrestlingnews@gmail.com)

"Olympic Level Good": Friends Remember Jeff Blatnick

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National Wrestling Hall of Fame member and Olympic Gold Medalist Jeff Blatnick’s passing was a shock to the wrestling community.  It’s a story that has been covered by both the wrestling and mainstream media as many have articulated his numerous and signficant accomplishments both on and off the mat.

For some additional perspectives, New York Wrestling News asked a few people who knew Jeff Blatnick to provide reflections on the impact he had on their lives.  We’ll let them tell more of the story of Jeff Blatnick.

 

Kyle Dake, Three-time NCAA Champion at Cornell

“When I first met Coach Blatnick, I found out pretty quickly that he was one of the friendliest and most incredible people to be around.  What I really remember is how he was full of wisdom.  I always took to heart what he said, whether it was about wrestling or life in general because it was always wise.

He called me “The Ferret” because when we first met I was a 98-pound freshman who was all over the place with so much energy.  As I got bigger, he tried to think of another nickname, but Ferret stuck.  The years I wrestled at Fargo, Coach Blatnick was there.  He was my second coach with Scott Green.  I always had complete trust in him.  I always felt good when he was in my corner because he was a commanding presence who was so knowledgeable about the sport.

After my freshman year in college I went to Fargo to be a team coach and I got to spend time with him. Not as a wrestler and a coach, but as a friend. We had some great conversations about wrestling and life and it was a really special time that I’ll never forget. We had a relationship where we were really strongly connected even though we didn’t see each other that much. I’m still in disbelief that he’s gone.  I appreciated him and looked up to him so much as a person.”

 

Nick Gwiazdowski, NCAA All-American (now at North Carolina State)

“In eighth grade when I started Freestyle and Greco, Jeff Blatnick started coaching me.  The thing he helped me with the most was my approach to wrestling.  Wrestling is such an exciting sport and it’s easy to get really pumped up and have a lot of emotion.  He taught me how to bring the emotion down, visualize and relax and get prepared for matches.  He simplified things for me and a lot of the little things he taught me, I still do in my matches today.

More important, he was someone I liked being around.  You could travel to a tournament with him and never talk about wrestling.  He was someone you could always talk to about anything and he would be there for you.  People would introduce him as an Olympic champion, but he would never introduce himself like that.  He was so humble.  He never really mentioned the things he accomplished.  It was all about helping you get better at wrestling or helping you in some other way.  He will be missed by a lot of people.  It will be very different without him.”

 

Alexis Porter, Two-Time Freestyle National Champion

“I remember when I first met him, at a small peewee tournament.  I hadn’t been wrestling for more than a few months.  He saw something in me that day that not a lot of people had seen and he became my coach.  I knew he was a legend who was courageous and inspirational but he didn’t focus on his own story.  He was focused on making everyone in our club the best wrestler they could be and help them achieve the biggest goals possible.

My first year at Fargo, I lost in the consolation finals.  I was upset and angry. He told me I had nothing to be ashamed of and that next year I would be on top of the podium.  He said I had bigger things to look forward to.  Sure enough, the next year, he was in my corner when I won my first national title.  He was one of the best wrestlers and coaches I’ve seen and an even better man.  I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to know him and to call him my coach.”

 

Craig Vitagliano, Team New York Freestyle Coach (Ascend Wrestling)

“I knew about Jeff Blatnick growing up.  He was one of the first wrestlers I saw on the Olympic level and I remember sitting and watching the gold medal match.  I’d heard about all the adversity he had to overcome and the way he focused and won the Olympic gold was inspiring for me. It was an amazing moment in Olympic history.

Fast forward to the past couple of years when I got to know Jeff on the Freestyle circuit.  Our club battled Journeymen a number of times and he was always respectful, friendly and approachable.  There was no arrogance despite all he accomplished.  He was also light hearted with a great sense of humor.  He was behind a big joke played on me at Fargo this year when I was told that I failed my bronze certification test and was going to be removed from the event.  Jeff was the leader of it and had me going for about 20 minutes.  He was a great man and a great ambassador and it’s a huge loss.”

 

Dylan Palacio, High School National Champion and Cornell Recruit

“Even when I was unsuccessful, [Blatnick] believed in me.  He saw some potential and kept pushing me to achieve what he thought I was capable of.  It’s really rare to find someone so genuine, who just wants you to be better and achieve great things.  He truly cared about the sport and the people in it. My biggest regret is that I never told him how much of an impact he had on me. I really want to do things now to make sure he looks down and says, ‘I was right about that kid.’ I could go on for days about all the things he’s accomplished but what really sticks with me is how sincere he was about wanting to see kids succeed.”

