College Wrestle-Offs Results

Follow The Results For New York Grads at www.sectionixwrestling.com

Believe it or not, the NCAA wrestling season is upon us.  Over the next week or so, many college wrestling programs will have wrestle-offs to determine the initial starting line-up for the 2012-2013 season.  Most colleges use intrasquad matches, usually open to the public, to set their line-ups.  Locally, Army Wrestling will hold a Black vs Gold match at Arvin Gymnasium where Warwick graduate Shane Connolly will be competing for a spot at 141 against fellow New Yorker Connor Hanafee (Monsignor Farrell, CHSAA).  Two other native New Yorkers will be competing for starting spots for Army as well.  John Belanger (Shenendehowa, Section 2) will wrestle off at 149 while Beacon HS (Section 1) graduate Ryan Tompkins will try to get the nod at 174.

Sectionixwrestling.com will keep you up-to-date on all of the wrestle-off results involving NY prepped wrestlers.  Warsaw’s (Section 5) Ian Paddock has started things off with a “bang” as he upended returning All-American Hunter Steiber at 141 for Ohio State!  If I have missed a result, please email me the information sectionixwrestling@gmail.com.

Wrestle Off Results – New York Wrestlers
Ohio State
Ian Paddock (Warsaw, S5) dec Hunter Steiber 7-2 @ 141
Peter Capone (Johnson City, S4) dec Orry Elor 3-1 @ 285
Army
Connor Hanafee (Monsignor Farell, C) maj dec Shane Connolly (Warwick, S9) 19-7 @ 141
John Belanger (Shenendehowa, S2) dec Javier Rodriguez 6-0 @ 149 …Daniel Young did not wrestle
Coleman Gracey dec Ryan Tompkins (Beacon, S1) @ 174
Maryland
Christian Boley (Brockport, S5) dec Ty Snook 4-2 @ 197
Frank Goodwin dec Danny O’Malley (Sachem East, S11) 7-1 @ 141
Ben Dorsey wbf Sean O’Malley (Sachem East, S11) @ 157
Rutgers
Sean McCabe (Connetquot, S11) dec Jan Rosenberg 6-3 @ 125
Maverick Passaro (Eastport South Manor) maj dec Jalen Ramos 11-3 @ 133
Nick Visicaro dec Anthony Volpe (Rocky Point, S11) 4-1 @ 165
Binghamton
Dan Riggi (Scotia, S2) over Dylan Cohen (Williamsville East, S11) 2 matches to 1 @ 133
Joe Bonaldi (Greece Olympia, S5) over Derak Heyman (Tioga, S4) @ 141
Vincent Grella (Beacon, S1) over Adam Lepkowski (Hauppauge, S8) 2 matches to 1 @ 165
Caleb Wallace (Phoenix, S3) over John Paris (Amsterdam, S2) @ 174
Edinboro
Casey Fuller dec Tyler Button (Phoenix, S3) 6-2 @ 157
Johnny Greisheimer (Wantagh, S8) dec Zack Towers 8-4 @ 165
Patrick Jennings (Longwood, S11) dec Vince Pickett 4-3, 2-0 @ 174
Vic Avery tech fall Austyn Hayes (Phoenix, S3) 22-7
Appalachian State
Joe Cummings (Nyack, S1) dec Denzel Dejournette 3-2 @ hwt
Virginia (coached by Middletown graduate Steve Garland)
Jon Fausey maj dec Billy Coggins (Rocky Point, S11) 15-3 @ 174
Franklin & Marshall
Colin Lahiff dec Colin Gironda (Port Jefferson, S11) 4-3 @ 165
Brad Bailey maj dec Ekow Eshun (Long Island City, PSAL) @ 174
Isaiah Cromwell dec Paul Alessandrini (St. Anthony’s, CHSAA) 4-1 exhibition @ 197/184
Penn State
Jimmy Gulibon maj dec Cameron Kelly (Pittsford, S5) 13-5 @ 133
Bloomsburg
Nick Wilcox (Greene, S4) maj dec Andy Lyman (Ravena, S2) 8-0 @ 133
Josh Veltre (Greece Oympia, S5) dec Kevin Harnett (Monsignor Farrell, CHSAA) 2-0 @ 165
Chris Smith maj dec Rrok Ndokaj (Monsignor Farrell, CHSAA) 9-1 @ 174 
Lock Haven
Mac Maldarelli (Calhoun, S8) dec Billy Randt 5-0 @ 149
Penn
Andrew Lenzi (Fordam Prep, CHSAA) dec Mark Pinero 3-1 sv @ 149
Ian Corb dec Harrison Cook (Mt. Kisco, attended Blair) 9-2 @ 174
Steve Graziano (Syosset, S8) dec Anthony DiLonardo 2-1 @ 285
Cornell
Nick Arujau (Syosset, S8) dec Josh Kennedy 8-1 @ 133
Joe Stanzione dec Mike Nevinger (Letchworth, S5) 9-2 @ 141
Kyle Dake (Lansing, S4) wbf Patrick Sullivan 1:18 @ 165
Craig Scott (Pal-Mac, S5) dec Pete Mesko 9-4 @ 184

