On the Cusp of Greatness: Brady Takes Eighth; Several NY Wrestlers Fall Just Short of the Podium (Super 32 Recap)

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Urgent Doctor

By Matt Diano

When the Empire State reflects upon this weekend’s collective effort at the Super 32 Tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina, the word “almost” will be a term that gets dropped often in the conversation. Heading into day two with a squad of six strong, on paper, New York knew it would need to catch some breaks in order to maximize real estate on the podium. Unfortunately, the cosmos would just never align, as one-by-one, after battling hard against the nation’s best for the past two days, five of the six student-athletes would fall just short of placing in the top 8.

Setting the tone for the kind of day it would be for NYS was Nick Piccininni of Ward Melville (Section XI). Less than 24 hours removed from pulling the most significant upset of the opening day of the tournament when the 2012 NYS DI champion upended the top-ranked wrestler in the nation, Zahid Valencia of California, everything seemed to be falling into place for the super sophomore who was looking to win his third Flo major in as many weeks. All that would separate him from the top step on the medal stand would be a pair of wins over nationally-ranked foes. After all, having already defeated the “best of the best,” many looked at Piccininni as an invincible force. Unfortunately, the #11 wrestler in the land, Georgia state champion Sean Russell had different plans, as he asserted his offense early and often, halting Piccininni’s trek to title town with a 10-6 decision. This loss would set up a rematch in the consolation round with Valencia. And this time, it would be the native of the Golden State reversing the decision, eliminating Piccininni by the slimmest of margins, 2-1. Valencia would go on to win his remaining matches to finish third, with Russell losing to his high school teammate, Ryan Millhof, in the finals. By virtue of losing only to the silver and bronze medalists in a loaded 113-pound bracket, Piccininni easily showcased that he is deserving of a spot in the national rankings.

Another wrestler riding a high after an impressive day one performance was Connetquot senior Steve Bulzomi. Perhaps a bit of a surprise to those outside of Suffolk County, the 120-pounder who finished fourth in section XI in 2012 would find himself closing in on All-America honors this weekend. Posting a 3-1 record on the first day (with his only loss being a narrow defeat at the hands of #20 ranked Nathan Boston from Kentucky), Bulzomi would take to the mat this morning needing three wins to secure a place on the podium. Beginning the day on a high note, Bulzomi would win his opening match, 4-2, but would be unable to string together the winning streak he would need as his day was ended one round later via a loss by fall to 2012 New Jersey sixth place finisher, Christian Innarella, at the 4:58 mark. Innarella would conclude his weekend with an eighth place finish.

Also entering play today with a 3-1 tally was Eastport South Manor junior Travis Passaro. A runner up at the Journeymen Classic a few weeks ago, no one has ever questioned the talents of the 2011 NHSCA Freshman All-American. However, having watched as older brother Maverick placed last season at the “Battle for the Belt,” this weekend was about making it two-for-two for the family. Passaro lost two consecutive bouts to NJ state qualifier Sal Profaci during the lead-up to this tournament. So when an opening win this morning set up the trilogy, it would have been easy for Passaro to get down on himself. However, that simply is not the “Strong Island” way; rather, he would use the previous outcomes as a motivation. It would work, as Passaro controlled the entire match, cruising to the 8-2 victory, putting him one more “w” away from placement. Again, it would be a familiar foe that opposed Passaro as he would be pitted against the only wrestler to beat him up to this point, Florida’s Jared Prince. Determined to avenge the loss, Passaro undoubtedly gave 110 percent effort, but much like yesterday, it would be the kid from the Sunshine State pulling out the decision, 5-2.