 

Mike Kelley, Journeymen Wrestling

“He always went out of his way to help the kids.  There was a tournament in Connecticut that was over two hours away and bunch of kids were supposed to go.  Then kids started dropping out and only two were left.  A lot of coaches would have decided not to go with only two kids.  But he insisted on going. That’s the kind of guy he was.  If he said he was going to do something, he did it. He always took the time.

Last year at Freestyle states, Nick [Kelley, Mike’s son and Fargo All-American] had an injury to his mouth and it got hit again and was pretty bad.  [Blatnick] went around the place asking everyone if they had a facemask for Nick to use.  He didn’t stop until he found one.  He looked out for everyone.  It wasn’t just successful wrestlers.  It didn’t matter who it was.  If it was first-year kids making all kinds of mistakes, he went out of his way to spend time with them.  He went the extra mile.

He was a great coach. He had a calming effect.  Nick said no matter how loud it was, he could always hear [Blatnick] and his instructions even though he didn’t scream.  There was just something about him.  He was a great guy that will be missed.”

 

Frank Popolizio

“Jeff was an enormous part of our organization at Journeymen Wrestling and the wrestling community as a whole.  Above all, Jeff was a gentleman and an ambassador.  A lot of people look at him as a wrestling guy, but he was a lot more than that. He was a major ambassador for the disabled.  He played a big role in the Special Olympics.  He was involved in cancer-related causes.  It seemed like he was always at fundraising events for cancer and helping to raise awareness.

He was a tremendous worker on top of it all.  He spent a lot of time in the wrestling room trying to help the kids.  He was in charge of our Freestyle program.  Freestyle ends in July and so did his obligations and responsibilities to being there for the kids.  But he’d be there in August and September and October.  I’d tell him he didn’t have to be there, but he wanted to be.  That’s the kind of guy he was.  He cared tremendously about the kids and they really responded to him.

The angle that’s not being covered is an ability that Jeff had as maybe the best, most effective wrestling diplomat.  He was in charge of things that were very political, including the head of USA Wrestling New York.  It’s a difficult position working with many different groups and personalities, but he was able to navigate through it with ease.  I don’t think it was easy, but he made it look easy.  He was really good at it – Olympic level good.  We were all better off for the work he did.

We lost a giant of a guy figuratively and literally.  It’s an enormous void on so many levels and I’m not sure you can ever truly fill it.”

———————————————————————————————————————————————-

We’ll end with an inspiring video of Jeff Blatnick at the 1984 Olympic Games, winning his gold medal and reacting afterwards.  Popolizio said watching it gave him goose bumps and it did the same for us.  RIP, Jeff Blatnick, you will be missed.

Cornell's Kyle Dake Talks About His Olympic Experience and Wanting a Gold Medal of His Own

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Kyle Dake, Photo by Boris V

Cornell senior Kyle Dake spent a portion of his summer with the United States Olympic Wrestling team.  This included training in Colorado Springs, traveling to Belarus for the pre-Olympic camp and then going to London for the latter stages of the Games.  He briefly talked to New York Wrestling News about the experience.

What was it like to be in London during the Olympics?

Kyle Dake: It was a really great experience.  Honestly, we were mostly training and trying to get the guys as ready as possible for the Olympics, so I didn’t get to spend that much time outside of wrestling.  I got to take a tour in London one day and saw some great things like the Tower of London.

Did you get to attend any events while you were there?

Kyle Dake: I watched all the freestyle and one day of Greco, which got me super motivated.  But I didn’t get a chance to go to any other events in person. We were busy and tickets were pretty expensive.  But there were 30 screens set up at the USA House, where Olympians or past Olympians socialized and watched the events.  I was in London but I basically saw a lot of the Olympics on TV.

Did you meet any celebrities or Olympians at the USA House?

Kyle Dake: I saw some of the female rowers, soccer players and the silver medal beach volleyball team [Jennifer Kessy and April Ross].  I saw Evander Holyfield and got to see his ear, which still looks deformed.  And it was pretty cool to meet the great soccer player Mia Hamm.

Who did you spend most of your time working with in Belarus and London?

Kyle Dake: I was training with [84 kg Olympian] Jake Herbert.  [National freestyle coach] Zeke Jones usually takes an extra person at each weight class as an alternate, just in case.  Jordan Burroughs took Raymond Jordan as his training partner.  [Raymond Jordan] was third at 84 kg at the Olympic Trials, so he was the alternate at 84.  They needed a partner for Jake who could also be an alternate at 74. They chose me.  I had trained with Jake before – at the camps in Colorado and also a little before that.  It was a good experience to work with him.  He has a lot of freestyle experience and I got to see how the bigger guys move.  Jake wrestled well in the tournament.  He had some interesting calls in his matches.

