Author: Mike Carey

Jim Wilson Duals
Location: Minisink Valley High School
Date: Saturday, December 14
Teams:   Minisink Valley, Port Jervis, Massapequa (Section 8), Plainedge (Section 8), 
                  William Floyd (Section 11), Nanuet (Section 1), Schalmont (Section 2)
Format:  Dual meet tournament; 2 pools of 4 teams with a crossover match for placement
                    so every team is guaranteed 4 matches
Contact:  Scott Hendershot    shendershot@minisink.com

The 2013 Journeymen Classic definitely lived up to the hype!  Over 200 wrestlers from 24 states competed; some wrestlers made the trip from as far away as California and Arizona!  Congratulations to tournament director Frank Popolizio on doing an outstanding job in running this incredible event.  We are already looking forward to next year’s Classic!

Section 9 Results
Vinny Vespa (106) – The Monroe Woodbury junior finished the day 2-2.  He began with a controlling 7-1 victory over 2X NJ youth champion freshman Gianni Ghione.  In his next bout, Vespa dropped a 7-2 decision to NY state qualifier Josh Logiudice from Section 2 then rebounded with a workman-like 1-0 victory over NY D2 state placer Theo Powers from Section 3.  In his final match of the day, a banged-up Vespa was pinned by Long Island wrestler Peter Pappas.

Evan Barczak (120) – With his 3-1 performance at the Journeymen, Barczak’s name is now on the state radar for NYS freshmen to watch!  Barczak defeated two California wrestlers, Jacob Gardiner (10-1) and Mark Climaco (5-3 ot) and dominated Long Island freshman Hunter Dusold 6-0.  His only setback of the day came to a much improved Jon Errico of Section 1 by a 11-0 margin.

Michael Raccioppi (135) – With the exception of 15 seconds….Raccioppi looked awesome!  The Minisink Valley freshman started the day with a hard fought 5-3 overtime victory over PA state qualifier Kyle Lukowich.  In his next match Raccioppi received a win by forfeit over NYS eighth grade phenom Frankie Gissendanner who was injured in his first match.  Raccioppi beat Gissendanner at last year’s Eastern States Classic.  In his final bout of the day, Raccioppi was in control and beating FL state place winner Elijah Cleary by 2 points with about 15 seconds left before being reversed and tilted putting him on the wrong side of a 6-4 decision.

Port Jervis wrestlers Dylan Booth and Dan Decarlo  withdrew and did not wrestle.

Full Tournament Results
106 Champion – Matteo Devincenzo – The Long Island sophomore who placed 2nd in the state in D2 last year defeated Josh Loguidice 6-5 in the finals for the title.

113 Champion – Yianni Diakomihalis – The nationally ranked freshman (#7 @ 106) from Hilton HS in Section 5 cruised through the event with impressive victories over Kyle Lindner (11-0), Jonathan Haas (wbf 4:49) and Vito Arujau (6-1).  He capped off his day with a 6-2 victory over Section 11’s Jesse Dellavecchia in the finals.

120 Champion – Nick Piccininni – Tournament MOW – Piccininni looked awesome!  The Section 11 junior, ranked 4th in the nation by Flo, recorded victories over Cameron Kelly, Logan Griffin and Troy Gassaway before defeating Florida’s Radley Gillis in the finals by a 10-2 major decision.

125 Champion – Tommy Stokes – The PA state placer beat NC state champion Troy Gregor 4-3 in the finals for the title.  Stokes defeated NJ placer Ryan Pomrinca,  Prep National champ Mason Smith from MI, and multiple time GA state placer Caleb Mariakis in pool competition.

130 Champion – Travis Passaro – The Hofstra bound senior from Section 11’s Eastport South Manor navigated through an extremely tough 130 pound weight class for the title.  Passaro notched victories over Mike D’Angelo, Zach Valley (PA placer), and Jacob Grigg (NC state champ) in pool competition.  He defeated multiple time NC placer Payton Shuford in the finals 6-0. 

