Tag Archives: Reggie Williams

Local Star, Bearcat Future: Johnson City's Reggie Williams Commits to Binghamton

Posted on by
Reply

Reggie Williams has watched the Binghamton wrestling team closely over the years.  Now, he’s committed to be a part of it.

The Johnson City senior, who lives just a few miles from campus, recently gave his verbal pledge to the Bearcats after also considering schools such as Iowa State, North Carolina State and Oklahoma.

“I decided to go to Binghamton because it’s a great school,” Williams said. “But one of the things that was running in the back of my head was my dad and my family.  I thought it would be a great choice to stay around, making it possible for my parents to see me more. Then you just have a big home crowd that stays and comes to the home matches.”

Photo by BV

Williams, who said he plans to be a 184 pounder in college, didn’t begin wrestling until sixth grade. However, he wasted no time making a name for himself in the sport.  He was a Section 4 runner up as an eighth grader and as a freshman, Williams earned a spot in the New York State semifinals, eventually taking sixth at 189 pounds.

A few months later, the Johnson City senior made an impact at the national level, earning All-American honors in two of the biggest offseason events in the country.  He first took fourth at the NHSCA Nationals in Virginia Beach before notching fifth in Cadet Freestyle at Fargo.

The Section 4 standout’s success continued over the years, as he was the state runner up at 195 as a sophomore and nabbed spots on the podium at the NHSCA Nationals twice more – sixth as a 10th grader and second as a junior in 2013.  His impressive run to the finals in Virginia Beach this spring at 195 included a victory over University of Minnesota-bound Nathan Rose, who is ranked #57 among seniors nationwide by Intermat.

Williams is determined to capture a state crown in his last campaign for the Wildcats before making the short journey to start his career in the EIWA.

And when he does begin his college career, he won’t be the only Bearcat in his family.

“On top of everything, I’ll be going to school with my dad because he’s a student at Binghamton as we speak,” Williams said.

The Bearcats brought in a top 25 recruiting class comprised of several top Empire State wrestlers in head coach Matt Dernlan’s first year. With Williams joining Hilton’s Vincent and Anthony DePrez and MacArthur’s Steve Schneider, another strong group is on the way to Binghamton in the fall of 2014.

Advertisement

Who Advanced to Day 2 of Junior Greco Roman and Junior Women's Freestyle from New York?

Posted on by
Reply

On Monday, the Cadet Greco Roman tournament concluded with Jesse Porter, James Bethel, Garyn Huntley and Nick Casella making the podium.  For a recap, see This link.

In addition, the first few sessions of Junior Greco Roman and Women’s Junior Freestyle took place.  See below for the wrestlers who are moving on in those competitions and those who also took the mat for the Empire State on Monday.

The following wrestlers are still in the running to place:

JUNIOR GRECO ROMAN

106: Alpha Diallo 3-1

106: Chris Cuccolo 3-0

113: Golan Cohen 4-1

126: William Koll 5-1

138: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer 5-1

160: Burke Paddock 5-0

195: Roland Zilberman 4-1

220: Rafal Rokosz 4-0

 

JUNIOR WOMEN’S FREESTYLE 

97: Kim Cardenas 1-0

112: Kelsey Gray 2-1

121: Rachel Hale 2-0

125: Rosemary Flores 2-0

130: Shannon Henry 1-0

139: Alexis Bleau 2-0

148: Alexis Porter 1-0

159: Vivian Vu 1-0

159: Keneddi Eddins 1-0

172: Mariana Olalde 0-1

172: Destane Garrick 1-0

198: Yuneris Taveras 1-0

 

Other wrestlers who took the mat for New York but have completed competition in Junior Greco Roman are:

106: Dolan McColgan, Dominic Riccio

120: Ryan Burns, Matthew Morris, Rashid Powell, Andrew Taber, Pedro Rosales, Cheick Ndiaye

126: Richard Antonacci

132: Nathan Hayes, Carl Rouse, Freddie Dunau, Ryan Snow

138: Jay Oakes, Saidyokub Kahramonov

145: Codie Gillette, Nathaniel Palmer

152: James Black, Maksimilian Garkusha, Trevor Hoffmier, Tanner Phillips, Nigel Williams

160: Troy Seymour, Alex Smythe

170: Andrew Psomas, Konstantin Parfiryev, Daniel Smith

182: Ben Honis, Cedric Stephens, Isaiah Zimmer

195: Allan-Michael Rios, Nick Weber, Reggie Williams, Nathanael Rose

220: Sam Eagan, Luke McKee

285: Gregory LaValley, Matthew St. Onge, Jeff Urbina, Matthew Abbott, Nolan Terrance

 

Others Taking the Mat for New York who have completed competition in Junior Women’s Freestyle are:

105: Jennifer Juarez

112: Susan Yang

117: Sara Andresen, Samantha Ouye-Gonzalez

130: Shirley Duman

2013 Fargo Preview for New York: Who Will Shine in the Summer's Biggest Tournament?

Posted on by
1

The eyes of wrestling fans will turn to Fargo, North Dakota over the next several days as many of the best competitors in the country will take the mat to crown Freestyle and Greco Roman national champions.  Who from the Empire State will shine in the biggest tournament of the summer?  There are always some surprises, but the following is a look at some of those who could make an impact for Team New York. 

Will there be repeat champions?

Alexis Porter

A year ago, New York had over 25 All-Americans at Fargo, with three national championships.  Those titles came from the women’s competition where Shenendehowa’s Alexis Porter took top honors in both the Cadet (143 pounds) and Junior (139 pounds) brackets and Mary Westman collected gold at Junior 159.

Porter, who will represent the USA at the World championships later this summer, will have the chance to add to her trophy collection.  Also looking to be a gold medalist at this event again is Rosemary Flores, a double champion in 2011 who was third a year ago at 130 pounds.

 

Who Will Excel at the Junior Level for New York?

In addition to the strong women’s contingent, the men’s side features a number of wrestlers who have the ability to win it all.  Among them are nationally-ranked grapplers who captured crowns in both Freestyle and Greco at the New York championships in Binghamton back in May.

Photo by BV

Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (138) is one of them.  The Cheektowoga standout was third in Greco last summer at the Fargodome and after another impressive performance at the Junior Duals in Oklahoma a few weeks ago (9-0 in Freestyle, 6-1 in Greco), he looks poised to challenge for the biggest prize.  Also starring for Team New York in the Sooner State were former Fargo placers Burke Paddock (160) and Reggie Williams (195).  Paddock, who recently committed to the University of Iowa, was a combined 15-1 at the Junior Duals, while Williams, who notched fifth at 215 in Cadet Freestyle two years ago, is ready to get on the medal stand again. (Perhaps also keep an eye out for Roland Zilberman, who went unbeaten at the Junior Duals across both styles at 195 and 220 pounds).

Another one of the Empire State’s top seniors, William Koll of Lansing, was dominant in winning double New York titles for the second consecutive year and after a strong showing at the Western Regional in April and at the Disney Duals, will look to pick up hardware in North Dakota at 126.