After training with Herbert, do you expect to stay at 74 kg for the next Olympic cycle?  Are you finished with Greco or would you consider that sometime in the future?

Kyle Dake: We’ll see what happens, but right now 74 kg is my weight class.  I’m done with Greco.

What do you think the freestyle training this summer has done for you as you get ready to go for your 4th NCAA title?

Kyle Dake: I think it helped a lot.  It gave me confidence that I could wrestle with the best guys in the world.  Knowing I could hang with Olympians and gold medalists makes me feel really good going into the college season.  My focus is on my fourth NCAA title now and doing whatever I can to help my team win a title too.

What will you remember most about the Olympic experience?

Kyle Dake: It was a huge motivator.  I got really inspired and motivated to get better after watching those guys, especially watching the guys win the gold medals.  I know now how badly I want a gold medal of my own.  After my college career is over, I’ll be shooting for gold.

Rob Koll's Cornell Season Preview and 2012-13 Big Red Schedule

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By Rob Koll

Photos by Boris Veysman

Last year we enjoyed a great season, even with the addition of five new starters. This year, due to graduation and growth, we will have a fresh look at the 125, 174, 197 and 285 weight classes. We are fortunate to have a great incoming class as well as a room stocked full of returning talent. The following is a weight-by-weight breakdown of what you can expect to see on the mats this year.

125 POUNDS: Two wrestlers will compete for the starting spot at this weight class. Sophomore Bricker Dixon was 13-5 last year, placing at the Southern Scuffle and winning the NY State Intercollegiate and National Collegiate Open championships. Bricker was a four-time Missouri state finalist in high school.  Bricker’s competition will come from freshman Nahshon Garrett, who was a two-time California state champion and a NHSCA Senior National champion as well.

These two are incredibly tough and talented young men. It will be difficult to replace All-American Frank Perrelli, but I believe either one of these two have the ability to pick up immediately where Frank left off. Whoever ultimately represents the Big Red in the postseason will be vying for All-America honors.

Others to watch: Logan Connor (Fr)

133 POUNDS: After transferring into Cornell in January, junior Nick Arujau won one match at the NCAA tournament before being eliminated. Last year he was undersized and did not compete favorably against the very best. Nick has worked incredibly hard over the summer and he looks like a completely new and improved version of himself. He has built himself into a very good-looking 133-pound wrestler and size will not be an issue this year.

Others to watch: Josh Kennedy (Jr)

Mike Nevinger, Photo by Boris Veysman

141 POUNDS: There is little doubt that Mike Nevinger made the biggest improvements on the team last year. He went from second/third string to 7th in the country at NCAAs.  I am pleased to say that he continues to improve and he will be even more dominant this year. Joe Stanzione enters his senior campaign after an outstanding 23-9 record last season. Nik Pena is taking the year off.

Others to watch: Joe Rendina (Fr) and Connor David

149 POUNDS: Chris Villalonga was 24-12 last season. Although this would be great for most freshmen, we expect even more from Chris this year.

Others to watch: Ryan Dunphy (Jr), Scott Bosak (Fr) Aaron Benedict (Fr) and Andrew Gonzalez (So)

157 POUNDS: Senior Kyle Dake is 100-4 with three NCAA titles. He has much to work on before he scores on me in the room, but he has not gotten frustrated. I’m proud to say he is working hard. His goal is to beat Coach Spates in a match and to score on me before he graduates. Personally I believe the last wish on his graduation bucket list is unrealistic but I gotta let the “Kid” dream.

Sophomore Evan Knight hopes to return to the mats after missing all of last season due to injuries. We hope Evan can safely return, but we expect to bring him back slowly.

Others to watch: Chris Dowdy (Fr)

165 POUNDS: Sophomore Marshall Peppelman gained invaluable experience in racking up a 28-17 first-year record. Last year he qualified for the NCAA tournament, where he won one match. This year we expect for him to compete for All-America honors.

This weight will be one of our most hotly contested. Junior Craig Eifert has amassed a 36-17 mark over the past two seasons wrestling from 149-165 pounds. More impressive is the fact that Craig’s record includes victories over numerous All-Americans. Sophomore Jesse Shanaman returns to the mats after recovering from last year’s season-ending knee surgery.

Others to watch: Cody Hutcheson (Sr) Casey O’Malley (Fr)

174 POUNDS: Sophomore Billy George has eaten and trained himself out of this weight class and will compete for the starting spot at 197. In his place we have a host of incoming freshmen as well as returning talent. Junior Michael Alexander is back after posting a 9-11 record. Sophomore Matthew Cunningham returns after suffering through an injury-plagued freshman campaign. Freshmen Duke Pickett and Owen Scott will undoubtedly make their presence known.

