2012 Journeymen Classic Results

Weigel 3-0 Wins His Pool….Stramiello and Raccioppi Record Wins

Onteora senior Austin Weigel won all three of his matches and won the 170B pool at the 2012 Journeymen Classic on Sunday.  Weigel began his day with a 5-3 decision of NJ state qualifier Daesean Brown.  In his second match he defeated fellow NY wrestler John Messinger (Section 1) by a 12-8 margin.  Weigel capped of his perfect day with a inj. def. (2:17) victory over Dale White of John Jay East Fishkill.  White, a returning NYS placewinner, is considered one of the top wrestlers in the state.  White dropped a 1-point decision to 2X state champion Jimmy Kloc in the finals of last year’s Eastern States Classic.  Weigel was leading White by 4 or 5 points at the time of the injury default.  Congratulations Austin!!!

Pine Bush junior Johnny Stramiello went 1-2 on the day and finished 3rd in the 120B pool.  In his first match Stamiello, a 3X Section 9 champion, dropped a 6-2 decision to Blake Retell of NY (Section 2).  Retell is also a 3X NYS qualifier.  Stramiello bounced back with an impressive 3-1 victory over MD placewinner Morgan Way.  In his final bout, Stramiello lost a heartbreaking 7-5 overtime decision to VA placewinner Josue Beltran.  Ahead by two points with only a few seconds left, Stramiello stopped wrestling when he mistakenly responded to the whistle of a referee on an adjacent mat.  Beltran took advantage of Stramiello’s error and recorded a match tying reversal as time expired.  Betran then scored a takedown in OT for the victory. 

Minisink Valley sophomore Michael Raccioppi went 1-2 for the day but was able to finish 2nd in the 125C pool.  Raccioppi dropped an opening round 4-1 decision to fellow NYS qualifier Corey Ali from Shenendehowa.  In his next match, Raccioppi hit a “text book” lateral drop and pinned NJ state qualifier Peter Ottaviano at the 2:41 mark.  In his final match Raccioppi lost a hard fought 4-2 decision to eventual pool winner Connor Muli of New Jersey.  Ali, Raccioppi, and Ottaviano all finished 1-2 however Raccioppi was awarded 2nd place in the pool via “quality win” criteria (pin over Ottaviano).

Congratulations to Austin, Johnny, and Michael.  It’s a considerable achievement just to be entered into an invitational of this caliber.  The three of you represented yourselves, your families, and the entire Section 9 wrestling community with honor.  Great job guys! 

For complete tournament results, click below.

                                                      2012 Journeymen Classic Results

 

2012 Journeymen Classic Takes Place on Sunday!!!

Section 9’s Stramiello, Weigel, and Raccioppi Ready To Go

Hey all of you wrestling junkies out there!  Are going through wrestling withdrawal like I am???  I have the cure…hop in your car on Sunday and head up to Niskayuna High School to watch the 2012 Journeymen Classic.  Last year’s inaugural event was a huge success and this year’s event should be even better!  Some of the best wrestlers from NY, NJ, PA and New England are competing as well as a few die-hards from as far away as VA, NC, and MD.  Flowrestling will be on hand to cover what promises to be one of the toughest and most exciting preseason wrestling tournaments in the country.

The Journeymen Classic is an upper level tournament…it’s not open to just anyone who feels like entering a wrestling tournament.  Hundreds of wrestlers applied for an entry however only the most credentialed wrestlers were accepted.  Section 9 was fortunate enough to have three of our very best earn the right to compete.  Three-time Section 9 champion Johnny Stramiello is entered at 120 pounds.  Stramiello, a junior from Pine Bush, placed 6th in NYS last season.  Onteora senior Austin Weigel is entered at 170 pounds.  Weigel was the D2 champ at 152 last season on was one victory away from placing at the state tournament.  Weigel has already qualified for the Super 32 tournament.  In the qualifying event, he lost in the finals by a score of 7-5 to PA state champion Garrett Peppelman.  Minisink Valley sophomore Michael Raccioppi is the final Section 9 entry.  He will be competing at 125 at the Classic.  Raccioppi was a state qualifier last season going 1-2 at the state tournament and also placed 7th at last year’s Eastern States Wrestling Classic.  Best of luck to all three wrestlers!!!

Here is a brief list of some of the most decorated wrestlers entered in the 2012 Journeymen Classic:
Tommy Aloi (106) – from VA, finished 2nd at NHSCA Junior Nationals
Brent Fleetwood (113) – from DE, nationally ranked by Intermat and Flowrestling
Nick Piccininni (113) – Will the defending NYS champ get a shot at Fleetwood???
Michael Bedard (120) – NC state champ is also a Fargo All-American
Michael Cefolo (120) – NJ state champion
Kevin Jack (120) – CT state champ was also 1st at the Eastern States
Sean Peacock (130) – Can the NYS champ stay with the NJ studs entered at 130?
Scott Delvecchio (135) – NJ state champion
Nick Kelley (140) – Shenendehowa senior was a Fargo All-American
Colby Dean (145) – 3X Virginia state champion
Jonathan Schleifer (160) – NJ junior was the NHSCA sophomore national champ
Chris Chorzepa (170) – CT native was the New England HS champion
Pete Renda (182) – PA stud is nationally ranked!!!
Jesse Webb (285) – VT junior is a 2X NHSCA champion

Renzo Gracie Wrestling Program

Wrestlers who are looking to get a jump start on their competition may want to consider trying to sharpen their skills at The Renzo Gracie MMA Academy’s Wrestling Program.  The Gracie Wrestling Program, located in the Appliance City Plaza on Route 211 in Middletown, is run by two top-notch wrestling coaches, Drillmaster’s Ron Jones and the Marine Greco-Roman Team Coach Keith Byard.  For more information go to RenzoGracieMMAAcademy.com.