Like Koll, Adis Radoncic (170) and Matt Abbott (285) earned New York state folkstyle titles this February in Albany. Both will compete in Fargo, as will a bevy of other placers from the Times Union Center in 2013, including silver medalist Chris Koo and third placers Troy Seymour and Alex Smythe.  Koo, Seymour and Smythe will all wrestle at 160 pounds. Additional high school medalists from 2013 will represent the Empire State, such as Golan Cohen (113), Cheick Ndiaye (120), Freddie Dunau (132), Ryan Snow (132), Konstantin Parfiryev (170), Andrew Psomas (170), Nick Weber (195) and Sam Eagan (220).

Chris Cuccolo of Pine Bush, who was an All-American in 2011 and 2012 at Fargo will see action at 106, while another returning placer, Ben Honis, moves up from the Cadet ranks.  Matthew Morris, who grabbed first place in both styles at the New York championships and wrestled well at the Junior Duals, will be at 120.

 

Who Will Lead the Way in the Cadet Tournaments?

While there were a number of double New York champions in the Junior division, as discussed previously, there were more in the Cadet brackets, with 10 wrestlers grabbing titles in both Freestyle and Greco.

Two of those grapplers – Locust Valley’s Sam Ward (138) and Shenendehowa’s Jesse Porter (152) – placed at the Fargodome in 2012 in Greco Roman action and are threats to repeat as All-Americans.

A host of other Cadets look for breakthrough performances in the next week.  Leonard Merkin of Poly Prep and James Bethel are a strong candidates, as they impressed with undefeated showings at the Cadet Duals in Daytona Beach.  Meanwhile, Empire State champions in both international styles such as Nick Casella (120), Ian Lupole (126), Gino Titone (145), Jacob Woolson (170), Aidan Mathews (195) and Peter Strassfield (285) all look to make their marks.  Also keep an eye on state placer Vinny Vespa of Monroe Woodbury, who will make his Fargo debut at 106.

———————–

It all begins on Saturday afternoon with Women’s Cadet action.

Who will take advantage of the opportunity to face and beat some of the nation’s best over the next week or so at Fargo?  Stay tuned and check back for updates on New York wrestlers throughout the tournament.

(All the above wrestlers were listed as part of Team New York as of Thursday night).

Here’s the list of last year’s (2012) New York All-Americans at Fargo:

Junior Greco

106 Pounds: Kyle Kelly, 7th Place

113 Pounds: Josh Antoine, 8th Place

120 Pounds: Santo Curatolo, 6th Place

132 Pounds: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, 3rd Place

152 Pounds: Brendan Goldup, 5th Place

160 Pounds: Connor Sutton, 5th Place

182 Pounds: McZiggy Richards, 4th Place

182 Pounds: Chris Loew, 7th Place

 Junior Freestyle

132 Pounds: Nick Kelley, 4th Place

138 Pounds: Quinton Murphy, 2nd Place

145 Pounds: David Almaviva, 8th Place

152 Pounds: Brian Realbuto, 4th Place

160 Pounds: Dylan Palacio, 4th Place

160 Pounds: Tyler Grimaldi, 6th Place

Cadet Greco

94 Pounds: Chris Cuccolo, 5th

132 Pounds: Jesse Porter, 4th

132 Pounds: Sam Ward, 7th

182 Pounds: Benjamin Honis, 7th

 Cadet Freestyle

138 Pounds: Thomas Dutton, 8th Place

195 Pounds: Chris Tangora, 8th Place

Cadet Women

143 Pounds: Alexis Porter, Champion

143 Pounds: Kennedie Eddings,6th

172 Pounds: Yuneris Diaz, 3rd

Junior Women

112 Pounds: Hanna Grisewood, 2nd Place

130 Pounds: Rosemary Flores, 3rd Place

139 Pounds: Alexis Porter, Champion

159 Pounds: Mary Westman, Champion

172 Pounds: Yuneris Diaz, 5th Place

 

NY Unbeaten at Two Dual Events on Sat: Freestyle Team Takes First in Pool at Jr. Nationals; Team Kong Dominates at Disney

Posted on by
Reply

 
 
Team North Dakota Blue seemed to have New York’s number at the Junior National Duals in Oklahoma. The two squads met in the Greco Roman competition on Wednesday and in Freestyle action on Friday and both times, North Dakota came out on top, by 37-32 and 37-31 scores, respectively.

There would be one more chance for the Empire State wrestlers. Both squads went undefeated on the event’s last day, earning spots against each other in the first place match of the Red/Blue Freestyle Pool. It turned out that the third time was a charm.

“We lost to them twice and didn’t want it to happen three times in a row,” said Johnson City’s Reggie Williams, who wrestled at 195 and 220 during the week. “We knew we needed to get it together and we did.”

In an exciting dual New York prevailed 35-34 — and it all came down to the last bout.

The Empire State got off to a strong start, with a technical fall by Roland Zilberman at 220 and a decision by Sam Eagan at 285. After a 10-0 victory by Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer at 138 and a pin by Jake Savoca at 145, New York led by eight points with five matches remaining. But it wasn’t over, as North Dakota went on a run, capturing four straight contests, including two by bonus, to take a 34-30 advantage into the finale at 195 pounds.

That’s when Williams stepped in, needing a technical fall for the tie or a fall for the win. After defeating his opponent Brandon Rodriguez earlier in the event, Williams was confident he would come through.

“I thought we would win the tiebreaker if it came down to that, but I still wanted to be safe and pin him,” Williams said. “I wanted to put the team on my back and came in looking for the pin right away.”

It didn’t take long as he recorded the fall less than a minute and a half into the bout to give New York the one-point triumph.

Rodriguez-Spencer, Photo by BV

Williams frequently got his hand raised in Oklahoma, as he posted an 8-1 record in Freestyle. 160-pounder Burke Paddock did the same (after going undefeated in Greco). Also starring for the team was Rodriguez-Spencer, who won all nine of his Freestyle bouts at 138, including eight by technical fall, after losing just once in Greco.

“Guys like Burke and Renaldo wrestled tough the whole time,” Williams said. “We knew we could count on them to go out there, score points and get us techs and pins when we needed them.”

In addition, 120 was a strong weight, as Matt Morris and Nick Casella teamed up to go 7-2 in that class while Daniel Smith (170) and the previously mentioned Savoca and Eagan all collected five or more wins in Freestyle. In addition, after an unblemished tournament in Greco, Zilberman won all four of his bouts on Friday and Saturday in the upperweights.

Overall, the squad garnered a 6-3 record in Freestyle, with wins over Minnesota Blue, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Tennessee and the finale against North Dakota.

“I honestly thought we’d do a little better,” Williams said. “But it was a great experience with great bonding time for the team. I think we got a lot out of it to help us get ready to compete for [individual] national titles at Fargo in a few weeks. And we were really happy to end on a good note, winning our last match.”

For full Freestyle results, see Here.

For a recap of the team’s Greco Roman competition, see This link.

For full team roster, see the bottom of this article.

Off to a Great Start at Disney

It wasn’t only an unbeaten day for the Empire State in Oklahoma, as another group of All-Stars – Team New York Kong – racked up a 2-0 mark at the AAU National Duals (aka Disney Duals) in Orlando.