Others to watch: Patrick Sullivan (Jr)

Steve Bosak, Photo by Boris Veysman

184 POUNDS: Senior Steve Bosak will be expected to lead our team as he returns to defend his NCAA title. Senior Peter Mesko will provide us with a solid back-up if and when Bosak needs a break.

197 POUNDS: On paper this weight would appear to be one of our “holes”.  The reality is not only will this not be a hole, but we will be more than competitive at 197.  Four very capable wrestlers are lining up to replace NCAA champion Cam Simaz.

Sophomore Jace Bennett had a 16-7 record last year and will only improve now that he has a legitimate chance of breaking into the lineup. Billy George, last year’s starter at 174, is a full sized 197-pound wrestler. Billy had a roller coaster freshman campaign but still amassed an impressive 18-13 record. Senior Lukasz Stala enters his senior year after compiling a career 26-23 mark. Freshman Craig Scott, a two-time New York state champion, should also figure prominently into the fray.

285 POUNDS: This is the only weight class where Cornell has never had an All-American. I would like to blame Damion Hahn for this but since he has not been coaching at Cornell for 100 years, sadly I cannot pass the buck onto him! We are placing our hopes of breaking this streak on junior Stryker Lane, senior Oney Snyder or freshman Jacob Aiken Phillips.

Stryker placed 5th at the EIWAs two years ago and last season finished with a 19-11 record, which included 10 falls. Oney only needs one more semester to graduate so he will not be competing until the second part of the year.  Jacob Aiken Phillips, from this point forward referred to as JAP, suffered an early season injury, which forced him to miss the majority of the season. JAP is a former Georgia state champion who has good speed and size.  We are excited to finally get an opportunity to see him compete.

Exciting Changes Made to the Schedule

I am typically fairly conservative in how I schedule, but this year I’ve decided to mix things up a little. We finally have the depth to handle a much more grueling dual meet slate, and the schedule reflects this situation. In the past, if we lost one or two wrestlers we were sunk in a dual. As a result, I tended to push a tournament-laden schedule. The New York Coaches Association also agreed that every team would attend the New York State Intercollegiates this year, if the event was moved to the first semester.  I was willing to do this on the condition that we were the permanent host site. As a result, we have dropped the Body Bar from our schedule.

Because we do not have as many tournaments to help us pick our starting lineup, we have added a Red/White wrestle off on November 9. This will help us choose the team for our opening night Binghamton dual. In addition to this change we will be competing against Oklahoma, Central Michigan and Drexel at the Journeyman Duals on November 24 and against Missouri and Oklahoma State at Madison Square Garden on December 16.  We also added home contests against Oregon State on January 27 and Bucknell on February 10.

I believe this is an ambitious schedule but we have the type of team that needs to be challenged and this schedule will do just that.

2012-2013 Schedule (Home Events in Bold)

Date

Event

Time
November 9 Red vs. White 6 p.m.
November 16 Binghamton 6:30 p.m.
November 17 NY State Intercollegiate Varsity All Day
November 18 NY State Intercollegiate JV All Day
November 24 Journeymen Duals (Albany, NY) 9:30 vs. Drexel; 1:30 vs. Oklahoma; 3:30 vs. C. Michigan
November 30-Dec 1 Las Vegas Invitational (Las Vegas, NV)
December 16 Madison Square Garden 10 a.m. vs. Missouri; 12:30 vs. Oklahoma St.
January 1-2 Southern Scuffle at Chattanooga, TN All Day
January 6 at Lehigh 2:00 p.m.
January 12 Princeton
January 19 at Brown
January 19 at Harvard
January 26 Pennsylvania 2:00 p.m.
January 27 Oregon State 2:00 p.m.
February 2 at Hofstra 12:00
at Columbia 6:00 p.m.
February 10 Bucknell 2:00 p.m.
February 17 National Duals
February 24 National Duals Final Four at Minneapolis, MN
March 9-10 EIWA Championships at Rutgers
March 21-23 NCAA Championships at Des Moines, IA

–Printed with permission

Cornell's Damion Hahn on 3 NCAA Champs, Next Year's Lineup and "Letting the Cat Out of the Bag"

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Cornell assistant coach Damion Hahn stopped to talk about the Big Red’s three NCAA title winners and his thoughts on next year’s starting lineup, including where he sees returning champions Kyle Dake and Steve Bosak.

