Author: Mike Carey

Army’s Thome Takes Home Title At Body Bar

Army junior Jordan Thome won four matches on Saturday enroute to earning the 133 lb. title at The Body Bar Invitational.  Thome defeated Chris Dardanes from the University of Minnesota by a 9-8 score to capture the crown.  He won his other three bouts by the scores of 12-0, 7-0, and 5-4.  James Raftery (157), Coleman Gracey (165), and Michael Gorman (184) all earned 6th place honors for the Black Knights who finished 7th out of 12 teams.  Host Cornell took the team title with Kent State and the University of Virginia rounding out the top 3.  Virginia is coached by 1995 Middletown graduate Steve Garland.

UVA Head Coach and 1995 Middletown graduate Steve Garland

Other locals at the Body Bar included Lock Haven’s Matt Parlier (Port Jervis, 2009) who went 1-2 at 197 lbs. and Dingmans Ferry, PA native Joe Stanzione who placed 5th at 133 wrestling for Cornell. 

Final Brackets for The 2011 Body Bar Invitational

WRESTLING SEASON BEGINS TODAY

Warwick's Mitch Wightman and Minisink Valley's Kyle Diesel met in both the Section 9 and state finals last year! Could you be next?

November 14, 2011…the day is finally here!  Today is the day for which so many of you have been waiting…today marks the first day of practice for the 2011 – 2012 wrestling season!  SectionIXwrestling.com would like to wish good luck to all of the wrestlers, parents and coaches as we embark on this new season.  The New York State Wrestling Championships take place on February 24th and 25th in Albany, NY.  Wrestlers….your journey to Albany begins today!  Make it happen!

 

** New Weight Classes For The 2011-2012 Season**
                     99, 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220, 285

MW Grad Franco Takes 6th at Binghamton Open

Hofstra University red-shirt sophomore Jamie Franco placed 6th at 133 pounds in 2011 Binghamton Open held on Sunday in the West Gymnasium on the campus of SUNY Binghamton.  Franco, a 2009 Monroe Woodbury graduate, went 4-3 on the day.  Hofstra returns to action on Sunday, 11/20, in a home match against Wisconsin.  To view the  completed bracket for the 2011 Binghamton Open, click on the link below. Congratulations Jamie and keep up the good work!

2011 Binghamton Open Final Bracket

 

Black Knights Finish 4th at Oklahoma Gold Classic

The Army Black Knights wrestling team placed 13 wrestlers and finished 4th in the team standings at Saturday’s Oklahoma Gold Classic held at SUNY Brockport.  Junior Jordan Thome placed second at 133 pounds.  Daniel Young (149), Jim Raffert (157), and Collin Wittmeyer (174) all placed third for Army.  Click on the link below to read the full story from the Army Wrestling website.

Army Places 4th at Oklahoma Gold Classic

 

Warriors shine at East Stroudsburg Open; Biddle 3rd, Diesel 4th

Minisink Valley graduates Jeremiah Biddle and Kyle Diesel placed 3rd and 4th, respectively, at Saturday’s East Stroudsburg Open.  Biddle, a red-shirt senior, wrestles at 133 pounds for Division 1 Bloomsburg University.  The 2007 Minisink graduate was a 2X state qualifier in high school.  Diesel, a 174 pound true freshman, wrestles for Merchant Marine Academy.  Kyle finished second at the NYS high school championships this past February after losing in the finals to Warwick graduate Mitch Wightman.  It is the only time that two Section 9 wrestlers have met in a state final.  Congratulations to Jeremiah and Kyle for their outstanding performances!  Both of you have once again made Section 9 proud!!!  To view the completed brackets of The 2011 East Stroudsburg Open click on the link below.

2011 ESO Brackets

 

Intermat releases rankings, Section 1’s Realbuto #1 at 152

 Intermat Wrestling has released their pre-season high school rankings for the 2011-2012 season.  Somers High School (Section 1) senior Brian Realbuto was selected as the top 152 pound wrestler in the nation.   Realbuto, who will be attending Cornell University next fall, is a 2X New York State champion and also was a freestyle gold medalist in Fargo this past summer.   Pennsylvania dominated the rankings with 5 wrestlers grabbing top honors including sophomore phenom Chance Marsteller at 160 pounds.  Marsteller, who went undefeated last year in winning the state title as a freshman at 152 pounds, is already considered by many to be the best pound for pound wrestler in the country.  Below is a list of all of the Intermat #1 selections.   
                                                                                                      

Brian Realbuto (Somers HS)

106: Darian Cruz (Pennsylvania)                      
113: Jarred Brooks (Indiana)
120: Nick Roberts (Pennsylvania)
126: Jimmy Gulibon (Pennsylvania)
132: Mark Grey (New Jersey)
138: Nate Skonieczny (Ohio)
145: Jason Tsirtsis (Indiana)
152: Brian Realbuto (New York)
160: Chance Marsteller (Pennsylvania)
170: Taylor Massa (Michigan)
182: Jordan Rogers (Washington)
195: Devin Peterson (Wisconsin)
220: Josh Marchok (Illinois)
285: Brooks Black (New Jersey) (attends Blair Academy in NJ, but is a PA native)

Saugerties’ Bermudez reaches TUF 14 Finale

2006 Saugerties graduate Dennis Bermudez has reached the finals of the Spike TV reality series The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).  The winner of TUF 14 Finale will receive a contract to fight in the UFC.  Bermudez won his semi-final bout over Akira Corassani by forcing a first round submission via guillotine choke.  TUF 14 Finale takes place on December 3, 2011 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Good luck to Dennis….the entire Section 9 wrestling community will be rooting for you!

Port grad Zitone excelling at Centenary

Port Jervis graduate JD Zitone is currently a junior at Centenary College in Hackettstown,

Port Jervis graduate JD Zitone

NJ.  He is the #4 ranked 285 lbs wrestler in NCAA Division III.  JD finished his sophomore year with 21 victories and earned a trip to the NCAA DIII National Tournament via  winning the Metropolitan Conference.  JD just earned his first tournament championship of 2011 – 2012 season with a victory over #9 ranked Matt Mahon of Ithaca at the Ithaca Invitational.  Zitone tallied 5 victories including three by way of pin!  Congratulations JD….keep up the good work!

Army edged by Rider 16-15

The Army Wrestling team lost their first match of the season on Tuesday to Rider by a

Collin Wittmeyer is now 3-0 for the season at 174 including victories over two opponents ranked in the top 15 in the country.

score of 16-15 in a match held at Christl Arena.  Army, who dropped to 2-1 for the young season, received victories from Connor Hanafee(141), Daniel Young(149), Alex Smith(165), Collin Wittmeyer(174), and Will Brown(184).  Hanafee, Young, and Wittmeyer all ran their records to 3-0 for the season.  Brown is now 2-0.  Wittmeyer now has victories over two wrestlers currently ranked in the top 15 by InterMat Wrestling (Meys, Boston, #15 and Resnick, Rider, #13).  Full story and all individual results can be view by clicking on Army Wrestling – Army Results.  The Black Nights return to action on Saturday, November 12 at the Oklahoma-Gold Classic held in Rochester, NY.