The squad had no mercy on the opposition, winning at least 11 of the 14 bouts in both meets. The first was a 50-9 pasting of Team Kryptonite (Ohio), while the second was a 44-6 decision over New Tampa Wrestling.

Garnering two victories on the day were Nick Piccininni (113), Travis Passaro (120), Alex Delacruz (126), Matt Leshinger (132), Nick Kelley (138), Joe Mastro (152), Nick Weber (195), Josh Bonneau (220) and Mike Hughes (heavyweight). The team will return to the mat for three contests on Sunday.

Team New York Kong

106 Kyle Quinn

106 Jesse Dellavecchia

113 Nick Piccininni

120 Travis Passaro

126 Alex Delacruz

132 Matt Leshinger

138 Nick Kelley

145 Brandon Lapi

145 Frank Garcia

145 Jakob Restrepo

152 Joe Mastro

160 Steven Schneider

170 Carlos Toribio

182 James Corbett

195 Nick Weber

220 Josh Bonneau

285 Mike Hughes

 

Team New York – Junior Freestyle Duals

100: Dom Poggoli

106: Andy Flanagan

113: Alpha Diallo

120: Nick Casella

120: Matt Morris

126: Trey Aslanian

126: Cheick Ndiaye

126/132: Richard Antonacci

132: Freddie Dunau

138: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer

145: Jake Savoca

152: Nigel Williams

160: Burke Paddock

170: Daniel Smith

182: Isaiah Zimmer

195: Reggie Williams

220: Roland Zilberman

220/285: Sam Eagan

 

Who from New York is Currently in the 2013-14 National Rankings?

Posted on by
Reply

 
 
Flowrestling has been posting updated high school rankings, removing wrestlers from the graduating Class of 2013 to give a glimpse of what next season could look like. Many New York grapplers made the cut, including eight state champions from February of 2013. Ward Melville’s Nick Piccininni is the highest ranked of the Empire State representatives, sitting fifth at 120 pounds.

To see which competitors have been included in the national top 20, see below:

Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton, Section 5) – 11th at 106

Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville, Section 11) – 5th at 120

Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich, Section 4) – 19th at 132

Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Cheektowaga, Section 6) – 10th at 138

Louis Hernandez (Mepham, Section 8 ) – 9th at 152

Corey Rasheed (Longwood, Section 11) – 10th at 160

Burke Paddock (Warsaw, Section 5) – 11th at 160

Christian Dietrich (Greene, Section 4) – 9th at 170

Adis Radoncic (RKA, PSAL) – 17th at 170

Reggie Williams (Johnson City, Section 4) – 16th at 195

Rich Sisti (Monsignor Farrell, CHSAA) – 16th at 220

James O’Hagan (Seaford, Section 8 ) – 7th at 285

Although not in the latest edition, two-time state champion William Koll of Lansing and 2013 third placer Travis Passaro of Eastport South Manor were recently in the rankings as well.

Rasheed, Photo by BV

VIDEO: Watch Freestyle Action from the New York State Championships Last Weekend

Posted on by
Reply

 
 
Champions were crowned over the weekend in Binghamton at the 2013 New York State Freestyle and Greco tournaments. If you missed the action, you can see the title bouts in the Junior Freestyle competition below plus a bonus match – a pool bout between All-Staters Reggie Williams and Gio Santiago at 195 pounds that featured a number of big moves and lots of excitement.

William Koll, Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, Kevin Thayer and Burke Paddock finished on top in both Freestyle and Greco, adding to the championships they won during the high school season in Albany.

For results from the weekend see here and here.

160 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Burke Paddock vs. Alex Smythe

 

152 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Kevin Thayer vs. Nigel Williams

 

132 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: William Koll vs. Jordan Maynard

 

138 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer vs. Sean O’Hagan

 

145 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Connor Lapresi vs. Rocco Russo

 

195 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Reggie Williams vs. Thomas Murray

 

195 Pound Pool Match: Gio Santiago vs. Reggie Williams

 

170 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Troy Seymour vs. Liam Bass

 

182 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Isaiah Zimmer vs. Tim Schaefer

 

113 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: John Twomey vs. Golan Cohen

 

120 Pound Freestyle Final: Matthew Morris vs. Daniel Murray

 

126 Pound Freestyle Final: Simon Greebel vs. Paul Smoot

 

220 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Joe Nasoni vs. Luke McKee

 

285 Pound Junior Freestyle Final: Brad Lucas vs. Nolan Terrance

 

106 Pound Junior Freestyle: Josh LoGuidice vs. Nico Riccio

 

 

Wrestlers Complete Triple Crowns and Many Achieve Double Titles at the Freestyle and Greco State Championships

Posted on by
Reply

 
 
(For information and results from Saturday’s competition in Junior Freestyle and Cadet Greco, see this link. Videos will be posted in the next few days).

It isn’t easy to earn the Triple Crown in New York, capturing state titles in all three styles of wrestling.  But you might think otherwise when looking at the results from this weekend’s action at Broome Community College, as four grapplers (William Koll, Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer, Kevin Thayer and Burke Paddock) added Freestyle and Greco Roman crowns to the championships they won in folkstyle back in February in Albany.

Paddock vs Smythe, Photo by BV

The quartet of wrestlers all demonstrated dominance on Sunday in Junior Greco competition. Both Thayer (152) and Paddock (160) faced the same opponent in the title bout as they did on Saturday in Freestyle.  This time, both made quick work of their foes, picking up first period pins.  And speaking of rematches, Rodriguez-Spencer (138) not only defeated Sean O’Hagan in the finals for the second straight day, he also did it by the same score – 5-0, 6-0.  Koll also won in straight periods, taking a 2-0, 11-4 triumph against Blake Retell at 132.

Those wrestlers weren’t the only double champions over the weekend.  Both ATWA’s Matthew Morris (120) and Reggie Williams (195) swept both Olympic styles in Binghamton.

On Saturday, Golan Cohen (113) and Rocco Russo (145) made the title bout in Freestyle, but took second place.  One day later, both returned to the finals and came out on top, with Russo’s victory coming by fall.

It was one of many titlewinning pins on the day, including by Sam Eagan at 220 and Jeff Urbina at 285.  In addition, Beat the Streets collected a pair of Junior Greco titles at 106 (Dolan McColgan) and 126 (Cheick Ndiaye), while crowns were also captured by Andrew Psomas of Farrell Lions at 170 and James Schreck of Sachem 3 at 182.

While there were a number of double champions in the Junior division, as discussed previously, there were more in the Cadet brackets, with 10 wrestlers grabbing a pair of titles over the weekend.

The first three classes were won by Drew Schafer (88), Brian Kelly (94) and Vinny Vespa (100).  After that, seven of the next eight weights featured repeat champions, starting with Parker Kropman at 106 and also including Nick Casella (120), Ian Lupole (126), Leonard Merkin (132), Sam Ward (138), Gino Titone (145) and Jesse Porter (152). The only exception was at 113, where Evan Barczak notched the freestyle championship a day after earning runner up honors in Greco.