RIP Jeff Blatnick

With great sadness we have learned that Jeff Blatnick has passed away due to complications from heart surgery.  Blatnick, a cancer survivor, was a 1984 Olympic Gold Medalist in Greco-Roman.  A 1975 graduate of Niskayuna High School (Section 2), Blatnick often said that he never set out to be an Olympian….he just tried to be the best every time he stepped on the mat.  Blatnick remained very active in the New York State wrestling community.  He served as a volunteer assistant coach at Burnt Hills HS where he has two teenage sons, and he also was a coach at the Journeymen Wrestling Club in the Albany area.  Rest in peace Coach Blatnick.

Army Wrestling: 2012-2013 Black vs Gold Match This Friday

Warwick Grad Shane Connolly Wrestling For Starting Spot At 141

Warwick graduate Shane Connolly

Army Wrestling will officially “kick-off” this Friday when the top two Black Knights at each weight vie for a starting position at the annual Black vs Gold match.  The event will take place at 6:00 pm on the second floor of Arvin Gymnasium on the West Point campus.

Of special interest locally, 2012 Warwick graduate and Army freshman Shane Connolly will be wrestling off for the starting spot at 141 pounds.  Connolly, a 5X Section 9 champion, will square off against fellow New York native Connor Hanafee, a graduate of Monsignor Farrell HS in Staten Island.  Two other New York prepped wrestlers will be competing for starting roles at the Black vs Gold.  Shenendehowa HS (Section 2) graduate John Belanger will take on returning starter Daniel Young at 149 while Beacon HS (Section 1) graduate Ryan Tompkins will lock horns with Coleman Gracey at 174.  Best of luck Shane!!!

                     Black                                                  Gold 
125 – Nathan Santhanam     vs.           Hunter Wood
133 – Charlie Costanzo         vs.            Jordan Thome
141 – Shane Connolly            vs.           Connor Hanafee
149 – Daniel Young               vs.            John Belanger
157 – Paul Hancock               vs.           Patrick Marchetti
165 – Derek Allen                 vs.            Jared Ross
174 – Coleman Gracey         vs.           Ryan Tompkins
184 – Robert Doyle               vs.           Collin Wittmeyer
197 – Bryce Barnes               vs.           William Gray
285 – Stephen Snyder          vs.           Curtis Garner

Black Team Coach :  Paul Young
Honorary Coach :  CSM Todd Burnett

Gold Team Coach :  Daniel Mitcheff
Honorary Coach :  LTC Nick Mauldin

PA Flexes Their Muscles at Super 32

Section 3’s Shayne Brady Lone New York Placewinner

With an incredible 13 finalists and 5 champions, the boys from Pennsylvania left little doubt about “who’s boss” at this weekends Super 32 Challenge in Greensboro, NC.  To put it in perspective, no other state even had 3 finalists…CA, GA, MD, and OH had 2…NJ had only 1…NY had 0!!!!

New York had only one wrestler place in the top-8.  Shayne Brady, a senior at Carthage High School in Section 3, placed 8th at 182.  Brady, who finished 2nd in NY at 170 last year, had an outstanding showing at the Super 32.  He finished 4-3 for the tournament and one of his victories was against Nick Zak, a returning placewinner from NJ.

At 113 pounds, fellow New Yorker Nick Piccininni (Ward-Melville, S11) provided perhaps the biggest upset of the weekend when he up-ended Zahid Valencia from California.  Valencia came into the tournament as the top-ranked 106 pound wrestler in the nation.  Piccininni, however lost in the quarterfinals and then lost his first wrestleback (to Valencia, ironically) and failed to place.  Valencia wrestled back extremely tough and finished in 3rd place.