135 Champion –  Chase Zemenak – State placer from PA recorded victories over Sal Profaci (NJ), Connor Caffery (CT), Hunter Mandley (VA) and fellow PA place winner Kent Lane in the finals.

140 Champion – Clay Walker – South Carolina stud beats Dane Robbins (VA), Joe Oliva (NJ), and Joe Ghione (NJ) before beating NY’s Sam Ward in the finals by a 6-1 margin.

145 Champion – Gary Dinmore – 145 was crazy… New Jersey’s Dinmore (#16 FloRanked) actually lost in pool competition to Section 1’s Blaise Benderoth yet still won the title!  Dinmore beats Carrozza (PA), Carrozza beats Benderoth, Dinmore beats Parker (NY), Dinmore beats Restrepo (NY) ot in finals, Carrozza beats Lapi (NY), Lapi beats Palmer (PA), Palmer beats Parker…you get the idea. Great pools…great finals at 145!

152 Champion – Louis Hernandez –  FloWrestling has Hernandez from Section 8 on Long Island as the 12th ranked 152 pounder in the nation.  In pool matches he defeated fellow Islander Dennis Ferro, VT champ Nolan Viens, and MA stud Fritz Hoehn.  In his final bout he bested Suffolk County state placer Thomas Dutton by a score of 7-3.

160 Champion – Corey Rasheed –  FloRanked at # 9 for 160, Rasheed was dominating!  He pinned NC’s Logan Farlowe and decisioned Jesse Porter (NY) and Andrew LaBrie (RI) in pool matches before defeating NJ All American Christian Stackhouse 7-2 in the finals.

170 Champion – Luke Fariano – The NJ All American scored wins over Brad Drover (MA), Nick Weldon (AL) and Logan Dean (VA) before eeking out a 3-2 victory over NY state place winner Steven Schneider. 170 was a very even weight class.  Finalist Schneider lost a pool match to Beat the Street wrestler Adis Radoncic however advanced to the finals on criteria after Radonicic lost a pool match as well.

182 Champion – Joe Balboni – FloRanked at # 17, Balboni of Brearly , NJ rolled through the competition with convincing victories over Brett Perry (NY), Phil Woods (NJ), and Austin Price (VT).

195 Champion – Christian Dietrich –  A 2X NYS place winner, Dietrich is the #15 ranked sophomore in the country according to FloWrestling.  He breezed through pool matches with a pin, tech, and a 6-0 decision.  In the finals he locked horns with Nicholas Costa, a state place winner from NJ power Brick Memorial.  Although the final score was only 6-3, the outcome of the match was never in doubt…Dietrich was very impressive throughout the entire tournament.

220 Champion – Richard Sisti – FloWrestling ranks Sisti, a defending state champ, as the #15 220 pound wrestler in the nation.  In his first two matches the Monsignor Farrell senior defeated both opponents (Jeff Velez, NJ and Yousiff Hemida, NY) by the same 9-2 score.  In his final bout he downed multiple time New England place winner Ian Butterbrodt by a 8-3 margin.

285 Champion – Connor Calkins – In perhaps the biggest upset of the tournament, Calkins, who finished 5th in NYS D2 last year, defeated 2X defending high school national champion Jesse Webb of Vermont.  Webb, FloRanked at #9 at 285, won the high school nationals in VA Beach as a freshman and a sophomore!

                                    Complete Tournament Results – All Pools

Section 9 Well Represented At The Prestigious Invite-Only Event

The Journeymen Classic has quickly become one of the premier preseason high school wrestling tournaments in the US.  The event, which requires an invitation for admission, takes place this Sunday, September 29th, at Niskayuna High School.  The tournament has even earned the designation of “FloMajor” which means that the winners of some of the weight classes will receive an automatic entry into the FloNationals, perhaps the toughest high school wrestling tournament in the nation.

Several Section 9 wrestlers received invitations to compete at this year’s Classic.  SectionIXWrestling.com will take the trip up to the Capital District and will provide updates as soon as possible.