The additional double titlewinners were Jacob Woolson (170), Aidan Mathews (195) and Peter Strassfield (285).  A day after registering a bronze showing in Greco, Jake Ashcraft stood on top of the podium at 160 pounds, while Jeremy Hughes picked up gold at 182 and James Bethel did the same at 220.

Full brackets are available at http://www.trackwrestling.com.

For the placewinners from Sunday’s action in Cadet Freestyle and Junior Greco, see below.

 

CADET FREESTYLE RESULTS

Cadet FS – 88 Results
1st Place – Drew Schafer of Superior Wrestling Academy
2nd Place – Justin Lopez of Yonkers
3rd Place – Darwingh Alvarez of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Oscar Lainez of Middletown
5th Place – David Ciciarella of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club

Cadet FS – 94 Results
1st Place – Brian Kelly of Kings Park Wrestling
2nd Place – David Wolanski of SCHENECTADY

Cadet FS – 100 Results
1st Place – Vincent Vespa of rock hard wrestling
2nd Place – Anthony Sparacio of North Babylon
3rd Place – John Luke Destefano of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Nicholas Forte of Journey
5th Place – Shane Gibbons of Massapequa
6th Place – Maxim Pasichnik of BTS PS 186

Cadet FS – 106 Results
1st Place – Parker Kropman of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu
2nd Place – Dean Raymond of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Sean Miller of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Johnathon Lauricella of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club
5th Place – Theodore Powers of MEXICO
6th Place – John Devine of Titans

Cadet FS – 113 Results
1st Place – Evan Barczak of rock hard wrestling
2nd Place – Chris Donnelly of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Taylor Picciano of Kings Park Wrestling
4th Place – John Kalinoglu of Massapequa
5th Place – Michael Venosa of Section 5
6th Place – Kevin Kelly of rock hard wrestling

Cadet FS – 120 Results
1st Place – Nicholas Casella of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
2nd Place – Benjamin Lamantia of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
3rd Place – Dominic Inzana of Saratoga Springs
4th Place – Jackie Gold of Rocky Point
5th Place – Hunter Howland of MEXICO
6th Place – Brandon Santiago of Beat the Streets New York City

Cadet FS – 126 Results
1st Place – Ian Lupole of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Christian Briody of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Michael Berkowitz of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
4th Place – Blake Jackson of Superior Wrestling Academy
5th Place – James Rosado of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Nichholas Petralia of Section 8

Cadet FS – 132 Results
1st Place – Leonard Merkin of elite wrestling academy
2nd Place – Freddy Eckles of Buffalo Grapplers Wrestling Cl
3rd Place – Mike D`Angelo of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Da`mani Burns of Newburgh Wrestling Club
5th Place – Jake Colonna of North Babylon
6th Place – Christopher Ladd of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club

Cadet FS – 138 Results
1st Place – Samuel Ward of Ascend Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Kevin Jackson of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Jilling Frank of Lindenhurst
4th Place – Wyatt DeMarree of Section 5
5th Place – Steven Prinston of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Marc Paez of Long beach

Cadet FS – 145 Results
1st Place – Gino Titone of Connetquot Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jakob Restrepo of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
3rd Place – Jordan Bushey of Cellar Dwellers
4th Place – Thomas Wightman of Section 9
5th Place – Steven Culbert of Journeymen Wrestling
6th Place – Brian Bucci of Section 9

Cadet FS – 152 Results
1st Place – Jesse Porter of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – Ronaldo Rodriguez of Beat the Streets New York City
3rd Place – William Marcil of ATWA
4th Place – John Vouzonis of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Dylan Gifford of Veritas
6th Place – Dylan Studer of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club

Cadet FS – 160 Results
1st Place – Jacob Ashcraft of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – Collin LaBombard of Cellar Dwellers
3rd Place – Andy Cummings of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Max Zhitnik of Tiger Style Wrestling
5th Place – Vance Cuffie of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Zafar Iskandarov of Beat the Streets New York City

Cadet FS – 170 Results
1st Place – Jacob Woolson of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Dakota Wolley of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Richie Jones of Cobra
4th Place – Tom Lane of Section 8
5th Place – Tredd Smith of Section 8
6th Place – Madhur Karki of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu

Cadet FS – 182 Results
1st Place – Jeremy Hughes of Section 8
2nd Place – James Campbell of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu
3rd Place – Marcello Gennaro of Section 9
4th Place – Colby Staley of ATWA

Cadet FS – 195 Results
1st Place – Aidan Mathews of Dark corner
2nd Place – Nick Mcshea of rock hard wrestling
3rd Place – Tyler Hall of Section 6
4th Place – Christopher Halleran of Tiger Style Wrestling

Cadet FS – 220 Results
1st Place – James Bethel of Dark corner
2nd Place – Khaled Abdoun of Journeymen Wrestling
3rd Place – Chris Tangora of Section 2
4th Place – Elijah Sampo of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
5th Place – Chazz Leo of Section 11
6th Place – George O`Mahony of Massapequa

Cadet FS – 285 Results
1st Place – Peter Strassfield of Southampton High School Wrestl
2nd Place – Alex Gonzalez of Geneva
3rd Place – Jordan Keys of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Garyn Huntley of Veritas
5th Place – Victor Palmer-Ortiz of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
6th Place – Jake Lanzillo of Averill Park

 

JUNIOR GRECO ROMAN RESULTS

JUNIOR GR – 106 Results
1st Place – Dolan Mccolgan of Beat the Streets New York
2nd Place – Nico Riccio of Journeymen

JUNIOR GR – 113 Results
1st Place – Golan Cohen of Titan
2nd Place – Chris Cuccolo of Pine Bush
3rd Place – Noah Malamut of Poly Prep High School Wrestlin
4th Place – Matthew Stallone of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
5th Place – alex kellar of Section 4
6th Place – Shamar Griffith of Beat the Streets New York

JUNIOR GR – 120 Results
1st Place – Matthew Morris of ATWA
2nd Place – Pedro Rosales of Bearcave
3rd Place – ryan burns of Cobra Wrestling Academy
4th Place – Alpha Diallo of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Rashid Powell of Beat the Streets New York
6th Place – Kyle Kelly of Team Worldwide

JUNIOR GR – 126 Results
1st Place – Cheick Ndiaye of Beat the Streets New York
2nd Place – Richard Antonacci of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Andrew Taber of North Rose-Wolcott High School
4th Place – Daniel Amancio of Bronx
5th Place – Paul Smoot of Rock Hard Wrestling
6th Place – Ray Konvicka of MVWC

JUNIOR GR – 132 Results
1st Place – William Koll of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Blake Retell of Journeymen
3rd Place – Ryan Snow of Section 3
4th Place – Nathan Hayes of Team Worldwide
5th Place – Carl Rouse of Team Worldwide
6th Place – Thomas Walsh of Titan

JUNIOR GR – 138 Results
1st Place – Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer of Buffalo Grapplers
2nd Place – Sean O`Hagan of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Eric Bergin of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Jay Oates of ATWA
5th Place – Nick Strand of Westhampton Beach High School
6th Place – Nathaniel Vargas of Guilderland HS

