lohud.com

Sponsored by:

Takedowns

Get the inside story on varsity wrestling in the Lower Hudson Valley

Slane wins gold at Canada Cup

Jake Thomases
July
15

Two Americans won gold at the Canada Cup Junior Championship on July 5. North Rockland’s own Joe Slane was one of them.

Slane beat an American, a Canadian, and two Koreans to win the 58 kg (127 pound) championship. The toughest match was against Canada’s Duncan Moffat. Moffat beat Slane 5-0 in the first round before Slane came back to win the second and third rounds. Slane swept his other three opponents.

The rising senior had never even heard of the Canada Cup before Anibal Nieves, a friend of his father and the coach at Western New England College, suggested that he enter. He trained at Nieves’s house in Springfield, Mass. before driving eight hours to the University of Guelph, which is about an hour west of Toronto.

“It was really shocking because I didn’t think people would be from Austria, Korea, everything like that,” he said.

The only other American to win gold was Erin Golston in the girls division.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Wednesday, July 15th, 2009 at 3:45 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 4 Comments »

Troy Nickerson to appear at John Jay camp

Jake Thomases
June
18

John Jay is hosting a 24-hour wrestling camp for all kids of high school age or below. Five-time New York State champion Troy Nickerson is the featured guest. Joe Mazzurco, Section 1’s all-time wins leader, will also be there. Camp begins June 29.

You can get more information or sign up by following this link.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 2:43 pm | Print Print | Email Email | Post a Comment »

Advertisement

Winter All-Stars/All-County

Jake Thomases
April
20

For those who didn’t see Sunday’s newspaper, I’m proud to announce that James Brundage is the Journal News Westchester/Putnam Winter Athlete of the Season. This means that of all the premier athletes in every winter sport (basketball, hockey, swimming, etc) Brundage was the most impressive.

I’d like to say I fought hard for his nomination but it didn’t take much fighting. He was close to a slam dunk winner. The editors here all thought he was deserving. And why not? His state title was the biggest reason Section 1 wrestling became an entity again.

In my story I wrote about Brundage’s relationship with a Gulf War veteran who lives in a VA hospital in Montrose. Brundage made him a special promise this season and followed through. You can read about it here.

In Rockland, the wrestler of the year was Steven Ramos of Clarkstown North. Ramos switched from a crossface cradle to a crab ride this season and it took him to a bronze medal in the state. Read about his decision to change here.

You can also get all the other all-star capsules and photos. Second-team and honorable mention are available too. Scroll to the bottom of the pages and click “Other accolades.”

For the Westchester/Putnam All-Stars, click here.

For the Rockland All-County, click here.

To access your sport of choice just click the photo of the corresponding player of the year.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Monday, April 20th, 2009 at 5:08 pm | Print Print | Email Email | Post a Comment »

Rider U wins the Brundage sweepstakes

Jake Thomases
April
16

James Brundage today signed a letter of intent with Rider University. The Ossining senior will wrestle for the Lawrenceville, NJ school next season.

He told me yesterday that the final college list came down to three choices: Virginia, Boston University, and Rider. Virginia was probably his top choice since he grew up down there and his mom and sister still live in Virginia. UVA only offered a partial scholarship, though. He stressed how much he didn’t want to leave school in debt. That left BU and Rider, both of which offered full rides.

The Rider pick came down to two factors. First, it was closer to home. James’s dad came to almost all of his matches this season and he wants him to be able to see him some in college too. Lawrenceville, which is just north of Trenton, is about two hours from Ossining. Boston is twice that.

The second factor was class size. BU has over 18,000 undergrads. Rider has 6,500. Brundage said he didn’t want to be an anonymous name at the back of an auditorium. He wants small classes where professors know his face. Another point for Rider.

It didn’t hurt that a Rider wrestler, Doug Umbehauer, just placed third at the NCAA tournament and earned All-America status. It’s proof that the wrestling room of 30-year coach Gary Taylor is still cranking out top competitors.

I also learned that Brundage’s teammate Clay Neivert, another sectional champ, has decided on SUNY Brockport.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Thursday, April 16th, 2009 at 6:11 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 1 Comment »

College decisions

Jake Thomases
April
11

Last time I spoke to the wrestlers, which was during or just after the season, nobody had made up their minds about college. I figure those decisions have to be made soon, no?

So I’m putting out a call to all parents, fans, and wrestlers in Section 1. Are you a senior who’s going to wrestle in college or do you know one? I’d like to start collecting college committments and post them on the blog. A lot of people are interested in who’s wrestling at the next level.

If you know something or even if you just heard something, give me a heads-up and I’ll make the phone calls. You can email me at jtthomas@Lohud.com or leave a comment on this blog post.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Saturday, April 11th, 2009 at 2:36 pm | Print Print | Email Email | Post a Comment »

Bonilla-Bowman loses first match

Jake Thomases
March
19

Jon Bonilla-Bowman was decisioned by Chattanooga’s Joseph Knox, 15-12, in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. He will wrestleback against West Virginia’s Ryan Goodman tonight.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Thursday, March 19th, 2009 at 9:06 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 9 Comments »

NCAA individual rankings

Jake Thomases
March
18

In the earlier post I referred to national rankings by WrestlingReport.com. I thought you might be interested in the full rankings for every weight class.

125:
1) Paul Donahoe-Edinboro-Sr (EWL – 1st)
2) Troy Nickerson-Cornell-Jr (EIWA – 1st)
3) Angel Escobedo-Indiana-Jr (Big X – 1st)
4) Brandon Precin-Northwestern-Jr (Big X – 2nd)
5) James Nicholson-Old Dominion-So (CAA – 1st)
6) Charlie Falck-Iowa-Sr (Big X – 3rd)
7) Joey Fio-Oklahoma-So (Big XII – 1st)
8) Tyler Clark-Iowa State-So (Big XII – 2nd)
9) Rollie Peterkin-Penn-Jr (EIWA – 2nd)
10) Scotti Sentes-Central Michigan-Fr (MAC – 1st)
11) Brad Pataky-Penn State-So (Big X – 4th)
12) Zach Sanders-Minnesota-Fr (Big X – 5th)
13) Anthony Robles-Arizona State-So (Pac X – 1st)
14) Obe Blanc-Oklahoma State-Sr (Big XII – 3rd)
15) Nic Bedelyon-Kent State-So (MAC – 2nd)
16) Jarrod Garnett-Virginia Tech-Fr (ACC – 2nd)
17) Steve Bonanno-Hofstra-Fr (CAA – 2nd)
18) Brandon Zoetewey-Cal-Bakersfield-Sr (Pac X – 2nd)
19) Marcos Orozco-Cal-Davis-Sr (Pac X – 3rd)
20) Derek Reber-Bucknell-Fr (EIWA – 3rd)
21) Brendan Byrne-Maryland-Jr (ACC – 1st)
22) B.J. Futrell-Illinois-Fr (Big X – 6th)
23) Mike Martinez-Wyoming-Fr (West – 1st)
24) Tony Mustari-Northern Colorado-Jr (West – 2nd)
25) Jay Ivanco-Clarion-So (EWL – 2nd)
26) Ian Moser-Bloomsburg-So (EWL – 3rd)
27) Nikko Triggas-Ohio State-So (Big X – DNP)
28) Michael Watts-Michigan-Sr (Big X – DNP)
29) Brian Owen-Boise State-Fr (Pac X – 4th)
30) Prescott Garner-Navy-Fr (EIWA – 5th)
31) William Chamberlain-Duquesne-Jr (East – 1st)
32) Demetrius Johnson-Chattanooga-So (SoCon – 1st)
33) Eric Olanowski-Michigan State-Fr (Big X – 7th)