TJ Fabian, Photo by Boris V

The unofficial award for biggest heart/guts this weekend goes to returning NYS DI fourth place finisher T.J. Fabian of Shoreham Wading-River. Dropping his opening bout of the tournament, the multiple-time NHSCA All-American would put together one heck of a rally, winning seven straight matches (including a 1-0 victory this morning against 12th ranked Ken Bade of Michigan). In agreement with the emerging theme, the win over the blue chipper would put the New Yorker a single victory away from pulling off a feat that 24 hours earlier had seemed impossible. But, as evidence that a higher power has a cruel sense of humor, after all of the blood, sweat, and grit that went into his comeback story, yet again, a NYS representative would see his effort met with humble pie as Fabian would get pinned by Pennsylvania’s Colby Ems, a wrestler who came in as an unknown, but rode a hot streak to a seventh place showing at 126 pounds. To call this twist of fate heartbreaking would be a gross underestimation of the situation. If there was a single wrestler this weekend that deserved to go out with a “w”, without hesitation it would be the senior from Suffolk County.

The shutout streak would finally be broken at 182 pounds when 2012 NYS DI runner-up Shayne Brady of Carthage rebounded from a 4-0 quarterfinal loss to Cornell recruit (and eventual champion) Jacob Taylor of Pennsylvania, to reign victorious in his first consolation bout, etching out the 6-5 decision over New Jersey’s Nick Zak. The win guaranteed that the senior from Section III would finish in the top 8. Brady would get the short end of the stick in his final two bouts of the tournament, losing a pair of decisions to Ohio’s Alex Belaia and nationally-ranked Keystone Stater (#3) Dakota DesLauriers by respective 4-2 and 5-0 scores. The loss to DesLauriers was in the match for seventh.

220-pounder Nelson Wymbs of Horace Greeley would be defeated in his only bout of the day, getting bested by 2012 Virginia State runner-up, Eldon Valery, 6-1. Valery would win one more match before dropping his remaining bouts to finish up with an eighth place showing.

New York Middle Schoolers Pile Up Hardware

Yianni Diakomihalis, Photo by Boris V

While the day may not have belonged to the NYS scholastic level athletes, it did prove to be a banner day for the next generation as the Empire State would crown a pair of champions in the middle school tournament. Sixth-grader Adam Busiello (75 pounds) and 100-pound eighth-grader Yianni Diakomihalis (who competed on the Hilton High School varsity last season), went 5-0 and 4-0 to win their individual weight classes. In doing so, they became the first New York State wrestlers since 2007 (Joe Booth) to win a Super 32 title at either level of competition. Busiello finished third here in 2010. 90-pounder Peter Pappas would finish second at his weight, compiling a 4-1 record this weekend.

Other middle school top 8 finishes included the following (in weight order):

Dylan Ryder: 6^th at 70
Hector Colom: 7^th at 95
Vitali Arujau: 3^rd at 100
Louie Deprez: 7^th at 120
Michael Spallina: 3^rd at 157

Check out Videos and Results from the Journeymen Wrestling Classic

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Urgent Doctor

On Sunday, Niskayuna High School hosted The Journeymen Classic, which featured some of New York’s best wrestlers as well as competitors from 17 other states in a round robin format.

Check out some videos from the event (more will be added).

RESULTS are at the bottom of the page.

Nick Kelley (Fargo All-American, 2x NYS Placer) vs. Gary Dinmore (NJ State Placer) – 140 Pounds

William Koll (NY State Champion, NHSCA All-American) vs. Travis Passaro (NHSCA All-American) – 125 Pounds

David Almaviva (Fargo All-American, NYS 3rd) vs. Thomas Dutton (Fargo All-American) – 145 Pounds

Vincent DePrez (NY State Runner Up) vs. Scott Delvecchio (NJ State Champion)

Yianni Diakomihalis (Ranked #5 Nationally among Jr High wrestlers) vs. Jesse Dellavecchia (Sachem East)

Louie Hernandez (Section 8 Champion) vs. Brad Drover (New England Runner Up)

Yianni Diakomihalis (Ranked #5 nationally among Jr High wrestlers) vs. Tommy Aloi (All-American)

Superior Wrestling Academy Wins 1000 Islands Duals Jr High Event; Buffalo WC Takes Top Three in Both Divisions

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Urgent Doctor

Photo courtesy of Gary Ferro

Last week, second place. This week, champions.

Superior Wrestling Academy wrapped up a busy spring and summer schedule by taking the title at the 1000 Islands Duals Junior High Division after grabbing the runner up spot last weekend at the Northeast Duals in Hoosick Falls.