Penn State commit Zain Retherford won the 138 pound title at the 2012 Super 32 Challenge

Super 32 Challenge – Finals
106 – Suriano (NJ) dec Lee (PA) 4-3
113 – Milhoff (GA) dec Russell (GA) 1-0
120 – Krivus (PA) dec Alber (IL) 5-1
126 – Dance (VA) dec Kemerer (PA) 4-3
132 – Heil (OH) dec Pico (CA) 11-9 ot
138 – Retherford (PA) dec Molloy (IN) 5-0
145 – Leeth (MO) inj def Chisko (PA)
152 – Hall II (MN) dec Hammond (PA) 8-5
160 – Martinez (CA) dec Llopez (MD) 9-4
170 – Wiercioch (PA) dec Harner (PA) 5-3
182 – Taylor (PA) dec Toal (OH) 3-1
195 – McCutcheon (PA) dec O’Donnell (PA) 4-1
220 – Snyder (MD) dec Haines (PA) 8-4
285 – Webb (VT) dec Fleck (PA) 9-4

Super 32 Challenge Results

North and Weigel Notch Wins But Are Eliminated On Day 1

Congratulations to Pine Bush junior Andrew North and Onteora senior Austin Weigel for competing admirably in one of the toughest high school wrestling tournaments in the country, The Super 32 Challenge.  Although they were eliminated on Day 1 of the tournament and did not place, both wrestlers recorded multiple victories competing against some of the toughest wrestlers in the nation. 

North began his day in style with a 1:30 pin over Aslan Kilic of Georgia.  In his next match, North lost a hard fought 4-0 decision to Spencer Lee of Pennsylvania.  Lee went on to win his next two matches and is in tomorrow’s quarterfinal round.  In his first consolation match, the Pine Bush junior grinded out a 2-1 victory over Georgia’s Logan Sims.  North’s tournament came to an end when he lost a heart-breaker 3-2 over fellow New Yorker Nick Barbaria.  A junior who wrestles for Section 1’s New Rochelle, Barbaria finished 6th in the state at 99 pounds last year.

Onteora’s Austin Weigel also started his day with a victory notching a 4-3 victory over Mitchell Hensley of Indiana.  In Weigel’s next tilt, he was defeated 7-1 by Matt Gancayco of Maryland.  Weigel bounced back with two consecutive victories in the consies, a 5-2 decision over Delaware’s Aaron Dennis and a 6-4 victory over fellow New Yorker Johnny Vrasidas.  Weigel was eliminated from medal contention when he was pinned by PA stud Colton Peppelman in the first period.

Piccininni and Brady Only New Yorkers In Quarterfinals

In one of the biggest stories of Day 1, defending NY state champion Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville, Section 11) defeated Zahid Valencia of California at 113 pounds.  Valencia is the #1 ranked wrestler in the country at 106 pounds.  Piccinnini also pinned NJ state qualifier John Amato during Day 1 action.  Shayne Brady of Section 3’s Carthage HS is the only other NY wrestler to advance to the quarterfinal round.  Wrestling at 182 pounds, Brady will have to meet Pennsylvania’s Jacob Taylor in his quarterfinal bout.  Brady was a state runner-up at 170 last year. 

 

 

Super 32 Challenge Weekend

Onteora’s Austin Weigel to Battle for Belt at 170; Pine Bush’s Andrew North Entered at 106

The Super 32 Challenge has become the toughest preseason wrestling tournament in the country.  Every year, approximately 1500 of the top wrestlers from across the country make the trip to Greensboro, NC to test their skills against the best of the best.  Onteora senior Austin Weigel (pictured) and Pine Bush junior Andrew North are the only two Section 9 wrestlers making the journey.  Weigel qualified for the event via his 2nd place finish at a qualifying tournament in Shippinsburg, PA were he dropped a hard fought 7-5 decision in the finals to PA state champion Garrett Peppelman. 

Like every other weight class at the Super 32, 170 pounds is loaded.  Some of the “big guns” registered include Cody Wiercioch (2X PA state champ), Zach Epperly (3X VA state champ), Brett Harner (3X state place winner in PA), Nick Vonegidy (2X NC state champ), and Peter Renda (PA runner-up who is nationally ranked).

North’s competition at 106 will be just as fierce.  Many of the favorites at this weight will come from the the Northeast.  PA stud Luke Pletcher leads the way but he will be joined by other Intermat ranked wrestlers including Nick Suriano (NJ), Luke Karam (PA), Kyle Bierdumpfel (NJ), and Gage Curry (PA).

Best of luck to Austin and Andrew! 

Betsy Veysman from newyorkwrestlingnews.com has put together an excellent article which highlights all of the New York wrestlers entered in the event.  Intermat’s Josh Lowe has provided an outstanding weight-by-weight breakdown of the Super 32.  Links to both articles are below.

     New York Wrestlers at the Super 32            Intermat’s Weight-By-Weight Breakdown

 

Empire State Games Returning in 2013

For many years The Empire State Games was a “staple” of summer wrestling for New Yorkers.  Budget cuts led to the cancellation of the event a few years ago…but now they’re back.  The Empire State Games (ESG) will return next year in Rochester, NY from July 24-28.  Put this event on your calendar as it promises to be a blast.  Below is a link that will direct you to the ESG Wrestling homepage.  More details will be come available as the event nears. 

                                               Empire State Games – Wrestling