133:
1) Franklin Gomez-Michigan State-Jr (Big X – 1st)
2) Reece Humphrey-Ohio State- Jr (Big X – 2nd)
3) Daniel Dennis-Iowa-Jr (Big X – 5th)
4) Jimmy Kennedy-Illinois-Jr (Big X – 3rd)
5) Andrew Hochstrasser-Boise State-So (Pac X – 1st)
6) Jayson Ness-Minnesota-Jr (Big X – 4th)
7) Lou Ruggirello-Hofstra-Jr (CAA – 1st)
8) Jake Strayer-Penn State-Sr (Big X – 6th)
9) Joe Baker-Navy-Sr (EIWA – 1st)
10) Mike Grey-Cornell-So (EIWA – 2nd)
11) Nick Fanthorpe-Iowa State-Jr (Big XII – 1st)
12) Steve Bell-Maryland-Jr (ACC – 1st)
13) Chris Notte-Oklahoma State-Jr (Big XII – 2nd)
14) Dan Mitcheff-Kent State-Jr (MAC – 1st)
15) Filip Novachkov-Cal-Poly-So (Pac X – 3rd)
16) Matt Fisk-Lehigh-Jr (EIWA – 3rd)
17) David Marble-Bucknell-Jr (EIWA – 4th)
18) Conor Beebe-Central Michigan-Jr (MAC – 2nd)
19) Mike Rappo-North Carolina-So (ACC – 2nd)
20) Todd Schavrien-Missouri-So (Big XII – 3rd)
21) Jimmy Conroy-Pittsburgh-Jr (EWL – 1st)
22) Tyler Dillashaw-Cal-Fullerton-Sr (Pac X – 6th)
23) Ricky Deubel-Edinboro-Sr (EWL – 2nd)
24) Brandon Low-Cal-Davis-So(Pac X – 4th)
25) Kelly Kubec-Oregon State-Fr (Pac X – 2nd)
26) Matt Bonson-Virginia-Fr (ACC – 4th)
27) Thomas Kimbrell-Cal-Bakersfield-Sr (Pac X – 5th)
28) Kyle Hutter-Old Dominion-Jr (CAA – 2nd)
29) Tristen DeShazer-Northern Illinois-So (MAC – 3rd)
30) Cory VomBaur-Wyoming-Jr (West – 1st)
31) Frank Celorrio-Appalachian State-Jr (SoCon – 1st)
32) Darrius Little-North Carolina State-So (ACC – 3rd)
33) Christian Smith-Liberty-Sr (East – 1st)

141:
1) Kellen Russell-Michigan-So (Big X – 1st)
2) Zach Tanelli-Wisconsin-Sr (Big X – 2nd)
3) Jeff Jaggers-Ohio State-Sr (Big X – 3rd)
4) Alex Tsirtsis-Iowa-Sr (Big X – 4th)
5) Ryan Williams-Old Dominion-Sr (CAA – 1st)
6) Nick Gallick-Iowa State-Jr (Big XII – 2nd)
7) Cody Cleveland-Chattanooga-Jr (SoCon – 1st)
8) Marcus Hoehn-Missouri-Sr (Big XII – 1st)
9) Corey Jantzen-Harvard-So (EIWA – 2nd)
10) Tyler Nauman-Pittsburgh-Fr (EWL – 1st)
11) Chris Drouin-Arizona State-So (Pac X – 2nd)
12) Mike Thorn-Minnesota-So (Big X – 5th)
13) Drew Lashaway-Kent State-Sr (MAC – 1st)
14) Alex Krom-Maryland-Jr (ACC – 1st)
15) Seth Ciasulli-Lehigh-Jr (EIWA – 1st)
16) Jamal Parks-Oklahoma State-Fr (Big XII – 3rd)
17) Keith Sulzer-Northwestern-So (Big X – 6th)
18) Tony D’Alie-Central Michigan-Jr (MAC – 2nd)
19) Chris Diaz-Virginia Tech-So (ACC – 2nd)
20) Elijah Nacita-Cal-Bakersfield-So (Pac X – 1st)
21) Vincent Ramirez-North Carolina-Sr (ACC – 3rd)
22) Nick Nelson-Virginia-So (ACC – 4th)
23) Chris Bencivenga-NC-Greensboro-Sr (SoCon – 2nd)
24) Tim Harner-Liberty-Sr (East – 1st)
25) Trent Washington-Northern Iowa-Fr (West – 1st)
26) Ryan Prater-Illinois-So (Big X – 7th)
27) Rick Rappo-Penn-Sr (EIWA – 3rd)
28) Joe Caramanica-North Carolina State-Sr (ACC – 5th)
29) Adin Duenas-Cal-Fullerton-So (Pac X – 3rd)
30) Cory Fish-Boise State-Jr (Pac X – 4th)
31) Frank Molinaro-Penn State-Fr (Big X – 8th)
32) Justin Accordino-Hofstra-Fr (CAA – 2nd)
33) William Simpson-Army-Sr (EIWA – 4th)

149:
1) Brent Metcalf-Iowa-Jr (Big X – 1st)
2) Darrion Caldwell-North Carolina State-Jr (ACC – 1st)
3) Bubba Jenkins-Penn State-Jr (Big X – 2nd)
4) Lance Palmer-Ohio State-Jr (Big X – 3rd)
5) Kyle Ruschell-Wisconsin-Jr (Big X – 5th)
6) Bryce Saddoris-Navy-So (EIWA – 1st)
7) Jake Patacsil-Purdue-Sr (Big X – 6th)
8) Matt Kyler-Army-Jr (EIWA – 2nd)
9) Kyle Borshoff-American-Jr (EIWA – 3rd)
10) Kyle Terry-Oklahoma-Jr (Big XII – 1st)
11) Trevor Chinn-Lehigh-Sr (EIWA – 4th)
12) Cesar Grajales-Penn-Jr (EIWA – 5th)
13) Jason Chamberlain-Boise State-Fr (Pac X – 1st)
14) Nick Stabile-North Carolina-So (ACC – 2nd)
15) Pete Yates-Virginia Tech-Fr (ACC – DNP)
16) Steve Brown-Central Michigan-Jr (MAC – 1st)
17) Heinrich Barnes-Oregon State-Sr (Pac X – 2nd)
18) Mitch Mueller-Iowa State-Jr (Big XII – 2nd)
19) Desmond Green-Buffalo-Fr (MAC – 2nd)
20) Kevin LeValley-Bucknell-So (EIWA – 6th)
21) Matt Cathell-Delaware State-So (East – 1st)
22) D.J. Meagher-Cornell-So (EIWA – DNP)
23) Matt Fittery-Lock Haven-Sr (EWL – 1st)
24) George Hickman-Bloomsburg-Sr (EWL – 2nd)
25) David Jauregui-West Virginia-Sr (EWL – 3rd)
26) Robert Sanders-Nebraska-Sr (Big XII – 3rd)
27) Mitchell Polkowske-Northern Colorado-Fr (West – 1st)
28) Paul Gillespie-Hofstra-Fr (CAA – 1st)
29) Mike Roberts-Boston-Sr (CAA – 2nd)
30) Torsten Gillespie-Edinboro-So (EWL – 6th)
31) Kellon Balum-Virginia-Jr (ACC – 3rd)
32) Trevor Kittleson-Northern Iowa-So (West – 2nd)
33) Daniel Waddell-Chattanooga-Fr (SoCon-1st)

157:
1) Jordan Burroughs-Nebraska-Jr (Big XII – 1st)
2) Jordan Leen-Cornell-Sr (EIWA – 1st)
3) Mike Poeta-Illinois-Sr (Big X – 1st)
4) Gregor Gillespie-Edinboro-Sr (EWL – 2nd)
5) J.P. O’Connor-Harvard-Jr (EIWA – 2nd)
6) Michael Chandler-Missouri-Sr (Big XII – 2nd)
7) Adam Hall-Boise State-So (Pac X – 2nd)
8) Matt Moley-Bloomsburg-Jr (EWL – 1st)
9) Neil Erisman-Oklahoma State-So (Big XII – 3rd)
10) Cyler Sanderson-Iowa State-Jr (Big XII – 4th)
11) Scott Winston-Rutgers-Fr (EIWA – 3rd)
12) Chase Pami-Cal-Poly-Jr (Pac X – 1st)
13) Chad Terry-Oklahoma-Jr (Big XII – 5th)
14) Jon Bonilla-Bowman-Hofstra-Jr (CAA – 1st)
15) Jason Welch-Northwestern-Fr (Big X – 2nd)
16) Matt Dragon-Penn-Jr (EIWA – 4th)
17) Tyler Safratowich-Minnesota-Sr (Big X – 3rd)
18) Kody Hamrah-North Carolina State-Sr (ACC – 1st
19) Aaron Hynes-Michigan-So (Big X – 5th)
20) Kurt Kinser-Indiana-So (Big X – 6th)
21) Jesse Dong-Virginia Tech-Fr (ACC – 2nd)
22) Anthony Jones-Michigan State-So (Big X – 7th)
23) Mike Kessler-Rider-Jr (CAA – 2nd)
24) Jedd Moore-Virginia-Fr (ACC – 3rd)
25) Hadley Harrison-Clarion-Jr (EWL – 4th)
26) Jason Johnstone-Ohio State-Sr (Big X – DNP)
27) Joey Knox-Chattanooga-Jr (SoCon – 1st)
28) Thomas Scotton-North Carolina-So (ACC – DNP)
29) Justin Gaethje-Northern Colorado-So (West – 1st)
30) Colton Salazar-Purdue-So (Big X – 4th)
31) Ryan Goodman-West Virginia-Fr (EWL – 3rd)
32) Bryan Deutsch-Northern Illinois-So (MAC – 1st)
33) Shaun Smith-Liberty-Jr (East – 1st)

