Author: Mike Carey

The 2017 Hudson Valley Challenge was a huge success!  Special thanks to Port Jervis coach John Foley for hosting the event and to the Friends of Section 9, specifically Gary Rissler and Dan Wernikoff, for running the tournament!

Girls Only    High School    Middle School  Elem 1   Elem 2

High School Division
99 Pounds:
Champion – Nikko Walsh (Rondout Valley)
Runner-Up – Andrew Marchese (Washingtonville)

106 Pounds:
Champion – Logan Waller (Colts Neck, NJ)
Runner-Up – Justin Morales (Middletown)

113 Pounds:
Champion – Greg Fischer (NFA)
Runner-Up – Patrick Ross (Onteora)

120 Pounds:
Champion – Nick Ross (Onteora)
Runner-Up – Jordan Suarez (Minisink Valley)

126 Pounds:
Champion – Colden Dorfman (Guildenad)
Runner-Up – Lewis Grana (Brewster)

132 Pounds:
Champion – Tom Maddox (Washingtonville)
Runner-Up – Sean Savacool (Minisink Valley)

138 Pounds:
Champion – Paul Cohen (Beacon)
Runner-Up – Asher Pelton (Port Jervis)

145 Pounds:
Champion – Nick Florin (Pine Bush)
Runner-Up – Nick Curreri (Eldred)

152/160 Pounds:
Champion – William Harrison (Port Jervis)
Runner-Up – Dylan Waller (Manalapan, NJ)

171 Pounds:
Champion – Jason Butler (Port Jervis)
Runner-Up – Nick Solek (Washingtonville)

182 Pounds:
Champion – Dominic Zappolo (Port Jervis)
Runner-Up – Raven Aumick (Port Jervis)

195/220 Pounds:
Champion – Joey Yanis (Minisink Valley)
Runner-Up – Maxx Decapua (NFA)

Several of Section 9’s best have been entered into the 2017 Journeymen Classic, one of the toughest preseason events in the country!  The OverFlo Tournament takes place on Saturday…winners from this event will be entered into Sunday’s main event which takes place at Union College in Schenectady.  Good luck to everyone entered!!!

Live Results on TournaFlex

OverFlo – Saturday
99 – Nicky Fea (Goshen) * OverFlo Champion*
125 – James Faison (Wallkill)
135 – Frank Fea (Goshen)
140 – Tommy Askey (Pine Bush)
140 – Joe McGinty (Monroe Woodbury)
170 – Shaun Burgos (Pine Bush)
195 – Joey Yanis (Minisink Valley)

Journeymen Fall Classic – Sunday
120A – Marco Vespa (Monroe Woodbury)
120B – Dylan Earl (Monroe Woodbury)
135C – Connor Greiner (Minisink Valley)
135C – Nathan Ross (Onteora)
152A – Ian Houck (Rondout Valley)
170B – Dillon Ross (Onteora)
195A – Joey Yanis (Minisink Valley) *OverFlo Champion*

Congratulations to Steve Fischbein, Wayne Carroll and Stefan Banach for being inducted into the Upstate NY Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.  Fischbein and Carroll were inducted  for Lifetime Service to the sport of wrestling while Banach was inducted as an Outstanding American.

Coach Fischbein recently retired as head wrestling coach from his alma mater, Monroe Woodbury High School.  As a wrestler, Fischbein was a Section 9 champion and placed 4th in NYS.  He wrestled at the collegiate level at SUNY Albany and SUNY Brockport and was also a Gold Medalist at the 1986 Empire State Games in Greco Roman.  As a coach, Fischbein led 2 teams to #1 rankings in NYS (2000 & 2014) and had 9 other teams finish in the top 10!  He also coached two state champions, Mike Mormile and Jamie Franco.

Wayne Carroll is a graduate of Goshen High School where he was an accomplished wrestler. He was a Section 9 champion and finished 5th in NYS at 145 as a senior.  He went on to wrestle in college at East Stroudburg University. Carroll’s biggest contribution to the sport of wrestling has been as an official where he has been selected to officiate the NYS Wrestling Championships and impressive 10 times!  Wayne is also a recent inductee of the NYSPHAA Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Colonel (retired) Stefan Banach was also honored at this weekend’s ceremony with the Outstanding American Award.  Banach was a standout wrestler for Port Jervis High School and a NYS placewinner.  He wrestled in college at Clemson University and then transferred to Iowa where he joined his brothers Ed and Lou, both 1984 Olympic gold medalists.  After retiring from wrestling Banach served 27 years in the US Army and received numerous awards including the Bronze Star Medal with “Valor Device” for heroism under fire in combat.

Congratulations to all three men….Section 9 is very proud!!!