 

Vougar Oroudjov Reflects on his World Cup Experience with Team USA

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A little over a week ago, Vougar Oroudjov returned from Baku, Azerbaijan where he was on the staff of the United States team that finished third at the FILA World Cup.   The two-time World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist talked to New York Wrestling News about his experience with the USA squad.

What was your role with the team?

Zeke Jones called me about two weeks before the tournament and asked if I could come.  I was a Team Leader.  I was born in Azerbaijan and speak the language there so I translated when we needed it, dealt with hotels, referees and things like that.  I was also at practice and the matches.  I did what I could to help the guys. It was great to be a part of it with everyone on the team and the great coaches – Zeke Jones, John Smith, Mark Manning and Brandon Slay.  It was my first time with the US Team and I didn’t feel like an outsider at all.  We all wanted the same thing – to win.  The atmosphere was great.

What did you think about the team’s performance?

The team was very good.  The United States keeps making big improvements in freestyle.  You saw it at the World Championships and again at the World Cup.

We lost to Iran 4-3, but I wouldn’t say they were much better. Maybe a few tactical things made the difference. In the first match, at 55 kg with Nick Simmons, there were a couple of situations where there were calls that could go either way and they went Iran’s way.  Same thing with [Keith] Gavin’s match at 84 kg.   It was a good learning experience.  I think everyone understands that we have some work to do to be the best team in the world, but we’re getting closer.  There is time before the Olympics to focus on our mistakes and fix them.

Who impressed you individually for the United States?

Jordan Burroughs, Coleman Scott and Tervel Dlagnev were all undefeated and wrestled really well.

Burroughs showed why he is the World Champion.  He knew exactly what he needed to do against the competition.  Dlagnev has the experience on this level and it showed.

It was the first time I saw Coleman Scott wrestle and I was amazed. He was really tough and mentally ready. He wasn’t intimidated about wrestling for the national team, he just went out to win. He never stopped moving; was all the time attacking.  I really like his style – he always showed offensive wrestling.  He beat some very good wrestlers.  I thought 60 kg was one of the toughest weights overall at the tournament. If I were the coach, I’d want him on the Olympic team.  Of course, I’m not the coach.

Honestly, there weren’t any guys who didn’t compete well.  Take someone like Jake Varner.  He lost some matches, but he still wrestled pretty well.  He lost to some World finalists.  I still think he’s good enough to do very well in London. The  Olympics are different than the World Cup. I have several friends who never won anything until they put it together and won the Olympics.

What do you think of the freestyle wrestling you saw at the tournament?

The rules just keep changing.  I know I learned a lot because things are different than when I wrestled freestyle.  To me, it’s getting so much more tactical.  In folkstyle, it’s all about intensity; guys going all out the whole match.  In freestyle now, it isn’t like that.  A lot of it is getting one pushout or taking one shot or grabbing the right ball out of a bag.  I don’t like that.  Just go to overtime and see who scores to get the real winner. There also seems to be a lot more questionable calls.  But we all know the rules.  There are no excuses.  We need to train for those rules and those types of matches.

You had a New York wrestler on the team in Cornell’s Kyle Dake.  He didn’t compete in the dual competition, but how did he look in training?

Kyle was there to be the training partner for Jordan Burroughs and to possibly give Burroughs a rest if we could during the tournament.  That didn’t wind up happening.

But even though he wasn’t in the tournament, I saw Kyle wrestle a lot. Each practice, I was in his corner, watching him.  He’s really good and getting better and better in freestyle. The best thing is that he listens.  You say something to him and he appreciates it and makes the changes.  He was impressive. People would be surprised how good he looked and how he looks against Burroughs.

We also had matches before the tournament where he was wrestling the guys from places like Azerbaijan and Russia.  He did very well against them.  I definitely think Kyle will make the next Olympics.  He’s really progressing in freestyle.  He will be a big surprise for everybody in the next Olympic cycle.

What’s next for you?

I will be working with the kids in my club [Vougars Honors Wrestling in Syosset] on freestyle to prepare for Fargo.

Then, we’ll see.  The USA coaches invited me to come with the team to the Olympics.  It was really hard for me to leave my family for the two weeks for the World Cup, so it would be hard to go for a longer time to London.  I missed home.  I missed my wrestlers and my club.  My son Vitali won the NY Freestyle States while I was away.    That’s one of the reasons the decision to go to Baku was so hard – I knew I would have to miss that and the other New York States for Cadets and Juniors.  I’m probably 50/50 right now on going to London.  I am honored that I was asked and it would be an honor to be there and help and give back to America.

Either way, I wish everyone luck.  I’m hoping for some Olympic championships.  We definitely have several guys who have shown that they are good enough to do it.