Vinny Vespa
Monroe Woodbury
Junior
106 pounds
2X State Qualifier
5th NYS @ 99 in 2013 

 

Evan Barczak
Monroe Woodbury
Freshman
120 pounds
2013 State Qualifier @ 106

 

Dylan Booth
Port Jervis
Senior
120 pounds
5th NYS @ 113 in 2013

 

Michael Raccioppi
Minisink Valley
Junior
132 pounds
2X State Qualifier
8th NYS @ 126 in 2013

Dan Decarlo
Port Jervis
Senior
160 pounds
2X State Qualifier
6th NYS @ 152 in 2013

Johnny Stramiello (Pine Bush), Austin Ingraham (Highland), and James Bethel (Saugerties) also received invitations to compete in this year’s Journeymen Classic however they are unable to compete.

Satellite weigh-in locations for the Hudson Valley Challenge will be announced on October 5th.  Satellite weigh in sites should collect the entry fee when the wrestler weighs in and bring it with them on Sunday morning.

Click On Banner For Registration Information

Many consider the Waterway Duals the unofficial start of the HS wrestling preseason.  Hosted by Oxford High School is southeastern PA, the dual meet tournament annually attracts some of the top talent from PA, NY, and NJ.

The 2013 Waterway Duals did not disappoint!  Griffin Select from PA ran away with the title defeating Bison Legend, also from PA, by a 40-9 margin.  The Empire State was represented on the championship team as 2013 NYS Champ Yianni Diakomihalis of Hilton HS (Section 5) manned 106 for Team Griffin.

Section 9 also had a wrestler in the tournament in Vinny Vespa!  Vespa, a Monroe Woodbury junior who finished 6th in NYS at 99 pounds last season, was the 106 pound wrestler for Apex Wrestling out of New Jersey.  Vespa went 2-2 for the day for Apex who finished 5th in the event.

The highest finishing NY-based team at the Waterway Duals was 631 Elite from Long Island.  631 lost to runner up Bison Legend in the semis then beat Defiant (PA) to take 3rd place.  Other NY teams in the event included Journeymen Wrestling, Iowa Style, and Beat the Streets (2 teams).

Final Results

Up next….The Journeymen Classic on Sunday September 29th at Niskayuna HS!!!

Waterway Duals
     Date: September 7, 2013
     Location:  Oxford Area High School in Oxford, PA
     Website:  Waterway Duals
     Comments:  Perhaps the last of the ultra-competitive, off-season dual meet events, the Waterway Duals will showcase come of the best club teams from PA, NY, NJ, and DE.

Journeymen Classic
     Date:  September 29, 2013
     Location:  Niskayuna High School in Niskayuna, NY
     Facebook:  Journeymen Wrestling
     Comments:  Last year’s event was awesome….this year’s Classic promises to be even better!  Now a national level event, many of the best wrestlers from around the country will be competing.  This is a “can’t miss” event!  Check back at this site for updated information as it becomes available.

Iron Horse Invitational
     Date:  October 13, 2013
     Location:  Hanover Park HS, East Hanover, NJ
     Facebook:  9th Annual Iron Horse Invitational Round Robin
     Comments:  The event annually showcases the best wrestlers from NJ and sprinkles in some of the top studs from NY, PA, MD and other northeastern states.

Hudson Valley Challenge
     Date:  October 13, 2013
     Location:  Port Jervis HS, Port Jervis, NY
     Website:  www.sectionixwrestling.com will keep you up-to-date 
     Flyer:  2013 Hudson Valley Challenge
     Comments:  Very challenging tournament right here in Section 9 having HS, MS, and ES school divisions.

Super 32 “The Battle For The Belt”
     Date:  October 26-27, 2013
     Location:  Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC
     Website:  Super 32
     Comments:  The Super 32 is the grand finale of the high school preseason schedule.  How tough is this tournament?  Last year NYS champions Nick Piccininni and TJ Fabian did not place!
 

                      The Losses of Dan Gable  by Wright Thompson