JUNIOR GR – 145 Results
1st Place – Rocco Russo of New York Super Six
2nd Place – Codie Gilllette of ATWA
3rd Place – Saidyokub Kahramonov of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Nathaniel Palmer of ATWA
5th Place – Jay Kindlon of New York Titans
6th Place – Colin Hay of Miller Place Takedown Clubcoli

JUNIOR GR – 152 Results
1st Place – Kevin Thayer of Veritas
2nd Place – Nigel Williams of Beat the Streets New York
3rd Place – Max Garkusha of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Askar Raimbek of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Tanner Phillips of ATWA
6th Place – Mirlan Jumabaev of Beat the Streets New York

JUNIOR GR – 160 Results
1st Place – Burke Paddock of Team Ten
2nd Place – Alexander Smythe of New York Super Six
3rd Place – Michael Tropiano of Vougars Honor Wrestling (VHW)
4th Place – Jimmy Marquez of Journeymen
5th Place – Derrick Gardner of Averill Park
6th Place – Jordan Formicola of falcons

JUNIOR GR – 170 Results
1st Place – Andrew Psomas of Farrell Lions
2nd Place – Liam Bass of Westhampton Beach High School
3rd Place – Troy Seymour of ATWA
4th Place – David Bunn of Copiague
5th Place – Garrett Davis of New York Titans
6th Place – Mark Anthony Perez of Unattached

JUNIOR GR – 182 Results
1st Place – James Schreck of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Isaiah Zimmer of Team Worldwide
3rd Place – Cedrick Stephens of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Mark Tracey of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
5th Place – Ronnie King of Islip
6th Place – Alex Moss of MVWC

JUNIOR GR – 195 Results
1st Place – Reggie Williams of Team Worldwide
2nd Place – Giovanni Santiago of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Roland Zilberman of Beat the Streets New York
4th Place – Nathanael Rose of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Richard Duermeyer of Buffalo Grapplers
6th Place – Maleke Cunningham of Beat the Streets New York

JUNIOR GR – 220 Results
1st Place – Sam Eagen of Empire/Titan
2nd Place – Luke McKee of ATWA
3rd Place – Rafael Rokosz of Southhampton HS
4th Place – Endy Nunez of Rams Wrestling Club
5th Place – Sean Fergusan of Rocky Point
6th Place – Allen Michael Rios of Team Worldwide

JUNIOR GR – 285 Results
1st Place – Jeff Urbina of Copiague
2nd Place – Nolan Terrance of ATWA
3rd Place – Matthew Abbott of Team Worldwide
4th Place – Mason Cross of New York Titans
5th Place – Quasar Hampton of Beat the Streets New York
6th Place – Mark Ifraimov of Beat the Streets New York

State Champs Koll, Rodriguez-Spencer, Lapresi, Thayer and Paddock Win Junior Freestyle Crowns

Posted on by
Reply

 
 
Connor Lapresi was looking to not only win, but win quickly at the New York State Junior Freestyle championships in Binghamton. After all, he wanted to get back home to attend the prom on Saturday night.

Lapresi delivered, earning a technical fall in the 145-pound finals, 6-0, 7-0 over Rocco Russo.

The future Bucknell grappler wasn’t the only wrestler to win by tech in straight periods in the championship round.

Matt Morris of ATWA did the same at 120 pounds, as did Troy Seymour at 170 and Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer at 138. The Cheektowoga star began his match with a big five-point throw which quickly ended the first period of his 5-0, 6-0 triumph.

Like Rodriguez-Spencer, Burke Paddock, William Koll and Kevin Thayer collected gold medals at the state championships in Albany this February. The trio also won it all on Saturday.

Paddock edged state medalist Alex Smythe 1-0 in the first period before taking the second 6-0 at 160, while Koll was in control the whole way in his 4-2, 7-0 victory against Jordan Maynard at 132 pounds.

Photo by BV

In a back and forth match featuring a number of big moves, Thayer dropped the opening stanza to Beat the Streets grappler Nigel Williams 9-3, but bounced back from a deficit in the second to win 7-6. Thayer then grabbed the decisive final period, 7-0.

In another bout that went three stanzas, Isaiah Zimmer lost period one to state runner up Tim Schaefer of Team Ten. However, Zimmer scored late in the second and third periods to pick up the 182-pound crown.

At 195, fellow Section 4 wrestler Reggie Williams bested Thomas Murray in a clash of All-State wrestlers. Williams won a thrilling match earlier in the day against 2013 state bronze medalist Gio Santiago, coming back from a sizable deficit.

The final two matches flew by, as both were decided by fall in less than two minutes in favor of wrestlers from the Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club. At 220, Joe Nasoni got his hand raised while Brad Lucas did the same at 285.

Also capturing a title by pin was Ascend’s Simon Greebel, who got the fall in the second after dropping the first stanza 2-0 to Paul Smoot at 126.

Coming out on top in the first match of the championship round was Josh LoGuidice at 106. Next up was John Twomey of Vougar’s Honors Wrestling, who was the victor at 113. Twomey topped state medalist Golan Cohen in straight periods to take gold.

In Cadet action on Saturday, a number of champions were crowned in Greco Roman.  To see all the champions and placewinners in Cadet Greco, see below.  (The results from Junior Freestyle are below as well).

For the brackets, see http://www.trackwrestling.com.

 

CADET GRECO

CADET GR – 88 Results

1st Place – Justin Lopez of Yonkers
2nd Place – Oscar Lainez of Middle Town
3rd Place – David Ciciarelli of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
4th Place – Darwingh Alvarez of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 100 Results

1st Place – John Luke Destefano of Beat the Streets New York City
2nd Place – Shane Gibbons of Massapequa
3rd Place – Maxim Pasichnik of BTS PS 186
4th Place – Devin Cohan of The Quarry Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 106 Results

1st Place – Parker Kropman of Titan World Wide Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Sean Miller of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Dean Raymond of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
4th Place – Josh Bourne of Long beach
5th Place – Kyle Aslanian of Edgemont Wrestling Club
6th Place – Joseph Marino of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 113 Results
1st Place – Max Tempel of Section 2
2nd Place – Evan Barczak of rock hard wrestling
3rd Place – Taylor Picciano of Kings Park Wrestling
4th Place – John Kalinoglu of Massapequa
5th Place – Brandon Goddeau of ATWA
6th Place – Jacob Lehr of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 120 Results

1st Place – Nicholas Casella of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
2nd Place – Noah Handy of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Donny McCoy of New York Super Six Wrestling A
4th Place – Matthew Krause of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Ramel McIntosh of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Brandon Santiago of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 126 Results

1st Place – Ian Lupole of Section 4
2nd Place – Christian Briody of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Michael Berkowitz of Vougar Honors Wrestling Inc.
4th Place – James Lamson of Watertown
5th Place – Cole Simmons of New York Super Six Wrestling A
6th Place – William Yee of Brooklyn