165:
1) Mack Lewnes-Cornell-So (EIWA – 1st)
2) Andrew Howe-Wisconsin-Fr (Big X – 1st)
3) Ryan Morningstar-Iowa-Jr (Big X – 2nd)
4) Nick Marable-Missouri-Jr (Big XII – 1st)
5) Colt Sponseller-Ohio State-So (Big X – 4th)
6) Stephen Dwyer-Nebraska-Jr (Big XII – 2nd)
7) Jon Reader-Iowa State-So (Big XII – 3rd)
8) Moza Fay-Northern Iowa-Sr (West – 1st)
9) Brandon Mason-Oklahoma State-Sr (Big XII – 4th)
10) Chris Brown-Old Dominion-Jr (CAA – 1st)
11) Trevor Stewart-Central Michigan-Sr (MAC – 1st)
12) Andrew Rendos-Bucknell-Jr (EIWA – 2nd)
13) Dan Vallimont-Penn State-Jr (Big X – 3rd)
14) Jarrod King-Edinboro-Sr (EWL – 1st)
15) Luke Manuel-Purdue-So (Big X – 5th)
16) Roger Smith-Bergsrud-Illinois-Sr (Big X – 6th)
17) Mike Galante-Lehigh-Jr (EIWA – 3rd)
18) Paul Young-Indiana-So (Big X – 7th)
19) Donnie Jones-West Virginia-Jr (EWL – 2nd)
20) Tyler Sherfey-Boise State-Sr (Pac X – 1st)
21) Keegan Mueller-North Carolina-Sr (ACC – 1st)
22) Keegan Davis-Oregon State-Jr (Pac X – 3rd)
23) Seth Garvin-Chattanooga-Sr (SoCon – 1st)
24) Matt Pletcher-Rutgers-Sr (EIWA – 4th)
25) Ryan Smith-Oklahoma-Fr (Big X – 5th)
26) Ethan Headlee-Pittsburgh-So (EWL – 3rd)
27) Jason Lapham-Rider-Sr (CAA – 2nd)
28) Ryan Patrovich-Hofstra-So (CAA – 3rd)
29) Ricky Schmelyun-Bloomsburg-Jr (EWL – 5th)
30) Nick Amuchastegui-Stanford-Fr (Pac X – 2nd)
31) Justin Zeerip-Michigan-Fr (Big X – 8th)
32) Rex Kendle-Michigan State-Sr (Big X – DNP)
33) Jeremy Brooks-Millersville-Jr (East – 1st)

174:
1) Steve Luke-Michigan-Sr (Big X – 1st)
2) Michael Cannon-American-Jr (EIWA – 1st)
3) Brandon Browne-Nebraska-Sr (Big XII – 1st)
4) Jay Borschel-Iowa-Jr (Big X – 3rd)
5) Raymond Jordan-Missouri-Sr (Big XII – 2nd)
6) Mike Miller-Central Michigan-So (MAC – 1st)
7) Steve Anceravage-Cornell-Sr (EIWA – 2nd)
8) Chris Henrich-Virginia-So (ACC – 1st)
9) Quentin Wright-Penn State-Fr (Big X – 2nd)
10) Newly McSpadden-Oklahoma State-Sr (Big XII – 3rd)
11) Jeff James-Oklahoma-So (Big XII – 4th)
12) Alton Lucas-Hofstra-Sr (CAA – 2nd)
13) Kurt Brenner-West Virginia-Sr (EWL – 1st)
14) Nate Lee-Boise State-Jr (Pac X – 1st)
15) John Dergo-Illinois-Jr (Big X – 4th)
16) Luke Rebertus-Navy-Fr (EIWA – 5th)
17) Mendbagana Tovuujav-George Mason-Fr (CAA – 1st)
18) Shane Onufer-Wyoming-Fr (West – 1st)
19) Shane Riccio-Bucknell-Jr (EIWA – 3rd)
20) Alex Caruso-Lehigh-So (EIWA – 4th)
21) David Rella-Ohio State-Jr (Big X – 5th)
22) Scott Giffin-Penn-So (EIWA – 6th)
23) Trevor Perry-Indiana-Jr (Big X – 6th)
24) Duke Burke-Iowa State-Jr (Big XII – 5th)
25) Eric Decker-Old Dominion-Jr (CAA – 3rd)
26) Hunter Meys-Boston-Fr (CAA – 4th)
27) Justin Herbert-Franklin&Marshall-Sr (EIWA – DNP)
28) Nate Rock-Buffalo-Sr (MAC – 2nd)
29) Jason McCroskey-Chattanooga-So (SoCon – 1st)
30) Anthony Trongone-Virginia Tech (ACC – 2nd)
31) Ian Hinton-Michigan State-Fr (Big X – 8th)
32) Byron Sigmon-NC-Greensboro-So (SoCon – 3rd)
33) Shane Smith-Millersville-Fr (East – 1st)

184:
1) Jake Herbert-Northwestern-Sr (Big X – 1st)
2) Phillip Keddy-Iowa-Jr (Big X – 2nd)
3) Mike Pucillo-Ohio State-Jr (Big X – 3rd)
4) Kirk Smith-Boise State-So (Pac X – 1st)
5) Dustin Kilgore-Kent State-Fr (MAC – 1st)
6) Josh Patterson-Binghamton-Jr (CAA – 1st)
7) David Craig-Lehigh-Jr (EIWA – 1st)
8) Doug Umbehauer-Rider-Sr (CAA – 2nd)
9) Chris Honeycutt-Edinboro-So (EWL – 1st)
10) Louis Caputo-Harvard-Jr (EIWA – 3rd)
11) Joe LeBlanc-Wyoming-Fr (West – 1st)
12) Jordan Blanton-Illinois-Fr (Big X – 4th)
13) Justin Kerber-Cornell-Jr (EIWA – 2nd)
14) Anthony Biondo-Michigan-So (Big X – 5th)
15) Vince Jones-Nebraska-Sr (Big XII – 1st)
16) Jerome Ward-Iowa State-Fr (Big XII – 2nd)
17) Rocco Caponi-Virginia-Sr (ACC – 1st)
18) AJ Kissel-Purdue-So (Big X – DNP)
19) Pat Flynn-Oklahoma-So (Big XII – 3rd)
20) Vince DiDona-Central Michigan-Sr (MAC – 2nd)
21) Tommy Spellman-Virginia Tech-So (ACC – 2nd)
22) Chris McNeil-Oklahoma State-Fr (Big XII – 4th)
23) Dorian Henderson-Missouri-Fr (Big XII – 5th)
24) Alex Dolly-Northern Iowa-Sr (West – 2nd)
25) John Barone-Duke-Jr (ACC – 3rd)
26) Riley Orozco-Cal-Bakersfield-So (Pac X – 2nd)
27) Mickey Moran-Buffalo-Sr (MAC – 3rd)
28) Matt Gevelinger-Brown-Sr (EIWA – 4th)
29) David Thompson-Bucknell-So (EIWA – 5th)
30) Ken Caldwell-Navy-Sr (EIWA – 6th)
31) Mikal McKee-NC-Greensboro-So (SoCon – 1st)
32) Chris Daggett-Liberty-Sr (East – 1st)
33) Eric Cameron-Indiana-So (Big X – 6th)