The squad topped a 19-team bracket that offered teams from New York, Vermont, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, sweeping four meets.

“I think we wrestled really well,” said coach Ed Schafer. “I think what our performance shows is the importance of wrestling in the offseason. All the work the kids put in definitely showed.” (For team roster, see below).

In the first two duals, against South Jefferson and Delaware Valley, Superior rolled to victories by large margins (45-15 and 47-9, respectively).

The semifinals, however, brought a strong challenge from Buffalo Wrestling Club, which, according to Schafer, won the tournament on several occasions in the past. It was a matchup the coach was anticipating leading up to the event.

“That was a great dual,” he said. “They were the champions, so to knock them off was really exciting. I thought coming in we had the team that could beat them, but it was very close.”

It was indeed close as Superior won by just two points, 28-26. In describing the key bouts, Schafer first pointed to the efforts of his team in a pair of losses, rather than wins.

“They had Freddy Eckles, a beast from Section 6 and Dakota Gardner, who was a state placer last year,” Schafer said. “It was the kind of situation where their coaches probably told them they needed to go out and get pins and in that type of situation, they usually get the pins. We bumped Nathaniel Grubham up to face Eckles and we had Dominic Nassivera, a 12-year old kid, wrestling Gardner. We told them we needed them to stay off their backs to win the dual. They not only did that, but they wrestled really well. Their performances were huge.”

Schafer added that Kelan McKenna, an NHSCA Middle School National Champion, had a key victory against Buffalo as well.

Buffalo Wrestling Club coach Chris Nadeau was pleased with the efforts of his squad, which came back to thump Mt. Anthony 45-6 for third place.

“Our team was really dominant throughout,” he said. “We lost only five matches in four duals. We were up big in the semifinals against Superior, but unfortunately gave up three forfeits at the end and lost. I thought the guys wrestled really well.”

After that tense semifinal, Superior faced another tough test in the finals from Nazareth, Pennsylvania. With the Empire State squad down by six, Austin Worth took the mat at 165 pounds.

“We needed a pin,” Schafer said. “He went out and got us a pin. That was really big. Then, they forfeited in the heavyweight match and that was it.”

In addition to Worth’s fall, the championship featured a number of significant victories, including one by Mexico’s Austin O’Reilly.

“O’Reilly came up big in a few of the duals,” Schafer said. “The PA kid he was facing was beating up on everybody all day. We told him to get pumped up and get ready and he just took it to him. He also had a big win against Buffalo. If he can get his weight up, he’ll be tough in the high school season.”

Schafer expects the same from Yianni Diakomihalis, who has won a number of events this offseason. Diakomihalis, who had more than 30 wins as a seventh grader for Hilton High in 2011-12, was unbeaten at the 1000 Islands Duals, as was McKenna.

So, Superior has completed their offseason schedule on a high note. Or has it?

“We’ve had a pretty good summer and it’s winding down,” Schafer said. “We don’t have anything else on our schedule, but it gets addictive. It’s such a good group of kids that win so much, it’s hard not to put them on the mat. We’re supposed to be done, but I think we may try to find one more tournament, to get out there one more time.”

High School Division

In addition to the bronze finish in the Junior High competition, the Buffalo Wrestling Club picked up second place in the High School action (see roster below).

The squad opened the event with a pair of lopsided victories, 51-18 over Summit Wrestling Club and 52-9 against Apex Gold. The third contest was a little closer, however, Buffalo came away with a 40-25 win over General Brown to set up a semifinal battle with a somewhat unfamiliar foe from West Virginia.

In a nailbiter, the Empire State wrestlers punched their ticket to the finals with a 21-20 decision that came down to overtime in the last match.

With his team trailing by two, 2012 New York state sixth place medalist Matt Montesanti took the mat at heavyweight. The bout was tied at 1 at the end of regulation and after a scoreless extra session, the match went to the ultimate tiebreaker.

“They had choice and took down,” coach Chris Nadeau said. “It worked out for us because if we had choice, we would have taken top anyway. Matt threw in legs and was tough on top. He rode him out and we got the one-point win. That team was very good and it was an extremely exciting dual.”

