SECTION 9 WRESTLING

Palmer wins two more matches….wrestling for 3rd place tonight!!!

UPDATE:  CJ Palmer beats Patrick Duggan by a 5-2 margin to finish 3rd in PA!!!  Great job of wrestling back all the way to 3rd place after dropping a 2-0 decision in the opening round…Congratulations CJ!!!

CJ Palmer continues his to wrestle back hard!  After dropping a 2-0 decision in the opening round 126 pound bout to Tyson Dippery, Palmer has reeled off four straight wins and is now positioned to wrestle for third place in tonight’s medal round.  The Delaware Valley senior has won both of his consolation matches today in convincing fashion.  He pinned Josh DiSanto of Pennsbury in 4:34 of his 3rd round consie match this morning.  Next, Palmer majored Josh Maruca of Franklin Regional 12-0 to earn his spot in the 3rd place match.  His opening round opponent, Dippery, has made it to the finals.  Palmer finished third in PA as a sophmore at 112 pounds.  The link below provides brackets that are updated after every match.

                                                         2012 PA State Tournament

2009 Port Jervis graduate JD Zitone lost his quarterfinal bout but won his first wrestle-back match so he is guaranteed a spot on the All-American podium.  Zitone wrestles at 285 for Centenary College in New Jersey.  Congrats JD!!!  Link below to coverage provided by themat.com.

UPDATE:  Congratulations JD Zitone for finishing 7th at this weekends NCAA DIII Championships!!!!  He won his 7th place match by a score of 3-2 over fellow NY native Joe Giaramita (John Glenn, 2011).  Great job JD!!!

                                NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships 

Delaware Valley 126 pound wrestler CJ Palmer has won both of his consolation matches and is still alive in the PIAA Wrestling Championships.  After losing his opening round match, Palmer has posted victories over Tyler Clapp 0f Strath Haven (maj. dec. 11-0) and Dustin Rook of Big Spring (dec. 6-2).  With one more victory, Palmer will be guaranteed a top-6 placing.  His next match will take place on Saturday morning where he will take on Josh DiSanto (34-2) of Pennsbury. 

Delaware Valley’s two other participants in the tournament, Marc Wagner and Martin Strenk, have both been eliminated.  Wagner, a 170 pound senior, dropped two straight matched after an opening round victory.  His tournament began with a 9-4 victory over Chris Kurkian of Marple Newton in the opening round.  Wagner was then defeated by Zach Towers of Meadville by a 9-0 score in the quarters before being eliminated by Geno Morelli of DuBois in the consies via a 2-1 UTB decision.  Strenk also won his opening match defeating Danny Hockensmith of Big Spring 3-1.  The 182 pound junior was then pinned in the quarterfinal round in 3:16 by Kiski Area’s Matt McCutcheon (37-1) before losing his wrestle-back match by a 5-1 margin to Tyler Greene of Easton.

The NCAA website is providing outstanding coverage of the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships this weekend.  Click on the link below for access to both video coverage of the tournament as well as updated brackets.

2009 Port Jervis graduate JD Zitone is the #3 seed at 285 pounds.  Zitone, who wrestles for Centenary College in New Jersey, is undefeated on the season sporting an impressive record of 26-0.  Good luck JD!

(Note: NCAA site not working well….now linked to Themat.com’s coverage page.)

                                        NCAA Division III Wrestling Coverage

The PIAA wrestling tournament began on Thursday at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA and SectionIXWrestling.com will be will help you follow all of the action.  Delaware Valley HS sent three wrestlers to Hershey and two have won their opening round matches.  170 pound senior Marc Wagner won his opening round match with a 9-4 victory over Chris Kurkian of Marple Newtown.  At 182, Martin Strenk defeated Danny Hockensmith of Big Spring by a 3-1 margin.  126 pound senior CJ Palmer had the toughest opening round draw having to face Tyson Dippery (45-2) of Central Dauphin.  Palmer gave Dippery all he could handle, however dropped a 2-0 decision and must now wrestle through the consolation bracket in order to place.  Palmer won his first wrestle-back by an 11-0 score over Tyler Clapp of Strath Haven.  Below are links to the brackets for both AAA and AA divisions; DV competes in the AAA division.

                                                             PIAA Tournament Coverage

The Friends of Section 9 will be hosting the 11th Annual Banquet of Champions on Sunday, March 11th at The Meadowbrook in New Windsor.  Doors open at 5:00 and dinner will be served at 6:00.  Anyone interested in attending must RSVP by Friday, March 9th.  Please click below for the banquet flyer which has all reservation information.

                                                                     11th Annual Banquet of Champions

Warrior Elite in Otisville is offering a special 8-week course for the serious wrestler.  They are holding a free open house on March 7th to show a sample of the intense training sessions.  Classes begin on March 14th.  You must pre-register for the open house.  Click below for all of the information.

                                                     Warrior Elite Wrestling Camps