197:
1) Craig Brester-Nebraska-Jr (Big X – 1st)
2) Jake Varner-Iowa State-Jr (Big X – 2nd)
3) Brent Chriswell-Boise State-So (Pac X – 1st)
4) Brandon Halsey-Cal-Bakersfield-Sr (Pac X – 2nd)
5) Tyrel Todd-Michigan-Sr (Big X – 1st)
6) Dallas Herbst-Wisconsin-Sr (Big X – 2nd)
7) Max Askren-Missouri-Jr (Big XII – 3rd)
8) Clayton Foster-Oklahoma State-So (Big XII – 4th)
9) Andrew Anderson-Northern Iowa-Sr (West – 1st)
10) Hudson Taylor-Maryland-Jr (ACC – 2nd)
11) Eric Lapotsky-Oklahoma-Jr (Big XII – 5th)
12) Brent Jones-Virginia-Jr (ACC – 1st)
13) Chad Beatty-Iowa-Jr (Big X – 4th)
14) Cayle Byers-George Mason-So (CAA – 1st)
15) Dennis Drury-North Carolina-Jr (ACC – 3rd)
16) Jon Oplinger-Drexel-Sr (CAA – 2nd)
17) Jesse Strawn-Old Dominion-Jr (CAA – 3rd)
18) Cam Simaz-Cornell-Fr (EIWA – 1st)
19) Richard Starks-Army-Jr (EIWA – 2nd)
20) D.J. Bruce-Virginia Tech-So (ACC – 4th)
21) Patrick Bond-Illinois-Jr (Big X – 3rd)
22) John Hall-Boston-So (CAA – DNP)
23) Logan Brown-Purdue-So (Big X – 5th)
24) Pat Bradshaw-Edinboro-Jr (EWL – 1st)
25) Tyler Sorenson-South Dakota State-Jr (West – 2nd)
26) Eric Chine-Kent State-Sr (MAC – 4th)
27) Jimmy Hamel-Buffalo-So (MAC – 2nd)
28) Joe Fagiano-Hofstra-So (CAA – 4th)
29) Luke Feist-Stanford-Sr (Pac X – 3rd)
30) Andrew Silber-American-Sr (EIWA – 5th)
31) John McClure-Eastern Michigan-Sr (MAC – 1st)
32) Andrew Delaney-The Citadel-Fr (SoCon – 1st)
33) Raymond Bennett-Millersville-So (East – 1st)

HWY:
1) David Zabriskie-Iowa State-Jr (Big XII – 1st)
2) Mark Ellis-Missouri-Jr (Big XII – 2nd)
3) Jermail Porter-Kent State-Sr (MAC – 1st)
4) Jared Rosholt-Oklahoma State-Jr (Big XII – 4th)
5) Konrad Dudziak-Duke-Jr (ACC – 1st)
6) Mitch Monteiro-Cal-Bakersfield-Jr (Pac X – 1st)
7) Dan Erekson-Iowa-Jr (Big X – 1st)
8) Rashard Goff-Cleveland State-Sr (EWL – 1st)
9) Joe Fendone-Edinboro-Sr (EWL – 2nd)
10) Kyle Massey-Wisconsin-Sr (Big X – 2nd)
11) Ryan Flores-Columbia-So (EIWA – 1st)
12) Zack Rey-Lehigh-Fr (EIWA – 2nd)
13) Dustin Rogers-West Virginia-Sr (EWL – 3rd)
14) John Wise-Illinois-Sr (Big X – 3rd)
15) Zach Sheaffer-Pittsburgh-Sr (EWL – 4th)
16) Tucker Lane-Nebraska-Fr (Big XII – 3rd)
17) Ben Berhow-Minnesota-So (Big X – 4th)
18) Christian Brantley-Northern Iowa-Fr (West – 1st)
19) Nathan Fernandez-Oklahoma-So (Big XII – 5th)
20) Justin Dobies-North Carolina-Sr (ACC – 2nd)
21) Jared Trice-Central Michigan-Fr (MAC – 1st)
22) Dustin Porter-Gardner-Webb-Jr (East – 1st)
23) David Marone-Virginia Tech-So (ACC – 3rd)
24) Nathan Everhart-Indiana-Jr (Big X – 5th)
25) Trey McLean-Penn-Sr (EIWA – 6th)
26) Corey Morrison-Ohio State-Jr (Big X – DNP)
27) Ed Bordas-Rider-Jr (CAA – 1st)
28) Chris Birchler-East Stroudsburg-Jr (EIWA – 3rd)
29) D.J. Russo-Rutgers-So (EIWA – 4th)
30) Zach Hammond-Cornell-Sr (EIWA – 5th)
31) Ricardo Alcala-Cal-Davis-So (Pac X – 2nd)
32) Clayton Jack-Oregon State-Fr (Pac X – 3rd)
33) Josh Wine-Virginia Military-So (SoCon – 1st)

Posted by Jake Thomases on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 6:50 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 3 Comments »

Bonilla-Bowman enters NCAAs off rib injury and illness

Jake Thomases
March
18

The NCAA wrestling tournament begins tomorrow at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis. One of the participants will be Pomona’s own Jonny Bonilla-Bowman. Bonilla-Bowman, a redshirt junior from Hofstra, is making his third NCAA appearance.

He recently claimed his second Colonial Athletic Association championship at 157 pounds. In two years at Hofstra he has two championships, and Hofstra has won its seventh and eighth consecutive team titles. The latest was in hostile territory in Chesapeake, Virginia. The gym was filled with Old Dominion fans.

“They had posters all over the gym saying they were going to break our win streak,” he said.

I spoke to him yesterday after trying to reach him for several days. He was sick with a cold and cough and holed up in his room. He finally got back to lifting on Sunday and returned to the practice mat on Monday.

He’s not worried about the quick turnaround before the tournament. Before the CAA tournament he was out for weeks with torn cartilage between his floating ribs. The tournament was his first match back. Didn’t seem to hurt him.

His first opponent is Joseph Knox of Chattanooga, also a redshirt junior. Knox, ranked 27th by WrestlingReport.com, is 16-10. Bonilla-Bowman, ranked 14th by the website, is 22-7. Both are unseeded. Win and he will likely face undefeated No. 2 seed Michael Poeta of Illinois.

“The national tournament is a very long and very competitive tournament,” Hofstra coach Tom Shifflet said. “Every match is gonna be tough. John has worked hard this season and can do some great things at the tournament. There’s no promises. Everybody that goes into this thing knows there’s no promises no matter how hard you work. It just has to be your weekend.”

Bonilla-Bowman lost in the quarterfinals last year, then lost his first wrestleback.

Coming out of East Ramapo’s wrestling program, he was an All-American after placing third in states and seventh in nationals. He was 125-10 with 73 falls over his career. He chose to attend Virginia Tech, where he redshirted 2006 and won an ACC championship in 2007. However, that April was the infamous Va Tech shooting that left 33 people dead. Combine that with the fact that coach Tom Brands had earlier left the school to coach Iowa, the most storied program in college wrestling, and Bonilla-Bowman decided to move on.

He wrestled under new coach Kevin Dresser and his staff for one season, but “they weren’t the ones that I went there for.” He transferred to Hofstra, which had been one of his top choices coming out of high school.

You can watch the NCAA quarterfinals live at 11 a.m. on ESPNU and ESPN360.com, and the semifinals at 7 p.m. on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN360.com. The semifinals will be telecast in a side-by-side format, allowing viewers to see both semifinal matches in each weight class at the same time, both on ESPNU and ESPN2.

ESPNU will telecast the Championship Medal Round on Saturday, March 21, at 10:30 a.m., and the Finals at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN. During the Finals, two referees per match each will wear a microphone, providing fans with even more access to and understanding of the action.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 3:01 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 6 Comments »

Hayes Yorks passes away

Jake Thomases
March
6

Former Pearl River coach Hayes Yorks, 71, passed away early yesterday morning. He suffered a stroke while vacationing in Florida with wife Jane that sent him into a coma. His son and three daughters were called down to be at his bedside. He was then taken off life support.

It was his second stroke. Fourteen years ago he had a smaller one that left his partially paralyzed.

Yorks coached the Pirates varsity from 1980-89. In 1984-85 they won a Section 1 championship. He also spent various stints as modified, JV, and freshman wrestling coach, as well as an assistant on the football team. His son Grier helms the wrestling team now.

Yorks was described to me as a mountain of a man, huge and strong but gentle as well. He was said to dwarf his son (pictured in 2006), no Tiny Tim himself. Former AD Tom Doherty referred to him affectionately as Uncle Hayes.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 8:11 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 7 Comments »

Class of ‘68 to be honored by Greeley

Jake Thomases
March
6

Greeley coach Mike DeBellis asked me to pass along some information about his team dinner. In addition to the usual festivities (honoring the seniors, telling stories, stuffing their faces with eggplant Rollatini) they will have special guests: the 1968 Greeley wrestling team. The fightin’ 68ers went 12-1 and placed second in the section. Here is a team photo:

The meet and greet starts at 6 p.m. at Seven Bridges Middle School cafeteria. Varsity athletes go for free, other students are $10, and adults are $20.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 10:04 am | Print Print | Email Email | 3 Comments »

Youth tournaments

Jake Thomases
March
6

There are three youth tournaments happening in the north country over the next three weekends. They’re for young wrestlers in grades K-8.

