600 Wrestlers From 148 Schools To Take SUNY Sullivan By Storm
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The Eastern States Classic is now one of the toughest high school wrestling tournaments in the nation. The event takes place on Friday and Saturday, January 9th and 10th, in the Paul Gerry Fieldhouse on the campus of SUNY Sullivan in Loch Sheldrake, NY. The 2015 ESC will feature approximately 600 wrestlers representing 150 schools. Although the vast majority of the schools in the field are from NYS, there are schools from CT, MA, RI, VA as well as one pretty solid team from PA….yes, this year’s ESC will feature the return of national powerhouse Wyoming Seminary! Let’s take quick look at each weight class for the 2015 Eastern States Classic.
99 Pounds
Highlighting the lightest weight class is two of the top Jr. High wrestlers in the nation, Beau Bartlett from Wyoming Seminary and Adam Busiello from Eastport South Manor. Bartlett, only a 7th grader, came in 2nd at 100 lbs at this year’s Super 32 MS division while Busiello, an 8th grader, was crowned champion at 105 lbs in the same event. Others to watch at 99 include Benny Baker from Newark Valley, AJ Burkhart from Waverly, Drew Schafer from Pal-Mac, Jacob Camacho from Danbury, Jack Bokina from Mattituck, Jarred Greiner from Minisink Valley, Kyle Mosher from Southside, and Justin Vines from Wantagh.
106 Pounds
Perhaps the toughest weight in the tournament, 106 will feature four nationally ranked competitors. Thomas Cox will certainly be one of the favorites. A Super 32 runner-up at this weight, Cox is currently ranked 6th in the nation by Flo. Long Beach’s Jacori Teemer was last year’s NYS D1 champ at 99 and will definitely contend here. Jacori is currently ranked #9 by Flo. Kelan McKenna won the ESC title at 99 last year and is currently ranked 10th in the nation at 106 by Flo. Jake Silverstein is the 4th nationally ranked wrestler entered at 106. The Hauppaugue freshman is currently sitting at #19 in the nation at 106 according to Flowrestling. Some of the other top contenders in this weigh will be Jonathan Gomez from Locust Valley, Anthony Sparacio from North Babylon, Anthony Cirillo from Rocky Point, Zach Murillo from Southington CT, Connor Greiner from Minisink Valley, Jonathan Loew from Wantagh, Trey LaFlamme from South Jefferson, Dylan Arena from Clarence, Anthony Sulla from North Rockland, and Anthony Stramiello from Pine Bush. Yeah, 106 is loaded!!!
113 Pounds
With 4 nationally ranked studs, 106 may be the toughest weight….but 113 is arguably the deepest weight that this years ESC. Wantagh’s Kyle Quinn, Alexander’s Dane Heberlein, Port Jefferson’s Matteo Devincenzo, John Jay – EF’s Jay Albis, Sem’s Jack Davis, Mexico’s Theo Powers, and St. Francis’ Tito Colom are some of the more decorated wrestlers at 113. Also worth keeping an eye on would be Christian Gramuglia from Burnt Hills, Ryan Burns from Clarence, Dean Raymond from Deposit/Hancock, Zachary Lawrence from Duanesburg, Austin Hertel from Hilton, Anthony Argentieri from Kenmore West, Adam West from Pal-Mac, Joe Sliwoski from Wayne, Abe Bloom from Moses Brown RI, and Middletown’s Pedro Rosales. Did I mention that 113 was a bit deep???
120 Pounds
Nationally ranked studs you want – nationally ranked studs you shall have! 120 has a bunch of excellent wrestlers but all eyes will be on Yianni Diakomihalis and Jack Mueller. Yianni, a sophomore from Hilton, is a 2X NYS champ and is currently ranked #3 in the nation by Flo while Sem’s Mueller is currently Flo ranked at #8. The two have met twice in the past few months with Yianni winning both times…can Mueller turn the tables on him? Although clearly the favorites, both wrestlers can expect to be challenged by a very tough field at 120. Some of the others who will make this weight very interesting will be Peter Pappas from Plainview, Hector Colom from St. Francis, Jimmy Overhiser from lansing, Hunter Dusold from Locust Valley, Kyle Linder from New Milford, Vinny Vespa from Monroe Woodbury, Gerard Daly from Minisink Valley, and Tony Recco from Lyndonville.