The team rode the momentum into the finals, where the Buffalo grapplers led 21-0 early, according to Nadeau.

“We thought we had it in the bag, even though we had to deal with two forfeits,” he said. “We lost some close ones that were tough, especially at 164, where our wrestler bumped up and lost 3-1 on a tough takedown call in a scramble.”

In the end, the team from Bound Brook (NJ) got the seven-point victory, however Nadeau had positive things to say about the experience.

“The kids were incredible,” he said. “It’s such a good time – we’ve been going out for many years and we have a campsite and the kids fish and have a lot of fun. All the kids wrestled well, including the young guys we had out there like Dakota Gardner and Kellen Devlin. I was especially impressed with our [rising] seniors [all former state placers]. Eric Lewandowski went undefeated and was dominant the whole time. Matt Montesanti, Drew Hull and Steve Michel were amazing. They will be factors at the state tournament this year.”

The top finishers in the Gold Bracket in the High School Division were:

Champions: Bound Brook

Second Place: Buffalo WC

Third Place: West Virginia

Fourth Place: Phillipsburg

Fifth Place: Doughboy WC

Sixth Place: General Brown

Seventh Place: Suburban Council

Eighth Place: Delaware Valley

The top finishers in the Junior High Gold Division were:

Champions: Superior Wrestling Academy

Second Place: Nazareth (PA)

Third Place: Buffalo Wrestling Club

Fourth Place: Mt. Anthony

Fifth Place: Lewis County

Sixth Place: Apex Wrestling Club

Seventh Place: Delaware Valley

Eighth Place: Fulton Red

Team Roster for Superior Wrestling Academy (Junior High, 1st Place)

75 – Drew Schafer

82 – Austin O’Reilly

90 – Ian McKenna

98 – Mike Venosa

105 – Kelan McKenna

115 – Yianni Diakomihalis

119 – Blake Jackson

127 – Nathaniel Grubham

135 – Jeremy Boyle

145 – Dominic Nassivera

155 – Josh Farrar

165 – Austin Worth

Hwt – Owen Albanese

Team Roster for Buffalo Wrestling Club (High School, 2nd Place)

Troy Keller

Tito Colon

Jared Price

Kellen Devlin

Steve Michel

Dakota Gardner

Eric Lewandowski

Drew Hull

Jude Gardner

Caleb Lawson

Alex Jensen

Matt Montesanti

Stacking Titles: Rochester Area Youth Standouts Yianni Diakomihalis and Frankie Gissendanner Win Them All

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Urgent Doctor

By Betsy Veysman

When competitors from the G2 Wrestling Academy need a scouting report on an upcoming opponent, they know what to do. They need to find seventh grader Yianni Diakomihalis.

“Yianni is an encyclopedia of wrestling,” said G2 co-owner Adam Burgos. “I’ll ask him about kids a whole age group younger and a bunch of weight classes lighter and he’ll know. He’ll point out which kids are good; who likes the low single. He has a plethora of knowledge. Between his matches, Yianni is matside, soaking everything in. His passion for wrestling is what makes him so successful.”

He couldn’t have been much more successful this spring. Diakomihalis has competed in a number of events since mid-March – the NYWAY Regional Qualifier, NYWAY State Championships, Gene Mills Eastern Nationals, Empire Nationals, Ohio Tournament of Champions and Pop & Flo Mini-Men. He has won the championship at each and every one of those tournaments, all at weight classes around 100 pounds.

According to Burgos, the Rochester area resident won most of this matches comfortably. At the NYWAY State championships, for example, he had a pair of pins and a technical fall. At the Empire Nationals, he again won only by bonus points.

However, the one bout that stands out in Burgos’s mind is one of the few close ones. In the finals of the prestigious Ohio Tournament of Champions, Diakomihalis faced Eric Hong, who according to the coach, was a four-time champion at the event.

“[Hong] is a very, very good wrestler; a Pennsylvania state champ,” Burgos said. “I looked out at the crowd and it went 10 deep surrounding the match. It’s probably the largest crowd I’ve seen on an individual match all season. All the New York parents were rooting him on. He got the takedown in overtime to win it. Yianni isn’t very expressive out there, but he had a little fist pump and a big smile. It was a great end to that weekend.”

