NFA Senior Da’mani Burns Wins Pool At Journeymen Classic

DamaniJMen2014
Da’mani Burns 2014 Journeymen Classic champion at 140B

In four short years, The Journeymen Classic has become one of the premier preseason high school wrestling tournaments in the nation.  The round robin event attracts some of the nation’s best wrestlers.  This year’s Journeymen Classic included over 40 nationally ranked wrestlers including the #1 ranked wrestlers at 120, 125, and 152…Nick Suriano, Nick Piccininni, and Isaiah White respectively.

The competitors at the Journeymen Classic are separated into pools according to credentials but make no mistake about, there are NO soft weights!  The 140B pool, for instance, had a 2X state champ, two one-time state champions, three state place winners, one state qualifier, and the top ranked freshman at his weight in the nation.  When the day was over, Newburgh Free Academy senior Da’mani Burns stood on top of the podium as 2014 Journeymen Classic champion at 140B!  Congratulations Da’mani….great job!!!

Section 9 had several stand out performances this weekend including Minisink Valley seniors Gerard Daly and Michael Raccioppi who both finished 3rd in their pools.  Below is a summary of the all of our Section 9 wrestlers who competed this weekend.

Marco Vespa (MW) finished 2-2 at 100lbs in Saturday’s middle school competition
Anthony Stramiello (PB) went 0-4 and finished 6th at  106B
Vinny Vespa (MW) went 2-2 and finished 6th at 120B
Johnny Stramiello (PB/Sem) went 1-3 and finished 7th at 120C
Gerard Daly (MV) went 2-1 and finished 3rd at 130B
Evan Barczak (MW) went 1-2 and finished 5th at 130B
Da’mani Burns (NFA) went 4-0 and finished 1st at 140B
Michael Raccioppi (MV) went 3-1 and finished 3rd at 145B
AJ Aeberli (MV) went 2-2 and finished 4th at 160B
Nick McShea (MW) went 0-3 and finished 6th at 195

Journeymen Classic Results – A Pools                   Journeymen Classic Results – BCD Pools

Former Section 9 Champ Rissler Brings 6 From Alabama
Washingtonville High School graduate and former Section 9 Champion Shad Rissler is now a wrestling coach in the state of Alabama.  Rissler entered six wrestlers in the Journeymen Classic and the boys from down south responded very well!  Three of Rissler’s wrestlers won their pool, two took 3rd place and one finished 5th!  Great job Shad…Section 9 Wrestling is proud to call you one of our own!

Some of Section 9’s Best To Compete In Sunday’s Journeymen Classic

Ten wrestlers from Section 9 will compete in this Sunday’s Journeymen Classic taking place at Niskayuna HS in the Albany area.  The Journeymen has quickly become one of the toughest preseason high school wrestling tournaments in the nation.  This year’s event will showcase over 40 nationally ranked wrestlers including 3 national number 1’s!

Representing Section 9 in this invite-only event will be:
S9sitelogoAnthony Stramiello (Pine Bush) 106
Vinny Vespa (Monroe Woodbury) 120
Johnny Stramiello (PB – Wyoming Seminary) 120
Gerard Daly (Minisink Valley) 130
Evan Barczak (Monroe Woodbury) 130
Da’mani Burns (Newburgh Free Academy) 140
Chris Truglio (Minisink Valley) 140
Michael Raccioppi (Minisink Valley) 145
AJ Aeberli (Minisink Valley) 160
Nick McShea (Monroe Woodbury) 195

All of the weight classes at this years Journeymen are star-studded and laced with nationally ranked competitors however 120 and 152 are probably the toughest!

The 120 pound weight class will feature 5 of the top 15 ranked 120 pounders in the country!  Registered to compete are #1 Nick Suriano (NJ), #6 Yianni Diakomihalis (NY), #8 Jack Mueller (TX), #9 Cameron Sykora (MN), and #14 Alex Mackall (OH).  Other top wrestlers in 120 include Matteo Devincenzo (NY state champ), Kyle Quinn (NY state champ), Gage Curry (Super 32 finalist), as well as NY state place winners Vespa, Stramiello, Parker Kropman, Jay Albis, and Luke Yankloski.

152 pounds is no joke either!  Top contenders at this weight include #1 Isaiah White (IL), #3 Zach Kelly (PA), #4 Larry Early (IL), #11 Thomas Dutton (NY), and #13 Jake Restrepo (NY).  Also registered here are Jesse Porter (NY) and Sean Glasgow (NJ) who both recorded wins over Restrepo and the Iron Horse Invitational.  NYS finalists Alex Herringshaw and Andrew Showers, along with NJ placewinner Gavin Murray, could also make some noise at 152.

Good luck to all of the competitors especially those representing Section 9!  For those who cannot make it to Niskayuna, Flowrestling will be covering the event live and one of the Flo commentators will be Section 9’s very own Vinny Barber!!!

Raccioppi and Aeberli at Iron Horse Invitational: Raccioppi Wins His Pool!

Minisink Valley grapplers Michael Raccioppi and AJ Aeberli competed in this weekends Iron Horse Invitational in South Plainfield, NJ.  The Iron Horse is one of the tougher preseason high school wrestling events in the US.  The vast majority of the contestants are New Jersey wrestlers but there is a good blend of NY, PA  and New England wrestlers as well.

Raccioppi won his pool by finishing 3-1 recording wins over Max Nauta (Warren Hills, NJ), Tin Hamann (Jackson Memorial, NJ), and Brady Ford (Bergen Catholic, NJ).  His lone loss came in his final bout of the day when he dropped an OT decision to Stephen Persaud of Parsippany, NJ.  None of the wrestlers in the pool went undefeated so Raccioppi won by criteria.

Aeberli had a tough draw and finished 1-3.  One of his losses was a 1-0 decision to Louie Deprez of Hilton, NY.  Deprez finished 3rd in NYS last season at 138.  Aeberli also lost a 5-0 tilt to Joe Grello of Bergen Catholic, NJ.  Grello, who won the pool, finished 8th in NJ last season at 152.

Great job both guys!  Next up…the Journeymen Classic on 10/5!!!

Results