The first is at Beacon’s Rombout Middle School on Saturday. The following weekend is at Carmel High School followed by Brewster on the 21st.

Additional information is available here.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 12:04 am | Print Print | Email Email | 14 Comments »

Championship Saturday in pictures

Jake Thomases
March
3

Vinnie DiGravio was minding his own business when Joey Grippi fell from the ceiling.

Steve Rodrigues gets his world turned upside down.

Stephen Dutton keeps Andrew Lenzi firmly on bottom.

The antelope is fast, but not fast enough to avoid the lion’s pounce.

Ever wonder what the bottom of Genta Murayama’s shoes look like?

Think Brian Realbuto’s happy about winning a state championship?

And finally, that sweet arm-raise of victory.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 at 10:08 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 6 Comments »

Two LoHud links

Jake Thomases
March
2

A couple championship-related links to pass along. First is the new Gameface poll, which only features athletes who have won a championship in the last week. Realbuto and Brundage are on there as two of the better ones. But my vote is going to Albertus girls basketball player Alaina Walker.

The other link is a special championship page with photos and video of all the action in baskteball, hockey, wrestling, track and gymnastics. Check it out here.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 7:21 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 2 Comments »

Exceeding expectations

Jake Thomases
March
2

It’s funny when people still vote in the old poll even after the answer has been determined. The last poll asked who would go furthest in states. Turned out to be Brundage and Realbuto. Now, those two were doing well in the poll anyway, along with Joe Grippi. But after states was over people kept voting for them. I don’t get it. Maybe I’ll start telling bartenders that I have a hunch Obama’s going to win the election.

This week’s poll question is more subjective. In your opinion, which of the 36 wrestlers at states most exceeded the expectation you had for them? It doesn’t have to be a top-3 finisher. Doesn’t even have to be a guy who made Day 2. If you thought Joe Hauser wouldn’t win a match, for example, maybe he most exceeded expectations just by going 2-2.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Monday, March 2nd, 2009 at 4:52 am | Print Print | Email Email | 27 Comments »

Check, check, check, and check

Jake Thomases
March
1

Bill Swertfager and the Section 1 coaches set four numerical goals when they brought the kids together for practice last week.

1) Two state champions: Check. First Brian Realbuto won the 103-pound title and James Brundage the 160-pound title in Division I. Realbuto’s was the first finals match for Section 1 and got the proceedings off to a roaring start. He had to earn every bit of this victory over Huntington’s Damon McQueen, who beat him 10-8 last year in the state semis. This time it was 9-8 in his favor. The winning takedown came in the last minute of a back-and-forth match. He said he couldn’t remember any of what happened, that as soon as the buzzer sounded the previous 10 minutes became a blur.

People have been expecting great things from him for a year and a half now, ever since he started winning at a torrid pace as an 8th grader. Then he went and placed fourth in the state. As a freshman he passed the 100-win mark in going 53-1. It became clear he would become the section’s winningest all-time wrestler sooner than later. All that was left was his first state title. He wanted five. He’ll settle for four. Can he manage three more?

Brundage, as you can read in my newspaper article, was too good for his own good. He was too athletic, too quick, too strong. He was a wrestler in an elite running back’s body. At some point about halfway through the season he realized that nobody could stand up to him at 160 pounds. So he made what could be considered a ridiculous vow—he would tech or pin everybody through divisionals, sectionals, and states. He called it higher goals. Really it was the mindset of a bored multi-time champion. Only Brundage had never won a championship. Third last year—that was it. He just had so much faith in himself.

And it came within an inch of happening. He teched and pinned through divisionals (“He teched a few guys to get some extra work in,” coach Larry McRae said. “But he could pin whenever he wanted to.”), pinned through sectionals, including one in 17 seconds in the final, and pinned his way into the state title match. Against T.J. Neidhart he nearly got three separate pins, but came out with a mere 17-10 decision. And I’m telling you, when I interviewed him in the tunnel, he looked genuinely stoic. Not bummed out, but not happy either. He insisted he felt good, but I’m not so sure. Give the guy credit, he was really committed to that promise.

2) Eighteen wrestlers make the second day. Check. To make Day 2, a guy couldn’t lose two matches. While Division II dropped its early-round matches like flies, Division I kept winning. And DII people like Derrick Longo and Penn Gottfried who lost early battled their way back into the second day.

Section 1 sent 19 in total to the second day. That was half the 38 it put in the state tournament. Aside from those who ended up placing, Joey Hauser, Chris Orlando, and Ryan Osleeb also made the second day.

I was afraid that 2/3 or more of the section would be wiped out after that first day, leaving fewer stories to follow the next day. I bet plenty of fans were also afraid of long gaps between local wrestlers.

The one thing that ended up happening was that all the big guys were wiped out immediately. No one over 152 pounds made Day 2 from Division II. No one over 171 made it in Division I. Was part of that the result of Jon Didio and Alex Othmer getting upset in sectionals?

3) Fifteen wrestlers place in the state. Check. Sixteen placed from Section 1, a new record. Placing requires a top-6 finish.

First place: Brundage, Realbuto

Second place: Steve Rodrigues, Justis Flamio, Joey Grippi, Genta Murayama

Third place: Steve Ramos, Gottfried

Fourth place: Ryan Tompkins

Fifth place: Sam Spano, Luke Speno, Clay Neivert, Dan Manley, Will Carter

Sixth place: Udit Thakur, Derrick Longo

4) One hundred eight five total points. Check. Section 1 blew this goal out of the water, scoring 259. Keep in mind this is combined points between small and large schools. Division I did most of the heavy lifting. It had 186.5, good for third, but only 4.5 points behind second-place Section II. Section 11 handily won the tourney.

Section 1 should be proud of itself. Overall their wrestlers were more competitive than anyone expected, and a lot more than last year, which was actually moderately successful. They picked up almost 100 points on the 2008 total.

So that’s four goals set, and four accomplished. Is it the start of a significant rise for the Section or just an abberation? We won’t know until next year. Either way I’m glad I could be around for it.

One more note: Fox Lane’s 63 points placed it third among all schools, and just a point behind Port Jervis. Swertfager said it was the best he could remember since Mount Vernon was second in 1976. Wantagh finished on top.

OK two more notes. Shenendehowa’s Austin Meys won MOW for the big schools, and rightfully so. He pinned his way through in the following times: 0:25, 0:20, 0:52, 1:59. Imagine that. Like reader s1wss said, the kid didn’t see a coin flip the entire tournament. And you thought Brundage was dominant.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 at 8:45 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 33 Comments »

State finals

Jake Thomases
February
28

9:18 Gotta write my story now. I’ll be back tomorrow with a wrapup.

9:04 Section 1 has a second champion! Brundage beats Neidhart 17-10.

8:59 Brundage appears to have Neidhart pinned but the ref sticks his hand under and says no. Still, the near fall gives him a 12-3 advantage.

8:57: Brundage gets a reversal just before the horn to go up 6-1 after one.

8:56 Long break while we waited through another awards ceremony. But Brundage is underway now.

8:15 The finals are not matching the optimism of the rest of the tournament. The LoHud is 1 for 5 so far, with Realbuto the only winner. If Brundage doesn’t win at 160, our area won’t have more champs than we did last year. Although some of you don’t care about Lenzi, even if he is a Westchester resident. Anyway, one champ doesn’t feel like enough when you send six to the finals. So Brundage will have a lot of weight on his shoulders.

8:09 Steve Dutton majors Lenzi 10-1 at 135 pounds, dethroning our area’s defending champ. Section 11 is running away with this thing.

8:03 Lenzi down 7-1 after one period.

8:00 Two more losses for Section 1. Murayama loses to Hyman 8-6. Grippi falls to DiGravio 8-5.

7:57 After two periods Genta is down 6-2 and Grippi is down 3-2.

7:53 After one period Genta is up 2-0 and Grippi is down 2-0.

7:51 Grippi and Murayama are both in action. My eyes are going to bounce back and forth like I’m at a tennis match.

7:35 They’re taking a break to photograph winners on the podium.