REMINDER: Minisink Student “Walks For A Cure” In Honor of Vinny Vespa

Jillian Dolce’s 3rd Annual Walk For Lymphoma Set For September 29

For the past three years, Minisink Valley student Jillian Dolce has completed a “Walk For Lymphoma” with all proceeds going to Lymphoma research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital.  Each year she dedicates her walk to local resident who is battling the disease.  This year, Jillian has decided to do her walk in honor of Monroe Woodbury wrestler Vinny Vespa who is currently receiving chemotherapy for Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

For anyone who wants to join Jillian in her quest to “Find a Cure, One Step at a Time,” this year’s event is scheduled for September 29th at Shannen Park in Slate Hill, NY.  Registration will be at 10:00 am and the walk will go from 11:00 am until 2:00 pm.  Recommended donations are $10 for adults and $5 for children.  Anyone interested in learning more about the event can go to Jillian’s website and/or check out her flyer.

On behalf of the entire Section 9 wrestling community……thank you Jillian!!!

        Jillian Dolce’s website                               Flyer for this year’s event
          onestepatatime.biz                                 Walk to honor Vinny Vespa

11th Annual Hudson Valley Challenge

The Friends of Section 9 is happy to announce that the 11th Annual Hudson Valley Challenge will take place on Sunday, October 7th at Port Jervis High School.  Online registration is available at http://easternstates.ticketleap.com/hudson-valley-challenge-wrestling-tournament–clinic/.  If you have additional questions, please contact the tournament director Gary Rissler at grissler@hvc.rr.com

                              11th Annual Hudson Valley Challenge Tournament Flyer

Wantagh Looking for a Few Teams for Their December 15 Tournament

Wantagh head wrestling coach Paul Gillespie has room for a few more teams for their annual David Bloom dual meet tournament.  The one-day event will take place at the high school on Saturday, December 15.  Wantagh High School is located in Nassau County on Long Island (Section 8).  Any coaches who are interested in entering their team should contact Coach Gillespie at (516) 319-9493.  

Jerry McGuire Tournament Looking For a Few Teams

Attention all Section IX Coaches: North Rockland is looking for a few teams to fill out the field of the North Rockland Jerry McGuire Varsity Wrestling tournament.

When: Dec. 8th 2012
Details: One day tournament with individual and team champions. Each wrestler is guaranteed 5 matches.

If Interested: Please contact Jeff Swick for further details.
jswick@nrcsd.org
(845)774-6117

Web Star Recruits

Web Star Recruits is a group of former college coaches, athletes, and professional athletes that guide student athletes through the college recruiting process.  Our philosophy at Web Star is to be proactive.  We evaluate transcripts, athletic talent, body composition (depending on the sport for times and positions), and then contact over 150 schools for the student athlete in order to find the best fit both academically and athletically.  We make an unbiased 3rd party recommendation to college coaches.  We educate parents and athletes about the entire recruiting process.  98% of all the athletes we’ve worked with made a college team with about $19,000 dollars in aid. 

Joe Ryan is the CEO and founder of Web Star Recruits.  He is a former college wrestling Head Coach with 25 years of coaching experience at Ohio State, Rutgers, Army, Wagner, Seton Hall University and high school level. He has had several top 25 recruiting classes and was named coach of the year five times. Coach Ryan assisted Ohio State to a NCAA 2nd place in 2008.  He left coaching so he could watch his daughter play college volleyball.  In that time, he discovered that there was a need for an organization that could assist student-athletes (and their parents) through the college recruiting process.  In four short years, Web Star Recruits has become a nationwide company with a network of coaches, athletes, and professional athletes in 16 different sports.

One of the newest additions to the Web Star Recruits staff is Section 9’s very own Terry Madden.  Terry is a Pine Bush High School graduate.  After a successful 4 year college wrestling career, Madden coached at Hofstra University and at the United States Military Academy. While at Hofstra, Madden coached numerous NCAA Div. 1 qualifiers and 2 NCAA All-Americans. At West Point, he was able to assist in bringing 3 athletes to the NCAA tournament, in one of the tougher conferences in the country, EIWA. As an athlete, Madden was a 2x All-American, and the first and only NCAA Champion in New York City for Hunter College. During his college career, he was also a University Freestyle All-American in 2006.  Terry will serve as the VP of Social Media as well a Wrestling Recruiting Expert for Web Star Recruits.

For more information about Web Star Recruits, visit their website at www.webstarrecruits.com.