Girls Junior Freestyle
127: Mia Macaluso (Minisink Valley)
Rd. 32: Miracle (KY) dec Macaluso 6-3
Consie Rd. 16-1: Macaluso vs Pokalyukhin (NY)

132: Grace Pauls (Minisink Valley)
Rd. 32: Pauls wbf Cordia (MO) 2:00
Rd. 16: Pauls vs Douglas (KS)

Girls Cadet Freestyle
127: Mia Macaluso (Minisink Valley)…3rd Place!!!!
Rd. 16: Macaluso wbf Whitehorn (MN) 1:30
Quarters: Cadman (WI) tf Macaluso 10-0
Consie Rd. 8-2: Macaluso wbf 1:22 Pitman (KY)
Consie Rd. 4: Macaluso wbf More (WA) :40
Consie Semis: Macaluso wbf Moore (WA) 2:09
3rd/4th Match: Macaluso wbf Sanchez (CA) 1:54

132: Grace Pauls (Minisink Valley)…5th Place!!!!
Rd 16: Vitiritti (IL) tf Pauls 11-0
Consie Rd. 16-2: Pauls wbf Music (GA) :40
Consie Rd. 8-1: Pauls wbf Wesoloski (IL) 3:43
Consie Rd. 8-2: Pauls dec Bailey (NM) 12-11
Consie Rd. 4: Pauls wbf Tuttle (NM) 1:22
Consie Semis: Delong (WY) tf Pauls 20-8
5th/6th Match: Pauls wbf Heiman (AZ) 1:49

Boys Cadet Freestyle
106: Jacob Chenier (Kingston)
Rd. 64: Armstron (ND) tf Chenier 10-0
Consi Rd 64: Cortez (WA) tf Chenier 10-0

NYS All Americans
Stevo Poulin – 5th @ 88 lbs.
Jordan Titus – 6th @ 94 lbs.
Jacob Nolan – 7th @ 160 lbs.
Jacob Logan – finalist at 182 lbs.

Boys Junior Freestyle
195: Kendall Elfstrum (Monroe Woodbury)
Rd. 64: Elfstrum tf Waszen (NJ) 12-2
Rd. 32: Yarnell (MO) dec Elftrum 6-6
Consie Rd. 32-2: Elfstrum dec Hatcher (AR) 8-5
Consie Rd. 16-1: Elfstrum dec Hughes (OK) 4-3
Consie Rd. 16-2: Elfstrum wbf Rodriguez (NY)
Consie Rd. 8-1: Gaona (KS) dec Elfstrum 9-8

 

 

 

Several NYS Girls Appear On Inaugural Rankings

127: #2 Michaela Beck (Trevor Day HS)
144: #6 Joye Levendusky (Avon HS)
144: #7 Hailey Finn (Scotia Glenville HS)
164: #2 Hailey Cancelleri (Curtis HS)
180: #8 Nia Crosdale (Harry Truman HS)

NYS Well Represented, But Who From S9 Could Crack the Board?

 

113: #15 Greg Diakomihalis – So. (Hilton, Section 5)
120:  #2 Adam Busiello – Jr. (Eastport South Manor, Section 11)
138: #1 Jacori Teemer – Sr. (Long Beach, Section 8)
145: #9 Jake Silverstein – Sr. (Haupaugue, Section 11)
152: #6 Frankie Gissendanner – Sr. (Penfield, Section 5)
152: #20 Matt Grippi – Sr. (Fox Lane, Section 1)
182: #7 Tyler Barnes – Sr. (Ballston Spa, Section 1)

Let me here some feedback!  Who from Section 9 will be the first to crack the national rankings this year???

Well it’s 4th of July weekend so what else is there to do other than put together a list of the top returning seniors in Section 9!  This season’s senior class may not have the accolades that we are accustomed to seeing, however there may be more depth than we’ve seen in the past!

Lightweights
Dylan Earl from Monroe Woodbury was the Section 9 Champion at 106 pounds and he finished 5th at the NYS tournament in Albany. He is the lone returning NYS place winner from Section 9.  His opponent in the Section 9 finals last year was Greg Fischer from NFA.  Greg was a wildcard entry in the NYS tournament last year where he went 0-2 however both of his losses were in sudden victory. Minisink Valley’s Connor Greiner is no stranger to the NYS tournament!  Connor missed most of last season due to an injury but was able to make it to the Section 9 finals.  He was the S9 champion, however, in 2016 and 2015.  Expect Greiner to come back with a vengeance this season!

Middleweights
Rondout Valley’s Ian Houck was the Division 2 Section 9 champ at 132 last season. He has put in a lot of extra work this off season and we could expect to see him place in Albany this coming season!  One of Houck’s losses last year was to the D1 S9 132 champion Vinny Vetrano from Minisink Valley who will be returning for his senior campaign.  Vinny’s twin bother, Dominic Vetrano, is a 2X S9 champion and is hoping to finish his career on the medal stand in Albany. Onteora’s Zach Chartrand was the D2 champ at 145 last year and should be primed for another great year, and we should expect Pine Bush’s Shaun Burgos to improve upon his runner-up finish at D1 145 last season. Chartrand’s teammate Dillon Ross was the D2 152 pound champion last season and he went 1-2 at states.  His losses however were 4-1 and 4-2 to the kids who finished 2nd and 4th in the state.  Expect Ross to get on the podium this year!  One of Ross’s toughest competitors last season was Red Hook’s Tristen Schiafo who should also have a monster season! Minisink Valley’s Tim Ganuncio was the S9 finalist at 160 pounds last year.  He lost 8 matches to NYS wrestlers last season – all 8 of those wrestlers were NYS place winners!

Heavyweights
Middletown’s Adonis Morano was the Section 9 champion at 170 last season and could definitely make some noise in Albany this season!  One of the wrestlers to defeat Morano last year was Minisink Valley’s Joey Yanis who finished 2nd at 182 last season.  Yanis received an at-large birth into the state tournament where he went 2-2 and was one win away from placing!  John Goodell from Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West was the D2 S9 champ at 220 and should have a great senior season as should Minisink Valley 285 pounder Andrew Fenner who has finished 3rd and 2nd, respectively, the last two seasons at heavyweight!