While we’re waiting for Joe Grippi to take the mat, I should mention that his coach Joe Amuso was inducted today into the New York State Wrestling Hall of Fame. A Fox Lane graduate, he’s coached at the school for 39 years. From what I understand from talking to other coaches, Amuso is the dean of Section 1. He’s racked up 334 dual meet wins, 23 sectional champs, and 12 state place finishers. The last two seasons he’s placed six in states.

One of the other two coaching inductees was Tony Mellino, father of Clarkstown North coach Tony Mellino, Jr. Mellino, Sr., is the third-winningest coach in Section 11 history. Currently he assists his son at North.

7:25 Keith gets a takedown in OT to win 6-4. He and Flamio exchange a big hug. Clearly a lot of respect between these two nemeses.

7:23 After a restart, Keith gets a reversal for a 4-2 lead. But Flamio counters with his own reversal with six seconds left to tie at 4-4.

7:20 Flamio reversal makes it 2-2. Heading to the third period. Flamio gets top.

Sal Imbimbo is looking sharp in a suit and tie.

7:12 No luck. Greene wins 11-7. Rodrigues sprints back to the locker room. Fox Lane still has hope for a title in Joe Grippi.

7:08 S-Rod gets Greene on his back but he manages to flip. Still that’s a five-point move to reduce a 8-1 hole to 8-6 after two periods.

7:04 Greene jumps on S-Rod early to go up 5-0 in the first minute.

6:54 Our first state champ! Realbuto gets a takedown in the third period to beat McQueen 9-8.

6:45 Realbuto’s up.

103 – No. 5 Brian Realbuto vs. No. 2 Damon McQueen (Huntington-11). McQueen beat Realbuto 10-8 in last year’s 96-pound consi final. The two have a combined 88-1 record this season; McQueen is 36-0. Each of his three tournament wins were by moderate decision: 5, 7, and 5 points.

112 – No. 2 Steven Rodrigues (Fox Lane) vs. No. 9 Grant Greene (St. Anthony’s-CHSAA). Greene wasn’t especially heralded coming in but the sophomore burst his way into the finals with a 24-second pin over 3-seed Bob Dierna. S-Rod can make this a historic day for Fox Lane by bringing home a title.

119 – No. 2 Justis Flamio (Mahopac) vs. No. 1 Steven Keith (Shoreham-Wading RIver-11). Just as Flamio predicted. After needing sudden-death overtime to win a sectional title, Flamio made a bold prediction that he would meet Keith in the state final. These two have quite a rivalry cracking. This is the third year they’ve met at states. Two years ago Keith won. Last year Flamio won. Will the alternating continue or will Flamio end the 45-0 senior’s career with a loss?

130 – No. 4 Joey Grippi (Fox Lane) vs. No. 6 Vinnie DiGravio (Wayne-5). Grippi already made his massive statement by knocking off top seed Cody Ruggirello, who was 45-0. He can’t let down against the 40-5 DiGravio. Grippi placed sixth last year. DiGravio, who’s a year younger, didn’t place.

135 – No. 3 Andrew Lenzi (Fordham Prep) vs. No. 2 Stephen Dutton (Rocky Point-11). Lenzi is the one local in the finals for whom losing here would be a disappointment. The junior looks better than ever and wants another state championship. Even if it means going through 45-0 junior Dutton, who finished third last year and second in 2007. Dutton has allowed two points total in his three matches, winning by a combined 34-2.

160 – No. 5 James Brundage (Ossining) vs. No. 6 T.J. Neidhart (Shoreham-Wading RIver-11). Yet another Section 11 guy in the finals. If Realbuto, Flamio, and Lenzi win, Brundage could be in position to lift Section 1 over 11. Maybe. Section 1 still needs breaks. Brundage has pinned his way through states, just like he pinned his way through sections. So that’s, what, seven pins in a row against the best wrestlers in the state? Dude is a monster. Neidhart, a wild card, jumped two weight classes from last year. He took third at states as a 145-pounder.

And finally, the only Division II final:

130 – No. 2 Genta Murayama (Edgemont) vs. No. 1 Derak Heyman (Tioga-4): Heyman beat Murayama by a couple of points in the consolation finals at Eastern States. But Genta looks focused. He could make Division II very proud here.

I will post all finals updates here.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 at 5:44 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 63 Comments »

State results — Day 2

Jake Thomases
February
28

4:10 They kicked us out of the arena while they rearranged the floor, including the media seating. But I’m back for the duration.

The latest Division I team standings are follows:

Section 11 – 219.5
Section 1 – 178.5
Section 2 – 177
Section 8 – 148
Section 9 – 146.5
Section 5 – 146
Section 6 – 103
Section 4 – 92
CHSAA – 87.5
Section 3 – 53
Section 10 – 7
PSAL – 5

And for Division II:

Section 5 – 249.5
Section 4 – 227.5
Section 6 – 204
Section 3 – 189
Section 2 – 135
Section 7 – 98.5
Section 1 – 73
Section 11 – 48
Section 10 – 30.5
Section 8 – 28.5
Section 9 – 19
PSAL – 11

As you can see, Section 1 is still in second place in DI, but it’s by a hair’s breadth over Section 2. The good news is that Section 2 has three finalists to Section 1’s six. The bad news is that Section 11 has nine finalists and a 41-point lead. Barring a miracle it’s not going to be caught.

2:40 That’s the end of all consolation matches. Six of the eight mats are in the process of being broken down and the building is being cleared. Fans have to pay again to watch the finals.

The parade of champions is scheduled to begin at 5:45. Championship wrestling will start about half an hour later, at 6:15.

2:35 With all locals through with consolations, here’s the medal count so far:

Third place: Ramos, Gottfried

Fourth place: Tompkins

Fifth place: Sam Speno, Luke Speno, Neivert, Manley, Carter

Sixth place: Thakur, Longo

2:22 Neivert gets a rare tech fall. We haven’t seen many of those. He teched John Daddino of Sewanhaka East, 18-3, for fifth place.

2:20 Carter goes up 13-8, then pins James Charland of Northern Adirondack for good measure. The pin came at 5:26. Carter gets sixth.

2:16 Injury timeout in Carter’s 152 match. He’s down 8-6  with 15 secs to go in the second.

2:15 Luke Speno wins his fifth-place match 9-6. He and his brother will both get fifth-place trophies.

2:11 Ramos pins Fairpost’s David Foley in 3:25 to take third place. He looks happy but exhausted.

Manley wins 9-7 in overtime over Brian Walsh of Watervliet. He gets fifth place. Longo lost 8-3 to Josh Micek of Maple Grove and takes sixth.

2:08 Longo lost. Manley is in OT.

2:05 Tompkins lost 8-2 to Anthony Volpe of Longwood. He takes fourth.

2:02 Thakur lost by decision to Jimmy Kloc of Iroquois, 7-2. He gets sixth.

2:00 Manley and Longo are on adjacent mats. Manley is down 2-1 in the first. Longo is down 2-0 after two.

1:55 Fox Lane is in third place among all large schools. Wantagh of Section 8 and Port Jervis of Section 9 are first and second, respectively.

1:48 Gottfried completes his comeback with a 9-5 decision over Ken Eaton of Adirondack to win third place. It was actually 6-5 but Eaton threw his headgear and then said some things to the ref that presumably weren’t, “Thank you for correctly applying your tremendous officiating acumen.”

1:36 Speno wins 2-0 to secure fifth place. A freshman wild card could do a lot worse.

1:30 Sam Speno will begin the final round against Joe Barbato of Wantagh.

1:26 To sum up the remaining consis:

Wrestling for third place: Tompkins, Ramos, Gottfried.

Wrestling for fifth place: Sam and Luke Speno, Thakur, Neivert, Manley, Longo, Carter.

1:14 Neivert gives up a takedown in OT and loses 3-1.

Steve Ramos beat John Glenn’s Chris Carlucci and will wrestle for third. That’s good for Section 1 because John Glenn is in Section 11.

Will Carter got pinned at 4:28 by Jon Strong of Frewsburg. He’ll go for fifth.

1:11 Ardsley’s guys at 135 and 145 go down. Dan Manley and Derrick Longo lost 10-2 and 10-4, respectively, and will be in the fifth-place matches.

In a bit of a surprise, Tompkins pinned Luke Speno, who was ahead in points, at 4:44. Tompkins gets the berth in the consi final. Speno settles for a shot at fifth.

1:09 The kid looks OK. He was moving around so it’s not a spine issue.

Guess who’s on blood time. That’s right, Neivert’s wrestling.

