Month: March 2012

Franco, Stanley punch tickets to NCAAs!!!

Congratulations to Jamie Franco (Monroe Woodbury, 2009) and Derek Stanley (Saugerties, 2008) for earning automatic births to the 2012 NCCA Division 1 Wrestling Championships.  Franco, who wrestles at 133 for Hofstra, finished 2nd at the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament on Saturday.  Stanley, who wrestles at 197 for Army, finished fifth in his conference tournament (EIWAs) to earn his pass to the NCAAs.  Stanley’ s teammate Coleman Gracey, only a freshman, has also qualified for the nationals by finishing 3rd at 165.  This year’s NCAA Championships are being held on March 15-17 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. 

Also of local interest, Delaware Valley (PA) graduate Joe Kennedy, who wrestles at 197 for Lehigh, will be competing at the NCAA D1 tournament for the 3rd consecutive year.

Congratulations to all three wrestlers….Section 9 will be rooting hard for you!!!!

Off-Season Training Options

Warrior Elite in Otisville is offering a special 8-week course for the serious wrestler.  They are holding a free open house on March 7th to show a sample of the intense training sessions.  Classes begin on March 14th.  You must pre-register for the open house.  Click below for all of the information.

                                                     Warrior Elite Wrestling Camps

 

College Action

There are several NCAA Conference Championships taking place this weekend.  These tournaments serve as qualifiers for the NCAA Championships held later this month in St. Louis, MO.  Check out the links below to follow the action!

CAA Tournament (Franco takes 2nd!!!)
EIWA Tournament (Army Wrestling, Stanley @ 197, Kennedy @ 197)
ACC Tournament (Steve Garland is Head Coach of Virginia)
EWL Tournament (Parlier @ 197)
Big Ten Tournament (Minnesota takes lead over Iowa, PSU!)

Coverage of all conference champioships at Intermatwrestle.com!!!

Wrestling Still Happening in NJ & PA

Sad but true….the high school wrestling season has come to an end in NY.  So I guess we’re just going to put our heads in the sand and wait until next year’s Section 9 Duals…..not!!!!  There is plenty of regional wrestling still going on and SectionIXWrestling.com is going to be following it every step of the way!

Let’s start in New Jersey were the state championship tournament is taking place this weekend in Atlantic City.  Off the top of my head, I’m aware of 5 wrestlers from Kittatinny and 3 from High Point that are attending.  Unfortunately I will not be attending the tournament personally but I am going to provide a link to the online arm of The Star Ledger.  They do an outstanding job of providing developing stories, live updates as well as videos.
                                    The 2012 New Jersey State Wrestling Championships 

Pennsylvania’s state tournament does not take place until next week in Hershey, PA.  In order to qualify for the “big dance,” wrestlers need to finish in the top-3 of their respective regional tournaments which take place this weekend.  Of local interest, Delaware Valley High School, located in Milford, PA, is sending 10 wrestlers to the Northeast Regional AAA Tournament in Allentown, PA.  The brackets are set for this region so I will post them below.  I am assuming they will be kept up-to-date.  If not, I will search for another source to post.

                                                 2012 NE Pennsylvania Bracket

Zitone Undefeated Going Into NCAAs

 

2009 Port Jervis Graduate JD Zitone

JD Zitone (pictured on left in blue and white), captured his second consecutive Metropolitan Conference Championship this weekend for Centenary College.  JD will be competing in the NCAA National Championships in LaCrosse, Wisconsin on March 9th and 10th.   Zitone enters the tournament ranked 4th  in the nation (Division III).  He is currently undefeated at 25-0 on the season.  Check out http://www.centenarycollege.edu/cms/en/athletics/wrestling/ for more information on JD and the Cyclones.