CADET GR – 132 Results
1st Place – Leonard Merkin of elite wrestling academy
2nd Place – Mike D`Angelo of Ascend Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Freddy Eckles of Buffalo Grapplers
4th Place – Damani Burns of Newburgh Wrestling Club
5th Place – Christopher Ladd of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
6th Place – Bruce Cipollone of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 138 Results

1st Place – Samuel Ward of Ascend Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jilling Frank of Lindenhurst
3rd Place – Zachery Bendick of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
4th Place – Marc Paez of Long beach
5th Place – Steven Prinston of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Eugene Khalabudnyak of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 145 Results

1st Place – Gino Titone of Connetquot Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jordan Bushey of Cellar Dwellers
3rd Place – Jason Hoffman of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Kevin Parker of Journeymen Wrestling
5th Place – Thomas Wightman of Section 9
6th Place – Jason Colon of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 152 Results

1st Place – Jesse Porter of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – William Marcil of ATWA
3rd Place – Karl Weisner of Farrel
4th Place – John Vouzonis of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Dylan Studer of Team Worldwide Wrestling Club
6th Place – Elijah Vasquez of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 160 Results

1st Place – Zafar Iskandarov of Beat the Streets New York City
2nd Place – Vance Cuffie of Beat the Streets New York City
3rd Place – Jacob Ashcraft of Journeymen Wrestling
4th Place – Andy Cummings of Journeymen Wrestling
5th Place – Phillip Gray of Team Dynamic
6th Place – Ryan Wilcox of The Quarry Wrestling Club

CADET GR – 170 Results

1st Place – Jacob Woolson of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Dakota Wolley of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Paul Brachfeld of Massapequa Park
4th Place – Madhur Karki of Titan World Wide Wrestling Clu
5th Place – Steven Walters of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 182 Results

1st Place – Colby Staley of ATWA
2nd Place – James Campbell of Titan World Wide Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Joe Sabia of Journeymen Wrestling

CADET GR – 195 Results

1st Place – Aidan Mathews of Dark corner
2nd Place – Tyler Hall of Section 6

CADET GR – 220 Results

1st Place – Khaled Abdoun of Journeymen Wrestling
2nd Place – James Bethel of Dark corner
3rd Place – Elijah Sampo of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
4th Place – George O`Mahony of Massapequa
5th Place – Albi Miraka of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Marc Diaz of Beat the Streets New York City

CADET GR – 285 Results

1st Place – Peter Strassfield of Southampton High School Wrestling
2nd Place – Garyn Huntley of Veritas
3rd Place – Victor Palmer-Ortiz of Mohawk Valley Wrestling Club
4th Place – Kyle Kanige of Center
5th Place – Jake Lanzillo of Averill Park

 

JUNIOR FREESTYLE

JUNIOR FS – 106 Results

1st Place – Joshua LoGiudice of JOURNEYMEN WRESTLING CLUB
2nd Place – Dolan Mccolgan of Beat the Streets New York
3rd Place – Nico Riccio of Journeymen

JUNIOR FS – 113 Results

1st Place – John Twomey of Vougar Honors Wrestling (VHW)
2nd Place – Golan Cohen of Titan
3rd Place – Noah Malamut of Poly Prep High School Wrestlin
4th Place – Matthew Stallone of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
5th Place – Tyler Aslanian of Edgemont Wrestling Club
6th Place – Chris Cuccolo of Pine Bush

JUNIOR FS – 120 Results

1st Place – Matt Morris of ATWA
2nd Place – Daniel Murray of Vougar Honors Wrestling (VHW)
3rd Place – Steven Sewkumar of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Ryan Burns of Cobra Wrestling Academy
5th Place – Michael Carr of Team Worldwide
6th Place – Kyle Kelly of Team Worldwide

JUNIOR FS – 126 Results

1st Place – Simon Greebel of Ascend Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Paul Smoot of Rock Hard Wrestling
3rd Place – Cheick Ndiaye of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Timothy Johnson of Vougar Honors Wrestling (VHW)
5th Place – Dillon Stowell of F-10
6th Place – Richard Antonacci of Ascend Wrestling Club

JUNIOR FS – 132 Results

1st Place – William Koll of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Jordan Maynard of JOURNEYMEN WRESTLING CLUB
3rd Place – Blake Retell of Journeymen
4th Place – Travis Alexander of Ascend Wrestling Club
5th Place – Ryan Snow of Section 3
6th Place – Kyle Maddock of Westhampton Beach High School

JUNIOR FS – 138 Results

1st Place – Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer of Buffalo Grapplers
2nd Place – Sean O`Hagan of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
3rd Place – Jay Oakes of ATWA
4th Place – Devon Hoyte of Beat the Streets New York City
5th Place – Anthony Messina of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
6th Place – David Rodriguez of Port Richmond HS

JUNIOR FS – 145 Results

1st Place – Connor Lapresi of Finger Lakes Wrestling Club
2nd Place – Rocco Russo of New York Super Six
3rd Place – Sean McKenna of MVWC
4th Place – Codie Gilllette of Saranac
5th Place – Saidyokub Kahramonov of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – James McLean of Genesee Valley Wrestling Club

JUNIOR FS – 152 Results

1st Place – Kevin Thayer of Veritas
2nd Place – Nigel Williams of Beat the Streets New York City
3rd Place – Vinny Romeo of Titan World Wide
4th Place – Shaquille Jones of Beat the Streets New York
5th Place – Marc D`chiutiis of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Derrick Rice of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 160 Results

1st Place – Burke Paddock of Team Ten
2nd Place – Alexander Smythe of New York Super Six
3rd Place – Chris Koo of Ascend Wrestling Club
4th Place – Matt Fisher of MVWC
5th Place – Cody Nichols of Veritas
6th Place – Connor Lawrence of Journeymen

JUNIOR FS – 170 Results

1st Place – Troy Seymour of ATWA
2nd Place – Liam Bass of Westhampton Beach High School
3rd Place – Konstantin Parfiryev of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Connor O`Gallagher of Rocky Point
5th Place – David Bunn of Copiague
6th Place – Michael Urso of W.T. Clarke High School Wrestl

JUNIOR FS – 182 Results

1st Place – Isaiah Zimmer of Team Worldwide
2nd Place – Tim Schaefer of Team Ten
3rd Place – Cedrick Stephens of Beat the Streets New York City
4th Place – Jake Webber of New York Super Six
5th Place – Austin Weigel of Journeymen
6th Place – Marcus King of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 195 Results

1st Place – Reggie Williams of Team Worldwide
2nd Place – Thomas Murray of Askren WC
3rd Place – Giovanni Santiago of Sachem 3 Style Wrestling Club
4th Place – Levi Ashley of JOURNEYMEN WRESTLING CLUB
5th Place – Nathanael Rose of Beat the Streets New York City
6th Place – Maleke Cunningham of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 220 Results

1st Place – Joe Nasoni of MVWC
2nd Place – Luke McKee of ATWA
3rd Place – Sam Eagan of Empire/Titans
4th Place – Javaughn Grant of Beat the Streets New York City
5th Place – Rafael Rokosz of Southhampton HS
6th Place – Aaron Gondola of Beat the Streets New York City

JUNIOR FS – 285 Results

1st Place – Brad Lucas of MVWC
2nd Place – Nolan Terrance of Massena
3rd Place – Matthew Abbott of Team Worldwide
4th Place – Quasar Hampton of Beat the Streets New York City
5th Place – Mason Cross of New York Titans
6th Place – Ben Newcomb of Titan

Nine New York Wrestlers Win Championships at MAWA Eastern Nationals While Numerous Others Place

Posted on by
Reply

 
 

Thayer, Photo by BV

While many New Yorkers wrestled at the Northeast Regionals in Freestyle and Greco over the weekend, a large group traveled South to Maryland to compete for folkstyle titles at the MAWA Eastern Nationals.