1:06 Uh oh, there’s a gurney being rolled out to one of the mats. Didn’t see what happened. It’s not a Section 1 kid.

1:02 Brief internet outage got me scared. It’s been good so far.

Thakur lost 4-3 to Josh Halladay and will compete for fifth.

12:53 They just announced the latest team standings over the loudspeaker. Section 1 is still in second, but it’s falling further behind Section 11. Section 1 has 158.5 points to 11’s 200.5.

12:43 Anyone who’s still alive at this point is guaranteed to place top 6. In addition to the six finalists, that includes Sam Speno, Thakur, Luke Speno, Ramos, Neivert, Gottfried, Manley, Derrick Longo, and Carter.

12:38 Joe Smaldone forfeited to Penn Gottfried, sending Gottfried to the consolation finals. That’s a great place to be considering his disappointing first-round loss.

12:19 In case you haven’t been following all morning, six locals won their semifinals and will wrestle for a state title tonight. The Big 6 are Brian Realbuto, Steve Rodrigues, Justis Flamio, Joey Grippi, Andrew Lenzi, and Genta Murayama.

I haven’t mentioned Beacon’s Ryan Tompkins because he’s out of our area, but he lost his semifinal 7-4.

12:15: Sam Speno just lost his consi semifinal to Chris Brienza of St. Anthony’s, 6-4. He’ll wrestle for fifth later.

11:55 Attention is divided often here because there are eight matches going on at the same time. Frequently two locals are wrestling concurrently. In that case I pay attention to the semifinalist over the consolation kid. But I haven’t forgotten the consis.

Joey Hauser dropped a 16-10 decision to Andre Berry of Uniondale. Luke Speno beat Calhoun’s Mack Maldarelli 7-0.

In DII, Penn Gottfried beat Peru’s Troy Seymour 2-1 in triple-overtime. Ryan Osleeb lost to Palmyra-Macedon’s Tyler Marlow 7-2. Danny Manley and Derrick Longo both won.

11:48 Kenny Betts of Fredonia just won his 268th match, a New York State record. He is a five-time Section 6 champion.

11:37 I made a mistake yesterday on the blog and in my newspaper story. I said that 19 Section 1 wrestlers were guaranteed to place. That was not correct. Only the 11 who won their two matches yesterday were guaranteed to place. Basically I forgot one of the consolation rounds. So while 19 could place, if those in the consi bracket lost their first match today, they did not place.

I hope that mistake didn’t cause too much confusion. There’s obviously enough confusion on my end for everyone.

I’m going to change my earlier blog post.

11:32 Neivert can’t make it two Ossining guys in the finals, as he falls 11-3 to Matt Parlier of Port Jervis.

11:27 Blood time for Clay Neivert. I think that’s 438 consecutive matches he’s needed it.

Down 7-1 in the second period, he’s got some work to do.

11:21: For the second match in a row, James Brundage pinned a guy with five seconds left. This time it was Amsterdam’s John Paris in the semifinals. Paris had just tied the score at 3-3 when, with both on their feet, he slipped and fell on his back. Bad place to be against Brundage. Brundage fell on top of him and put his shoulders down.

Carter beat Orlando 3-2 in their match.

11:15: Brundage is up now. And Will Carter and Chris Orlando are going at each other in the consis.

11:10: I’m going to stop writing the word “update.” You know it’s an update.

Ramos just lost his semifinal 4-0 to Josh Veltre of Greece-Olympia. It was really 1-0, but once Ramos realized he wasn’t going to escape I think he let Veltre put him on his back. Veltre chose bottom to start the second period. and escaped. Ramos couldn’t do the same in the third. At one point he spun to his feet and was a half step from jumping away, but Veltre lashed out blindly and grabbed his ankle. Impressive desperation grab.

UPDATE 11:02: Thakur managed to escape three times but never had much hope of taking down the stronger Lenzi, who won 14-3. Guess Udi’s magic carpet ride is over.

Steve Ramos is on the mat now.

UPDATE 10:54: Big Thakur-Lenzi match is about to start.

UPDATE 10:47: Genta Murayama is singlehandedly saving face for Division II. His reversal in the opening seconds of the third period gave him a 2-1 semifinal win over third-seed Devin Soper.

As bad as it’s been for the small schools in the early going, Genta will give them a finalist, something they didn’t have last year.

UPDATE 10:19: Section 1 is 3 for 4 in the early going. Realbuto, Flamio, and Grippi won their semifinals. Grippi’s 9-8 last-second victory had the crowd going wild and left Joe Amuso crying as Grippi jumped into his arms like Magic Johnson and Kareem.

Sam Speno dropped his semifinal. For a freshman to get this far at all is great.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 at 9:44 am | Print Print | Email Email | 24 Comments »

Internet at the Times Union Center

Jake Thomases
February
28

Turns out I was overly optimistic about the internet at the Times Union Center. It was on and off all day. Mostly off. For some reason the computers around me got better reception, although theirs wasn’t perfect either. I ended up calling results into the office, which my editors then posted on the blog.

For people who were sitting at home hitting the Refresh button, you were probably frustrated at not getting enough updates. I know you want it as up-to-the-minute as possible. Today I’ll try to get them in more frequently, even if I have to keep calling the office. Just understand that when I don’t have internet it gets complicated. I have to leave the floor of the arena because it’s too loud, which means I can only do it when no one from Section 1 is wrestling (because I want to watch the matches). And sending detailed info over the phone is iffy.

I consider myself lucky to have even made the event. I got food poisoning last night from some bad yogurt and was afraid I wouldn’t be able to make the drive to Albany. It cleared up enough in the morning, thankfully. The lesson? Never eat yogurt.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Saturday, February 28th, 2009 at 7:20 am | Print Print | Email Email | 4 Comments »

Large schools carry Section 1 to history

Jake Thomases
February
27

Huge day for Section 1. The hugest, in fact.

Never in the 67-year history of the state wrestling tournament has Section 1 been poised to do as well as it is right now. Eleven wrestlers have guaranteed themselves a place finish, even if they don’t win another match. That’s already matched a record. The previous high was 11 place finishers (which is top-6) last year. It could be as many as 19 based on how other guys do in the consolations.

As a team, Section 1 is in second place in Division I (i.e. large schools). It has 100 points to Section 11’s 103.5. A lot depends on how guys do tomorrow, but the section is in great position to win the team title. The last time that happened? Try never.

Section 1 hasn’t finished higher than 7th place (out of 11 sections) since 1994, when it came in third. Guys like Andy Matteotti of Suffern, who I assume is the great-great-grandfather of current Suffern coach Chris Matteotti, were the big winners that year. Few people noticed Section 1’s success because the invention of the cotton gin was drawing a lot of attention.

It was a long time ago, if you catch my drift. And that was only third place.

Barring a meltdown tomorrow, you will see a lot of happy coaches. None more so than Fox Lane’s Joe Amuso. Three of his kids—Sam Speno, Steve Rodrigues, and Joey Grippi—are in the semifinals. A fourth, Luke Speno, got behind early to Anthony Volpe and lost a major decision, but came back to make the consi semis. Speno beat Volpe at Eastern States when he was able to get a lead and hold it.

Rodrigues and Grippi both came very close to losing. Rodrigues got back points at the buzzer to come back from 3-1 down and win 6-3. Grippi nearly got taken down at the horn up 3-2. Unbelievably, the easiest winner was Speno, a freshman wild card and the least accomplished of all Fox Lane’s big guns.

Other DI semifinals are Brian Realbuto, who won by tech and major decision, Justis Flamio, who regained his form with a pin and 11-1 win after a shaky sectional final, Steve Ramos, whose third-period escape was enough in a 1-0 win, James Brundage, who pinned with five seconds left, and Clay Neivert, who won 5-3.

The title of “Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth” goes to Udit Thakur. I don’t mean that he doesn’t deserve to be in the semifinals. It’s just that fate is clearly smiling on him. Thakur was a wild-card entry to the tournament after losing the sectional final to Kevin Davidson. But while Davidson lost his first match, Thakur won with a second left in overtime. Then he loses his second match 5-4—but wait! Nick Lashway points at him and curses, earning him an unsportsmanlike point and sending this one into OT. Lashway was clearly spent. Thakur took him down with two seconds on the clock.

He better keep that guardian angel. Next up is Fordham Prep’s Andrew Lenzi, the state champion.

Luke Speno and Joey Hauser were the only two DI guys to wrestle back into Day 2 after losing. All other DI guys lost again and are out.