126 Pounds
Let’s add a few more nationally ranked kids to the field!!! 126 should be fun to watch! Leading the way will be Ward Melville’s Nick Piccininni who is currently ranked #3 at this weight by Flowrestling. The Oklahoma State bound Piccininni, a 3X NYS champion, will receive stiff competition from Kellen Devlin from Amherst. Devlin, who lost a 1-0 decision to Piccininni at the Journeymen Classic, is currently ranked #18 in the nation by Flo at 132. Wyoming Seminary will enter Trent Olsen at 126. Olsen is as tough as they get and will definitely be in contention here. Penfield’s Parker Kropman, Danbury’s Paulo Freitas, Fulton’s Mitchell Woodworth, John Glenn’s Zack Ancewicz, and Southington’s (CT) Zach Bylykbashi are all accomplished wrestlers and will be in contention for top 8 at 126.
132 Pounds
Similar to 113, 132 may not be stacked with nationally ranked kids – although there is one, but has a whole slew of kids that will be in contention for the medal stand. Long Islander Vito Arujau, last year’s NYS champ at 113, will definitely be one of the favorites. Arujau is currently ranked #7 in the nation at 126 according to Flo. Johnny Busiello from Sem, Nick Casella from Locust Valley, Da’mani Burns from NFA, and James Szymanski from Shoreham Wading River are four more top contenders here. Others who will make some noise at 132 include Cody McGregor from Tonawanda, Dylan Wood from Walton, Dempsey King from New Hartford, Nick Toutant from Indian River, Isaiah Colgan from Johnson City, Matt Grippi from North Rockland, and Evan Barczak from Monroe Woodbury.
138 Pounds
Commack’s Mike D’Angelo (#11 by Flo) and Penfield’s Frankie Gissendanner are the two favorites at 138 but make no mistake about it, they will not walk through to the finals. Ithaca’s Richie Burke and Sem’s Patrick Munn can wrestle with anyone, while others like Hunter Richard from Holland Patent, Chris Truglio from Minisink Valley, and Garrett Baugher from St. Joe’s Collegiate will definitely make their presence known. Also keep an eye out for Zack Bendick from UE, Tristan Almeter from Iroquios, Owen Bachelder from Hewlett, and Brady Robin from Arlington.
145 Pounds
We have two wrestlers entered at 145 with national rankings….and a few others who are trying to prove that they should be! Tom Dutton from Rocky Point is currently ranked #12 in the nation by FloWrestling while Norwich’s Tristan Rifanburg is ranked at #15 by Intermat. Nipping at their heels will be the likes of Jake Einbinder from Bethpage, Mike Raccioppi from Minisink Valley, Will Verallis from Sem, Austin Whitney from Mexico, Lenny Merkin from Poly Prep and Ryan Ferro from Warwick. We should also keep an eye on Danny Murphy from Roy C. Ketcham, Corey Farrell from Warsaw, and Mike Laloggia from Schroeder.
152 Pounds
The 152 pound weight class is surprisingly top-heavy. We have one nationally ranked wrestler here, and two others who should be! Jakob Restrepo from Sachem East currently sits at #18 in the nation according to Intermat. Also entered here are Jesse Porter from Shenendehowa, who beat Restrepo this fall, and Frank Garcia, a defending state champ who beat Porter last year at the ESC. A few other guys to definitely keep an eye on are Jake Hendricks from Sem (only a freshman!), Thomas Wightman from Warwick, Brett Leonard from New Milford CT, and Matt Porello from John Glenn. Hunter Curreri from Port Jervis is having a very good season as well.
