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.
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.
I would like to begin this article by stating, without hesitation, that I am extremely proud to be part of the Section 9 Wrestling community. This past weekend at the NYS Wrestling Championships in Albany, our section was represented by 36 student-athletes who poured their hearts and souls into every match they wrestled. They put it all on the line and gave it their best. They competed hard; however, win or lose, when the match was over, they composed themselves, shook hands, and behaved with class, dignity, and respect. I hope you are all proud of yourselves…I know that I am.
When all was said and done, S9 had six wrestlers place in the top six in their weight class thus special congratulations are in order for: Ryan Bedross (12) Warwick – 4th at 152 D1 Ethan Stanley (12) Saugerties – 4th at 285 D1 Justin Corradino (12) Warwick – 5th at 120 D1 Paul Sommer (12) Rondout Valley – 5th at 152 D2 Johnny Stramiello (10) Pine Bush – 6th at 106 D1 TJ Kreider (12) Cornwall – 6th at 113 D1 Andy Martinez (11) Liberty – 6th at 182 D2. Great Job Guys!!!!!
I believe, though, that NOW is the time to address and fix two “issues” which, in my opinion, exist in Section 9 Wrestling. The first problem is quite obvious. As a section, we finished near (or at) the bottom in both divisions. D1 finished 9th of 12 and D2 finished 12th of 12. I understand that S9 is a rather small section in comparison to some of the other sections, but I think we can all agree that we can do better.
The second problem is not quite as obvious, but, arguably, is the root of problem #1. Those who attended the state tournament this weekend can vouch for what I am about to say… Section 9 Wrestling needs to unite. Our fan base was, by far, the most fragmented of all of the sections in the arena this weekend. When a S9 wrestler did something great, applause was usually heard from a small, defined area of the arena….safe to assume the applause was coming from the fans of a particular “school. ” When wrestlers from other sections did something special, a loud applause from a rather large section of arena was heard. Fans from the entire “section” were cheering the event. Please do not take what I have said as a criticism of our fans…it is not. Those of you who know me, know that finger-pointing is not my style. My goal is simple…to unite our section thus making us stronger. Fortunately, if what I am saying is true, there may be one solution to help fix both problems.
Off-Season Club Wrestling May “Point” Us In The Right Direction
In comparing S9 to some of the more successful wrestling sections around NYS, one glaring difference is that we are one of the few sections that does not have a strong “club” presence. Most other sections have several club options. Many of our elite S9 wrestlers travel to other clubs to hone and sharpen their skills in the off-season. Do not misunderstand me….I am all for it. It is awesome that these athletes and their parents are willing to go the extra mile to improve their skills. What I am suggesting, however, it would be great if we had a wrestling club option right here in our back yard. A club where scores of S9 wrestlers would attend. A club that would provide an opportunity for our wrestlers to work out and practice with each other during the off season. A club that could provide a platform for our parents to get to know one another thus creating a more unified fan base at the state tournament.
Over the next few weeks I will be posting articles to help promote some of the off-season wrestling options that exist for our S9 athletes. Today, I will start by writing about the option that I feel has the greatest potential for success… The West Point Wrestling Club!
For the life of me, I cannot figure out why there is not a stronger “link” between Section 9 Wrestling and Army Wrestling. Trying to figure out “why” this is the case is an absolute waste of time….let’s just change it….starting today! The Army program is on the rise. Second year Army Head Coach Joe Heskett has a motto for his Division 1 program, “Build and Believe.” Is there a more appropriate motto for S9 Wrestling? For the past few days, I have had several discussions with Army Assistant Coach Terry Madden. Coach Madden, a Pine Bush graduate, is a 2X Section 9 Champ and a Division III National Champion. He and I share the same vision and he assures me that Coach Heskett and the rest of the Army staff feel the same way…we would all like to see The West Point Wrestling Club become “the place” where Section 9 wrestlers train during the off season . Take a look at what this club has to offer.