The Empire State grapplers brought a lot of hardware back home, with 17 wrestlers making the finals, including nine champions. Many familiar faces captured gold, including 2012 or 2013 All-Staters such as Port Jefferson’s Matteo DeVincenzo, Mexico’s Theo Powers, Walt Whitman’s Joe Calderone, Johnson City’s Reggie Williams and Unatego’s Kevin Thayer and Ryan Marszal. In addition, at the Midget level, Norwich’s Troy Spratley won it all at 62 pounds, while Nassau County lightweight Peter Pappas did the same at 105 pounds in the Intermediate competition. Meanwhile, Johnny Miller of Shirley took the crown in the Open division at 142 pounds.

A number of other wrestlers who stood on the podium in Albany this year earned silver, including Norwich’s Tristan Rifanburg, Stony Point’s Matt Caputo and Johnson City’s Zach Colgan. Joining them in the runner up position were Nolan McGregor of Hornell and Braiden Woodward of Canisteo in the Bantam class, Connor Hamilton of Forestport in Intermediate action and Elite competitors Richie Burke of Ithaca and Conner Halladay of Chenango Forks.

For the full list of New York placers, see below:

Champions

Troy Spratley (Norwich), Midget 62
Peter Pappas (Plainview), Intermediate 105
Matteo DeVincenzo (Port Jefferson), Advanced 100
Theo Powers (Mexico), Advanced 105
Ryan Marszal (Unadilla), Advanced 171
Joe Calderone (Huntington Station), Elite 118
Kevin Thayer (Otego), Elite 160
Reggie Williams (Johnson City), Elite 220
Johnny Miller (Shirley), Open 142

Second Place

Nolan McGregor (Hornell), Bantam 48
Braiden Woodward (Canisteo), Bantam 56
Connor Hamilton (Forestport), Intermediate 220
Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich), Advanced 152
Richie Burke (Ithaca), Elite 135
Matt Caputo (Stony Point), Elite 145
Zach Colgan (Johnson City), Elite 160
Conner Halladay (Chenango Forks), Elite 171

Third Place

Brody Oleksak (Afton), Midget 75
Elijah Rodriguez (Norwich), Junior 74
Trentyn Rupert (Newark Valley), Junior 166
Derek Spann (Boonville), Advanced 105
Holden Pelton (Adams), Advanced 135
Josh Burge (Beaver Dams), Advanced 171
Nick McShea (Highland Mills), Advanced 189
Simon Greebel (Woodmere), Elite 130
Codie Nichols (Otego), Elite 152
Nate Silverthorn (Watertown), Open 158
Brian Slattery (Mount Sinai), Open 295

Fourth Place

Max Morris (Norwich), Bantam 52
Andrew Brown (Norwich), Midget 50
Haiden Burns (Bainbridge), Midget 80
Lucas Scott (Binghamton), Midget 134
Micah Roes (Lowville), Junior 62
Corey Connolly (Shirley), Junior 91
Benjamin Bivar (Sidney), Intermediate 120
Troy Feniger (Stony Point), Elite 135
John V. Hoke (Nanuet), Open 158
Jason Lichtenstein (Middletown), Open 295

Fifth Place

Bryson L. Terwilliger (Hornell), Junior 58
Chandler Merwin (Walton), Junior 70
Ryan Burgbacher (Medford), Junior 86
Evan Barsczak (Central Valley), Advanced 115
Howie Nolan (Bermus Point), Advanced 160
Brett Johnson (Cornwall), Elite 145
Shaquille Faison (Shirley), Open 295

Sixth Place

Hudson Evingham (Bolivar), Midget 105
John DeRidder (Westbury), Intermediate 90
Zachary Floitz (Canisteo), Intermediate 105
Michael Bryden (Delhi), Intermediate 115
Jacob Robinson (Hornell), Intermediate 175
Thomas Cox (Deer Park), Advanced 93
Dylan Wood (Trout Creek), Advanced 120
Kobe Garrehy (Binghamton), Advanced 125
Riley Hanrahan (Unadilla), Advanced 189
Colton W. Arcangeli (Burdett), Advanced 285
Ian Ammons (Fairport), Open 177

Seventh Place

Lucas Riley (Pine City), Midget 66
Caleb Galloway (Hornell), Midget 75
Scott Barnhart (Walton), Midget 134
Sam Wolf (Warsaw), Junior 91
Kiegan Brown (Endwell), Intermediate 105
Dean Raymond (Deposit), Advanced 105
Caleb Beach (Rodman), Advanced 120
Corey McCormick (Johnson City), Advanced 130
Matt Gund (Bethpage), Advanced 135
Anthony Rundell (Lisle), Open 125

Eighth Place

Mason Drew (Hornell), Midget 58
Bryce Bracchy (Delhi), Midget 85
Bradley A. Cheek (Canisteo), Junior 70
Caleb Robinson (Franklin), Junior 74
Gianno Silba (Newark Valley), Intermediate 90
Dakota Coffey (Walton), Intermediate 128
Bobby Pease (Medford), Advanced 105
Ryan O’Rourke (Boonville), Advanced 110
Paul Smoot (Monroe), Elite 125
Nick DiDio (Tomkins Cove), Elite 171
Christopher Rundell (Jenksville), Open 135

All Tied Up: Long Island and Upstate All-Star Squads Battle to 27-27 Result in Ithaca

Posted on by
Reply

 
 
The poster for the first annual Long Island vs. Upstate Challenge said, “The Debate Will Finally Be Settled.”  But after a great day of wrestling, neither team earned bragging rights as the squads battled to a 27-27 tie at the Friedman Center on the campus of Cornell University.

It’s fair to say that neither team was thrilled with the outcome.

“We weren’t happy.  I actually think were kind of shocked to have tied,” said Long Island 120-pounder Travis Passaro. “I didn’t think it would be a blowout, but I thought we would win.”

Upstate 195-pounder Reggie Williams wasn’t pleased either.

“Even after they tied it up, we were hoping we would still win on criteria,” the Johnson City star said. “We would have won if they went to criteria. We really wanted to win this in the first year of the event.”

The dual featured some of New York’s best wrestlers, including 13 state champions and another 15 placers.  As a result, the fans were treated to a back and forth affair that came down to the final bout, where Connetquot’s Brendan Dent edged Hilton’s Vincent DePrez at 145 pounds 5-4 to complete Long Island’s comeback from eight points down with just two matches remaining.