There have been a lot of good weekends for Diakomihalis. He competed for the Hilton High varsity squad this fall as a seventh grader and compiled an impressive 35-3 record at 99 pounds, with two of his losses to Jonathan Haas of Spencerport (the number two seed at States) and the other to Bryan Lantry, the eventual fifth place medalist in Albany.

“Yianni had a really good year,” he said. “I think he’ll have an even better year in eighth grade. He’s having fun and training hard.”

One of the grapplers he’s training hard with, Frankie Gissendanner, has had a similar run over the past several weeks. A sixth grade student, Gissendanner also captured titles at each event he entered in the spring, beginning with the NYWAY Regional Qualifier and ending with the Ohio Tournament of Champions, where he was the 125-pound gold medalist in the Junior division.

Both Gissendanner and Diakomihalis have other workout partners at G2, but when they wrestle each other, it’s something to see, according to Burgos.

“When they battle, they battle pretty hard,” he said. “It’s always entertaining; there’s always a highlight reel moment. For their age and weight, they’re the best I’ve seen. But because of the weight disparity between them, we don’t have them wrestle that often.”

When competing against foes his own weight, Gissendanner has had little trouble. He pinned his way through the NYWAY State Championships at 120 pounds.

“Frankie has dominated on his feet,” Burgos said. “He’s also done really well turning opponents. Because of his athleticism and strength advantage, he’s done extremely well.”

He hopes to carry over that success to the scholastic scene next winter when he competes for Penfield.

“Frankie will be wrestling juniors and seniors next year at 120 or 126 or wherever he wrestles,” Burgos said. “I think he’ll do well, but it will be a different speed, pace and strength with the older kids. When we wrestle our duals, he always wrestles up against eighth graders and he rarely loses. It will be an adjustment, but he’ll do well. He understands the sport and is very competitive.”

He is certainly competitive when the whistle blows. But off the mat, his style is different.

“Frankie is like our G2 ambassador,” Burgos said. “He’s like the mayor. He’s very social, saying hello to everyone and high fiving all the kids. He seems to bring out the best in everyone.”

When the two wrestle in the G2 room, they bring out the best in each other. It helped them both take on the best competition this spring, from New York to Ohio, and come out on top time after time.

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

Diakomihalis won the title last weekend at the Pop & Flo Mini Men Nationals. The other results from that event, featuring many New York placers, are below:

Bantam

48: Myles Gronowski (Cobra) dec Michael Santore (Journeymen), 6-0

Third: Jared Weinhaus (Sachem East)

52: Carter Schubert (Superior) dec Dagen Condomitti (Eckloff), 7-0

Third: Cooper Curtis (Newtown YWA)

56: Carter C. Schubert (Superior) over Tanner McKenna (Journeymen), 9-0

Third: Jashon Holmes (Journeymen)

60: Alex Marshall (Sidewinders) dec Jimmy Harrington (Tyngsborough), 10-5

Third: Jack Richardson (Marcaurele)

70: Nicholas Rogers (IHC Cavaliers) over Ethan Gallo (Minisink Valley), 8-0

Third: Wilder Devine (Vergennes Area)

Midget

53: Stevo Poulin (Journeymen) pin Joseph Manno (Apex), 3:47

Third: Evan Maag (Weaver Elite)

58: Ryan Crookham (Neshaminy) dec Gregory Hotaling (Journeymen), 4-0

Third: Nico Provo (Team Tugman)

63: Ethan Ferro (Finger Lakes Wrestling Club) dec Joe Cangro (Apex), 7-2

Third: Jagger Condomitti (Eckloff)

73: Michael Cetta (Apex) dec Dean Shambo (Mexico), 3-1

Third: Nicholas Kayal (Apex)

78: James Lunt (Northeast Elite) pin Samuel Bergin (Northeast Elite), 3:10

Third: Nick Marshall (Sidewinders)

