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