Coaches: Joe Heskett: NCAA Champion, World Team Member Daniel Mitcheff: NCAA ALL American, World Team Trials, 4th Place Terry Madden: Former 2x Section 9 Champ, NCAA DIII National Champion, World Team Trials, 4th place Paul Young: 2x Indiana State Champion, 3x NCAA Qualifier Location / Times: The club currently practices on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. at the Arvin Gymnasium on the beautiful campus of the United States Military Academy at West Point.The club is currently exploring the possibility adding other locations as well. Cost: The West Point Wrestling Club is offering an introductory rate of $75 per month! That is less than $10 per practice session!!! A Message From Coach Terry Madden: Come train with an elite Division I coaching staff right in your area. With Coach Heskett’s motto of “Build and Believe”, set your goals and let us help you make them become a reality! Come train not only with fellow peers, but also Army cadets! Remember, what you do with yourself on the off season, always reflects the upcoming year. Come work out where training is taken serious, Army serious!
SectionIXWrestling.com has provided a link to updated brackets. We are also providing a link to a webcast being provided by The Friends of Section 3. Yours truly will be serving as one of the D1 commentators.
Section 9 Medal Match Results: 106: Orefice (6) dec Stramiello (9) 12-0 Stramiello places 6th 113: Person (8) dec Kreider (9) 7-3 Kreider takes 6th 120: Corradino (9) by fft over Michel (6) Corradino takes 5th 152: Sommer (9) dec Newton (5) Sommer takes 5th 152: Maier (5) dec Bedross (9) 5-4 Bedross takes 4th 182: Koelmel (3) fft over Martinez (9) Martinez takes 6th 285: Lampman (2) dec Stanley (9) 3-1 Stanley takes 4th
Warwick’s Justin Corradino knocked of top-seeded Matt Leshinger of S11 by a 6-1 margin to advance to the semifinal round of the NYS Wrestling Championships. Fellow Section 9 wrestlers Ethan Stanley and Andy Martinez have also made it to the semis. Stanley, a senior from Saugerties, needed to go to overtime to defeat Dante Salkey of Section 8 in their 285 lb tilt. On the Division 2 side, Liberty’s Andy Martinez was illegally slammed by his opponent in their 182 quarterfinal and was not able to continue. He should be able to compete in tomorrow morning’s semifinal round.
Below are the updated bracket’s from the tournament as well as a list of all of the Section 9 wrestlers who are still alive in the tourney. Wrestling begins at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow with the semifinal round and wrestle-backs occurring simultaneously. Finals will begin at 6:00 p.m. Division 1 Brackets Division 2 Brackets D1 Wrestlers: semis: 120 Justin Corradino (Warwick) vs Brady Baron (S5) 285 Ethan Stanley (Saugerties) vs Evan Kappatos (S8) consies: 106 Johnny Stramiello (Pine Bush) vs Dominic Inzana (S2) 113 TJ Krieder (Cornwall) vs Corey Jamison (S11) 138 Shane Connolly (Warwick) vs David Almaviva (S2) 145 Kyle Wierzbicki (Warwick) vs Dale White (S1) 145 Bret Sauschuck (Port Jervis) vs Anthony Pistone (S11) 152 Ryan Bedross (Warwick) vs Angelo Kress (S2) 160 Dan DeCarlo (Port Jervis) vs. Matt Pasqualini (S1) 195 Deon Edmond (Kingston) vs. Jake Kelly (S6)