83: Jackson Defayette (Journeymen) dec Hunter Adams (Fisheye), 10-7

Third: McKenna Hunter (Journeymen)

89: Keegan Coon (Catamount)

105: Sampson Wilkins (Catamount) pin David Tomasek (Journeymen), 3:18

Third: Charlie Tibbitts (Vvs)

Junior

58: Wil Guida (NJ Scorpions) pin Jacob Marselli (Silverback WC), 1:28

Third: Dylan Allman (Journeymen)

62: Michael Gonyea (Journeymen) pin Greg Diakomihalis (G2), 3:06

Third: Michael Esposito (Scorpions)

67: Dylan Ryder (631 Elite) dec Brandon Larue (Scorpions), 4-0

Third: Sean Johnson (Silverback WC)

72: Jo-Jo Aragona (Scorpions) dec Tyler Sung (Apex), 5-0

Third: Craig Manno (Apex)

77: Adam Busiello (631 Elite) dec Dillan Palasewski (Journeymen), 6-3

Third: John Deridder (631 Elite)

82: Jake Silverstein (631 Elite) over Ryan Luth (P40), 13-0

Third: Benny Baker (JGold)

87: Matthew Cabezas (Smitty’s Barn) over Devin Rivet (Marcaurele), 10-0

Third: Zachary Lawrence (Journeymen)

93: Josh Stillings (Sepa) dec Dominic Paar (Dark Knights), 6-0

Third: Jonathan Loew (631 Elite)

99: Aaron Carter (Sepa) dec Shane Connolly (Olympic), 3-2

Third: Eoghan Sweeney (Journeymen)

106: Darby McLaughlin (Northeast Elite) pin Gabriel Cruz (Journeymen), 1:04

Third: Tyler Riggs (Clcf)

125: Tyler Barns (Journeymen) over Jack Bokina (Mattituck), 12-0

Third: Jake Cook (Ballston Spa)

140: Nolan Mcneill (Warrensburg)

Intermediate

75: Ryan O’Grady (Nazareth) dec Ashdin Shaefer (Catamount), 4-2 SV

Third: Thomas Cox (631 Elite)

80: Abe Bloom (Marcaurele) over Trent Nadeau (Cobra), 8-0

Third: Gianno Silba (Johnson City)

85: Jason Renteria (Bebee Trained) dec Peter Pappas (631 Elite), 4-1

Third: Brian Courtney (Athens)

90: Avery Shay (P40) over Jonathan Soto (Marcaurele), 13-0

Third: Dean Raymond (Deposit)

96: Yianni Diakomihalis (G2 Wrestling Academy) over Michael Venosa (Victor), 8-0

Third: Brandon Gould (Watkins Glen)

102: John Arceri (Huntington) dec John Busiello (631 Elite), 1-0

Third: Isaiah Bailey (Marcaurele)

110: Taylor Shay (P40) pin Kevin Parker (Journeymen), 1:16

Third: Shane Sosinsky (Olympic)

119: Garrett Derosia (Catamount) dec Jake Colonna (631 Elite), 5-0

Third: Bryan Rojas (Northeast Elite)

140: Marcus Torres (Journeymen) dec Josh Lalonde (Journeymen), 8-3

Third: Alexander Stavola (Newtown YWA)

150: JP Puca (Huntington) dec Alex Perez (Silverback WC), 7-4

Third: Benton Whitley (Northeast Elite)

180: Calvin Hayford (Colchester Cobras)

230: Austin McMullen (Journeymen) dec Zach Gifford (Deposit), 7-3

Third: Damian Prosser (Warrensburg)

New York Wrestling News 2012-2013 Archive

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Tag Archives: Yianni Diakomihalis

On the Cusp of Greatness: Brady Takes Eighth; Several NY Wrestlers Fall Just Short of the Podium (Super 32 Recap)

Check out Videos and Results from the Journeymen Wrestling Classic

Superior Wrestling Academy Wins 1000 Islands Duals Jr High Event; Buffalo WC Takes Top Three in Both Divisions

Stacking Titles: Rochester Area Youth Standouts Yianni Diakomihalis and Frankie Gissendanner Win Them All