Simaz, Photo by BV

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For more on Tour ACW, see touracw.com.