160 Pounds
This weight class is stacked…no other way to put it! Wyoming Seminary’s Chris Weiler is the favorite on paper, coming in as the 7th ranked wrestler in the nation at this weight according to Flo – but he will certainly be tested! Springfield Central’s Jon Viruet is the defending ESC champ at 160 and is currently ranked #17 by Flo. Blaise Benderoth from North Rockland took Weiler to overtime this fall at the Journeymen Classic. Chris Mauriello from Hauppauge is a returning NYS Champion and is as talented as anyone in the field. Alex Herringshaw from Holland Patent is also a returning state champ and Brandon Aviles from John Glenn is a NHSCA All American. The list of quality wrestlers keeps going…Duanesburg’s Connor Lawrence, Hadley Luzerne/Lake George’s Jason Hoffmann, Minisink Valley’s AJ Aeberlie, Hilton’s Louie Deprez, and Newark Valley’s Vinny Darpino will all contend. This one will be fun to follow!
170 Pounds
170 is another weight class at this year’s ESC that is absolutely loaded with quality wrestlers. Danbury’s Johnny Garcia is currently ranked #12 in the nation according to Intermat making him one of the favorites here; however, the competition will very stiff! Peru’s Jordan Bushey, Shenendehowa’s Kevin Parker, Cornwall’s Quinn Zsido, Indian River’s Sonny McPherson, Springfield’s Jastice Bolden, Clarence’s Nate Schwab, and Sem’s Greg Kleinsmith will definitely be in the hunt. Also watch out for Nevin O’Brein from First Colonial VA, Travis Race from Fulton, Jacob Woolson from Mexico, Mike Spallina from Hilton, Alec Guevara from Wallkill, and Warsaw’s Aaron Paddock!
182 Pounds
This weight has several quality wrestlers but there is one clear favorite – Christian Dietrich of Wyoming Seminary. Dietrich, a NY native who attended Greene HS in Section 4 last year, is currently ranked #11 in the nation at 182 by Flo. Those looking to unseat this powerful junior include Jake Ashcraft from Burnt Hills, Tom Lane from Garden City, David Hamil from Deer Park, and Nick Koury from Springfield Central. Also worth keeping an eye on in 182 are Ryan Schlager from Clarence, Richie Jones from St. Joe’s Collegiate, Gino Brancati from Hudson Falls, Hobie Strassner from Hilton, as well as a trio of tough S9 wrestlers – Kevin Morgans from Liberty, Bruce McLee from Washingtonville, and Minisink Valley’s Deonte Moore.
195 Pounds
Wyoming Seminary’s Zane Black, Eagle Academy’s Nathanael Rose, Ward Melville’s Christian Araneo, and Monroe Woodbury’s Nick McShea are probably the top 4 contenders at 195. Massachusetts is sending two very tough kids as well in Jake O’Brein from Framingham and Jered Escribano from Springfield Central. Others to watch include Chris Bosco from John Glenn, Adam Goode from Mattituck, and Bryan Beyers from Washingtonville.
220 Pounds
If you are waiting for the quality of wrestling to “thin out” as we hit the upper weights, it’s just not gonna happen! Yousiff Hemida from Mamaroneck (#7 Flo) and Vin Feola from Walt Whitman are the two favorites here. Hemida recently topped Feola in OT at the Shoreline Tournament. A few of the other guys who will be right there with the top two are Will Hilliard from Phoenix, Garret Duvall from Sherburne Earlville, Brad Basham from Burlington, Harrison Nye from Sem, Miguel Perez from Eagle Academy, Brock Cvijanovich from Horace Greeley, Brandon Mascaro from Wallkill, Ryan Pinkham from Springfield Central, Joe Humphreys from Middletown, and Mike Newman from Monsignor Farrell.
285 Pounds
Perhaps the biggest favorite to win his weight class at this year’s tournament is Michael Rogers from Wyoming Seminary. Rogers has been dominant this year and is currently ranked #13 in the nation by FloWrestling. There are 8 steps on the podium however, and there are quite a few top-notch heavyweights in this year’s field at 285! Edwin Rubio from John Glenn and Terrance Nolan from Massena are two of the best in NYS. Some of the others to keep an eye on are Nikola Cejic from Johnson City, Sean Dee from Sachem East, Owen Albanese from Canastota, Jacob Beckwith from General Brown, Joe Fuina from Hilton, Isaac Serrano from NFA, and Peter Stassfield from Southampton. John Demy from Wallkill and Joe Bock from Port Jervis may upset a wrestler or two as well.