D2 Wrestlers: semis: 182 Andy Martinez (Liberty) vs. Tony Lock (S6) consies: 106 Austin Ingraham (Highland) vs Corey Hollister (S5) 152 Paul Sommer (Rondout Valley) vs Connor Fox (S5) 160 Austin Weigel (Onteora) vs Hayden Wagner (S5)
Second Round Wrestlebacks: Calderone (11) over Daly (MV) 8-5 Stramiello (PB) over Raccioppi (MV) 4-2 Krieder (Cornwall) over Curatolo (P) Greene (2) wbf over Murphy (MW) Connolly (Warwick) dec over McCann (C) 3-0 Ventura (1) over Roth (Cornwall) 9-0 Wierzbicki (Warwick) over Matouzzi (C) 5-1 Bedross (Warwick) wbf over Foote (10) Sauschuck (PJ) over Northrup (5) 4-2 ot Kimmerli (5) wbf over Casey (Washingtonville) DeCarlo (Port Jervis) wins by forfeit Edmond (King) over Spinelli (1) 8-5 Lupi (11) over Leavell (Warwick) 6-3 Kells (5) over Gorelov (Warwick) 5-2
First Round Wrestlebacks: Haas (5) wbf over Vespa (MW) Raccioppi (MV) dec over Peters (5) Murphy (MW) dec over Gannonne (P) Roth (Corn) dec over Morgan (2) Sauschuck (Port) dec Roman (5) Bedross (Warwick) dec over Tracey (8) Casey (Washingtonville) over Smith (10) Roberts (C) over Sannella (MV) 8-3 Choi (8) over Hasan (Valley Central) 6-2 Edmund (Kingston) over Malone (10) 14-2 Leavell (Warwick) over Widener (10) tf 16-0 Hughes (11) over Stauble (Kingston) 2-1 ot
285 D1: Bayer (4) over Hughes (11) Stanley (Saugerties) over Lanthrop (6) Kappatos (8) over Stauble (Kingston) Salkey (8) over Terrance (10) Lampmann (2) over DiPirro (C) DeBuyser (5) over Quintana (2) Gonzalez (P) over Varian (1) Shaddai (2) over Marsh (3)
220 D1: Rubino (11) over Cole (8) Kopcnyski (P) over Leavell (Warwick) Babson (2) over Weidner (10) Lilly (1) over Pontiff (2) Antone (6) over Osman (4) Lackey (5) over Burgos (4) Lupi (11) over DeVita (1) Dalton (3) over Auriemma (C)
195 D1: Gorelov (Warwick) over Malone (10) Spinelli (1) over Kells (5) Fusco (2) over Rodriguez (6) Kozub (5) over Kokkorsos (P) Zorn (8) over Sisti (C) Kelly (6) over Nasoni (3) Williams (4) over Kelly (11) Conner (11) over Edmond (Kingston) 182 D1: Benjamin (4) over Luxmore (8) Richards (P) over Cook (3) Reed (5) over Bickelman (6) Ballenza (11) over Roberts (C) Jones (8) over Hasan (9) Santiago (11) over Choi (8) Berkowitz(1) over Carter (5) Lashway (2) over Sannella (MV) 182 D2: Martinez (Liberty) over Morris (2) 170 D1: Sabella (1) over Franco (4) Spurgeon (8) over Hewitt (2) Kimmerli (5) over DiFrancesco (6) Brady (3) over Casey (Washingtonville) Liberatore (6) over Smith (10) Lumley (2) over Mesiti (5) Seybolt (11) over Gullo (6) Ndokaj (C) over Anchako (P)
160 D1: Palacio (8) over Garrison (2) Cataldo(8) over Dominque (10) Sutton (2) over DeCarlo (Port) Affronti (5) over Catalano (6) Woodworth (3) over Vrsiadas (C) Colgan (4) wbf over Pasqualini (1) Mullen (11) over Jiminez (P) Grimaldi (11) over Weber (6) 152 D1: Keck (11) over Tracey (8) Steve Maier (5) over Skiba (6) Foote (10) over Josh Maier (5) Falzone (6) over Torrese (3) Hall (11) over Kress (2) Masaya (P) over Bedross (Warwick) Szilagyi (C) over Kleinsmith (4) Realbuto (1) wins 145 D1: Ramognoli (3) Aliyed (P) Kloc (6) over Matouzzi (C) Wallace (2) over Lupo (4) Caputo (1) over Roman (5) Northrup (5) over Hernandez (8) Rasheed (11) over Spinner (10) White (1) over Sauschuck (Port Jervis) Wierzbicki (Warwick) over Pistone (11) 138 D1: Grippi (1) over Almaviva (2) McDevitt (8) over McCann (c) Rodriquez (P) over DeAngelis (5) Feeney (6) over Stapleton (10) Dekrone (11) over Benedict (3) Blanco (11) over Hoffmier (4) Connolly (Warwick) over Roberts (6) Rasheed (11) over Wallace (3) 132 D1: Cohen (6) over Kaharamonov (P) Lewandowski (6) over Irby (8) Cegelski (5) over Butler (2) Porteus (5) over Grome (3) Hudson (c) over Grant (4) Mauriello (11) over Morgan (2) Ventura (1) over Barney (10) Kelley (2) over Roth (Cornwall)
126 D1: Melikian (c) over St. John (2) Dierna (5) over Deluco (3) Perry (10) over Gannone (P) Speno (1) over Murphy (MW) Caruana (6) over Post (4) Greene (2) over Sanchez (11) Lofrese (8) over Caputo (1) Passaro (11) over Oligney (2)
120 D1: Corradino (Warwick) over Burke (S4) Gray (3) wbf over Bond (10) Baron (5) over Rofo (C) Leshinger (11) over Lanzillotti (8) in OT!! Thompson (P) over Russo (6) McCabe (11) over Jones (2) Fabian (11) over Joseph (2) Michel (6) over Dimarsico (1) 120 D2: Olena (5)over Januszeiwicz (New Paltz) 113 D2: Koll (4) over McNulty (Red Hook)
113 D1: Duguay (6) over Raghunandan (11) !!!! Krieder (Cornwall) over Cameron (10) DePrez (5) over Skinner (c) Realbuto (1) over Hill (3) Person (8) wbf over Devlin (6) Delacruz (1) over Porter (2) 4-1 Lapi (2) over Caratolo (P) Green (4) over Jamison (11)
106 D1: Piccininni (S11) wbf over Ruggeri (S5) Dunau (C) wbf over Parise (S1) Stramiello advances..Ali (S2) out Orefice (6) over Htoo (P) Sewkumar (8) over Inzana (2) Marshall (10) over Paul (3) Overhise (4) over Peters (5) Cooksey (8) over Raccioppi (MV)
106 D2: Merecki (S2) over Ingraham (Highland) 4-0
99 D1: Kelly (S4) over Hartinger S6) King (S3) over Brown (S10) TF 17-1 Barberia (S1) over Calderone (S11) 6-3 Lantry (S5) over Twomey (c) Rodriguez (S8) wbf over Antoine (P) Daly (Minisink) wbtf over Parker (S2) Tanzman (s11) wbf over Vespa (MW) Lee (S11) over Haas (S5) 3-2
SectionIXWrestling.com will, of course, be attending the NYS Wrestling Championships Friday and Saturday at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. From my seat on press row, I will be providing as many individual bout results as possible. Due to my location in the arena (D1 side), it will be difficult to provide comprehensive results for both divisions, but I will due my absolute best. As updated brackets are make available, I will post them as well. Good luck to all of our Section 9 wrestlers…..go for it!!!
The “big dance” is right around the corner. This weekend 480 student-athletes will storm the Times Union Center in Albany, NY with a common goal….to be crowned NYS Champion! Wrestling will begin on Friday at 10:00 a.m. and will continue through Saturday evening’s finals. For a complete schedule, go to www.nysphsaawrestling.com. For once, treacherous weather will not be an issue!!! The brackets are set and available below. SectionIXWrestling.com has put together a tournament preview for both D1 and D2. Enjoy!