Photo by BV

The main event began with a pair of 99 pounders who took first (Yianni Diakomihalis of Hilton) and third (John Busiello of Eastport South Manor) in Albany.  Diakomihalis took charge early and never relented, winning a 9-3 decision and giving Upstate a 3-0 advantage.

Long Island responded, however, as state champion Mike Hughes of Smithtown West used a late charge to top Columbia’s El Shaddai Van Hoesen 5-4 at heavyweight.  The Columbia wrestler scored the first takedown and later added a reversal, but Hughes rebounded to knot the team score at 3.

Next to the mat was yet another state gold medalist – 106-pounder Kyle Quinn of Wantagh.  He took an early lead against third placer Jon Haas of Spencerport, but it was Haas who picked up the pace as the match continued, erasing the early deficit and coming from behind to win 7-4.

Building on that momentum for the Upstate team was Holley’s Mike Silvis at 220.  He used a big throw to propel himself to a 7-3 decision over New York runner up Steven Mills and pushed the Upstate group’s advantage to 9-3.   On top of that, the Long Island squad was docked a team point, which would prove costly at the end of the day.

Ready to turn the tide was two-time state titlewinner Nick Piccininni of Ward Melville.  The Section 11 star got his team back on track with a 6-0 blanking of Lockport’s Anthony Orefice at 113 to pull Long Island within 9-5, bringing up a rematch of a quarterfinal tilt at the Times Union Center.

At the state tournament, Syosset’s Dan Choi upended top-seeded Reggie Williams of Johnson City 14-4 on his way to the NYS crown.  Williams couldn’t wait to take another shot at the Section 8 grappler.

“I was really excited to have a rematch because I wasn’t at my best at the state tournament,” Williams said. “I was really looking forward to it.  I wanted to prove that I just had a bad weekend.”

He definitely had a better day on Saturday in an entertaining clash that featured a number of throw attempts by the 195-pounders.  With a lead in the third and time winding down, Williams picked up significant points for the Upstaters when he put Choi to his back and recorded the fall.

“Ending it that way did mean a little more,” Williams said. “I know [Choi] committed to Cornell and he’ll be scarred with his first experience there losing by pin. Getting a pin at this level of competition, at an event like this was big. It really helped my team out.”

It definitely did, giving Upstate a 15-5 lead. With that 10-point deficit, Long Island sent bronze medalist Travis Passaro out to face 120-pound champion Alex Delacruz of Ossining.  Thanks to some outstanding work on the mat, including a number of turns for near fall, the Section 11 standout beat Delacruz by major decision to pull his squad within striking distance, 15-9.

“I really wanted to wrestle him; I felt like I should have been in the state finals,” Passaro said. “It was a big match for me. Top is one of my best positions and when I got on top, I was able to work for turns and score a lot of points.  I wasn’t expecting to score so much, but I wasn’t surprised.  I felt like I did what I should have done.”

And not too long afterwards, Gio Santiago answered the pin by Williams with a fall of his own to bring the scoreboard to a 15-15 tie.  Santiago, a prolific pinner throughout his career, ended his bout with Warsaw’s Tim Schaefer with an exclamation point.

Photo by BV

“Gio Santiago came through with a huge pin to tie it up and bring us right back into it,” Passaro said. “That was really big.”

So, eight matches down, seven to go and it was deadlocked between the squads.  What could make things even more exciting?  How about a clash between a pair of 2013 state champions?

TJ Fabian of Shoreham Wading River and William Koll of Lansing met at 126 pounds at the Eastern States Classic in January, with the Long Island wrestler walking away with the triumph and the tournament title.  This time, the tables were turned as Koll jumped out to a quick lead with a takedown and back points.  Despite Fabian’s strong top work in the third period which earned points both for riding time and stalling against the Section 4 wrestler, Koll came away a 5-4 winner and pulled the Upstate squad ahead 18-15.

Long Island then briefly took its last lead of the day on the strength of Danny McDevitt’s major decision over Clarence’s Jake Weber at 170.  McDevitt showed his dominance on the mat, reversing his opponent on multiple occasions and collecting nearfall to put the Section 8 and 11 squad up 19-18.

However, the next three bouts went to the Upstaters as Brandon Lapi and Connor Lapresi both registered shutouts over their opponents, Chris Mauriello and Vinny Turano (at 132 and 138).  Both Lapi and Lapresi notched first period takedowns and then demonstrated strong work on the mat, with significant riding time.

In between those two performances came one of the most anticipated matches of the event – a meeting between Division I state champion Tyler Grimaldi and his Division II counterpart Burke Paddock at 160 pounds.  Grimaldi said before the weekend that it was the “grudge match” as he had beaten Paddock in Freestyle while Paddock had returned the favor at the Eastern States.

After some early handfighting, the Warsaw junior grabbed control, throwing Grimaldi to his back for a 5-0 advantage.  He added to his lead in the second to enter the third up 7-1.  Despite a comeback from the Hills West star, who earned some takedowns late, Paddock came away with a 9-5 victory.

And so entering the final two bouts of the afternoon, at 152 and 145 pounds, Upstate was in front 27-19.

“I was confident in [Corey Rasheed and Brendan Dent]; I felt like they could both win,” Passaro said. “I thought we had a chance to win the dual.”

Rasheed, one of the most dominant grapplers in all of New York this year was set to face  fellow 152-pound state champion Kevin Thayer of Unatego.

Photo by BV

Those present at the Times Union Center saw Rasheed cradle his opponent and end the state title bout in less than a minute.  That move led to many falls during the campaign for the Longwood junior.  He slapped that cradle onto Thayer more than once, but the Section 4 wrestler refused to give in, fighting off his back multiple times.  In the end, Rasheed was just too much and with less than 20 ticks left in the third period, he finished off a 15-0 technical fall, putting his squad behind by just three points, 27-24.

“Kevin Thayer is a good wrestler who goes hard, but Corey Rasheed is just a really, really tough kid,” Williams said. “I was proud of Kevin because even though he was losing, he kept fighting. He never stopped fighting and he didn’t give up the pin.”

So it all came down to the 145 pound contest.  It was two-time state runner up Vincent DePrez of Hilton for the Upstate squad, (second at 138 in 2013) against NYS fourth placer Brendan Dent of Connetquot.

Dent got on the board first with a takedown and ended the first ahead 2-1. He added to his lead with an escape in the second, but DePrez made it 3-3 with a takedown in the middle stanza. In the third, DePrez moved ahead 4-3 when he got out from bottom, but Dent answered with a takedown with just over a minute remaining to lead 5-4. DePrez worked for the reversal as time ticked down, but Dent held on for the 5-4 victory.

Following the match, the scoreboard changed to 27-all and that’s how it would end. One thing was unanimous – neither team liked that deadlocked tally.

“There’s always tension between Upstate and Long Island,” Passaro said. “It was a really fun weekend, but we wanted to win it.”

Williams felt the same way.

“We had a great time as team; did a lot of bonding.  When good wrestlers get together, you learn a lot and make new friendships.  It was a good weekend, but no one wants to end on a tie,” he said. “We really wanted to come out on top in the first year. But, there’s always next year.”