As for Division II, the less said the better. It hasn’t caught up to the large school success. Section 1 is eighth in the small-school standings.

Edgemont’s Genta Murayama is the flag-bearer. He won his two matches easily. No one else made it through the quarterfinals.

At least several bounced back to keep wrestling tomorrow in consolations. Penn Gottfried, Ryan Osleeb, Dan Manley, Derrick Longo, Chris Orlando, and Will Carter will suit up tomorrow.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 10:32 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 7 Comments »

State results — Day 1 (UPDATE: 10:03)

Jake Thomases
February
27

In Division 2, only six of the 17 local wrestlers made it out of the first round. The lucky ones were Anthony Calvano of Nanuet, Ryan Osleeb of North Salem, Genta Murayama of Edgemont, Derrick Longo of Ardsley, Will Carter of Westlake and wild card Chris Orlando of Putnam Valley.

Will be back soon with Division 1 results.

UPDATE 3:16: Division 1 did twice as well as Division 2 in the first round. Twelve wrestlers have advanced. Those moving on to the quarterfinals are Fox Lane’s Sam Speno, Luke Speno, Joey Grippi and Steven Rodrigues, Somers’ Brian Realbuto, John Jay’s Henry Stauber, Mahopac’s Justis Flamio, Nyack’s Udit Thakur, Lakeland-Panas’ Joey Hauser, Clarkstown North’s Steven Ramos and Ossining’s James Brundage and Clay Neivert.

We’ll be back with quarterfinal results when they’re complete.

UPDATE 3:38: Hooray, internet is up. But for how long?

Forgot to mention that Lenzi also made it out of the first round.

As for quarterfinal results, Flamio, Rodrigues, Realbuto, and Sam Speno moved on in DI.

UPDATE 4:00: Genta Murayama and Udit Thakur won their quarterfinals. Thakur was down 5-4 at the buzzer but an unsportsmanlike conduct pushed it into OT, where he won 7-5. He also won his first round in OT.

UPDATE 5:10: Ramos, Brundage and Neivert will also be moving on to Day 2 after winning their quarterfinal matches.

All told, 11 local wrestlers are still in the running for state championships and will be back at it tomorrow.

UPDATE 6:17: Just to sum up, here are the area wrestlers in Division I who won their two matches today and go into tomorrow with a chance at a state title: Sam Speno (96), Brian Realbuto (103), Steve Rodrigues (112), Justis Flamio (119), Joey Grippi (130), Udit Thakur (135), Andrew Lenzi (135), Steve Ramos (152), James Brundage (160), Clay Neivert (171).

That’s 10 wrestlers out of 16 entrants, a very nice showing. It’s so good, in fact, that Section 1 is second in the team standings. And just a half point behind Section 11 for first. Can you believe that? Go Section I!

As far as Division II goes….well, the less said the better. Twelve DII locals entered, only one left. Edgemont’s Genta Murayama (130) is the sole survivor of Day 1. Section 1 is eighth in the DII points standings.

I’ll be back with consi results later.

UPDATE 7:47: The following wrestlers lost their first consolation match and are now out of the tournament: Asher Kramer, Kevin Davidson, Sal Marchese, Josue Cardenas, Cristian Garcia, Michael Kane, Peter Talesnick, Ray Wang, Jarron Saunders, Steve Ramundo, Kris Castro, Chris Galletta. All those not mentioned are still alive, either in the semifinals or the consolation bracket.

UPDATE 10:03: The following wrestlers lost in the regular bracket but won their consolation matches to advance to the consi semifinals. They still have a shot at 3rd place. Joey Hauser, Luke Speno, Penn Gottfried, Ryan Osleeb, Dan Manley, Derrick Longo, Chris Orlando, Will Carter.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 9:11 am | Print Print | Email Email | 36 Comments »

Times Union Center directions and schedule

Jake Thomases
February
27

I haven’t had much luck getting internet at high schools this year. Check that—make it any luck. Pace only had limited access. I have higher hopes for the Times Union Center. If it does indeed have internet, and I have a place to put my computer (less likely), I’ll provide regular updates on the Section 1 wrestlers. Keep checking back through the afternoon.

If you’re making the trip to Albany, here are directions:


  1. Take I-87 North (NY State Thruway) to Exit 23.

  2. Merge onto I-787 North toward Downtown Albany/Rensselaer/Troy.

  3. Take Exit 4 for US-9 N./US-20 W. Keep right at the fork in the ramp.

  4. Turn left, then make a right turn onto Broadway.

  5. Turn left onto Hudson Ave.

  6. Turn right onto S. Pearl St./NY-32.


This is the schedule of events for both days.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27 – SESSION #1
8-9 am……………………..Weigh-ins
10 am….…………………..Parade of Champions/National Anthem
10:30 – 2:30 pm….……….Preliminaries: Division 1 and 2
2:30 – 4:30 pm……………Quarterfinals: Division 1 and 2
4:30 – 6:30 pm……………Wrestlebacks: Division 1 and 2
6:30 – 8:30 pm…..……….Wrestlebacks: Division 1 and 2
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28 – SESSION #2
8-9  am…………………… Weigh-Ins
9:30 am…………………… National Anthem/Special Awards
10 am – 12:30 pm……….. Semifinals: Division 1 and 2
12:30 – 2:00 pm………….. Wrestlebacks/Cons Semifinals: Div. 1 & 2
2 pm – 3:30 pm…………… Consolations Finals: Division 1 and 2
6 pm…………………… FINALS: Division 1 and 2 (2 mats only)

Posted by Jake Thomases on Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 2:11 am | Print Print | Email Email | 3 Comments »

Those who must face state place-finishers

Jake Thomases
February
26

In terms of facing proven opponents in the first round, Section 1 lucked out. Only four locals—Ryan Osleeb, Dan Manley, Greg Canaparo, Kevin Davidson—will see first-round opponents that placed in the state last year. Two of them, however, are state champions.

Kevin Davidson drew the toughest assignment. His prize for upsetting Udit Thakur in the 135 championship is a date with Fordham Prep’s Andrew Lenzi. Lenzi, of course, came out of nowhere last year to win a state title and subsequently The Journal News wrestler of the year.

Meanwhile Thakur, who got into states via a wild card, is seeded six places higher than Davidson and gets a much less daunting first-round assignment. However, should he win he will need to beat No. 1 seed Ali Hasan to make it to the second day.

Ardsley’s Dan Manley is the other unlucky one. He must face No. 2 seed Alex Ekstrom, another champion. Ekstrom, from Section 5, is 46-2. Unbelievably, he’s a wild card. That’s because one of his two losses was to top seed Ian Paddock in the sectional tournament. Ekstrom’s 46-2 looks superb until you see that Paddock is 50-0.

North Salem’s Ryan Osleeb drew Tioga’s Corey Spires. Spires was sixth in the state last year. Like Thakur, Osleeb’s real challenge here is in the second round. He’s got to get past No. 1 Matt Peters to make Day 2.

At 125 pounds in Division II, both locals have their work cut out for them. Michael Kane got in on a wild card even though he took third at sections. Predictably he is seeded 16th (i.e. last). He is a major underdog against Greene’s Nick Wilcox. Section champ Greg Canaparodidn’t get much better. He’s the 15-seed, and drew 46-1 Sean Hanson. Hanson was 4th in the state last year.

Posted by Jake Thomases on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 8:07 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 6 Comments »

First round state matchups

Jake Thomases
February
26

I added everybody’s seed. In parenthesis after the opponent’s name is their school and section number. If there is an A1-A4 after that it means the kid was a wild card.

I’ll be back with more thoughts on the matchups later.

Divison I

96 – No. 8 ASHER KRAMER VS No. 9 MAX SORIA (KINGS PARK  11) A3

96 – No. 13 SAM SPENO VS No. 4 ISIAH PERRY (MASSENA 10)

103 – No. 5 BRIAN REALBUTO VS No. 12 MOISE CHERRY (SHEEPSHEAD BAY P)

112 – No. 2 STEVEN RODRIGUES VS No. 15 RICHARD DENNISON (MINISINK VALLEY 9)

119 – No. 5 HENRY STAUBER VS No. 12 DAVID HALL (FULTON 3)

119 – No. 2 JUSTIS FLAMIO VS No. 15 CAMERON KELLY (PITTSFORD 5)

125 – No. 9 MIKE ROSE VS No. 8 ADAM TROY (WALT WHITMAN  11) A2

130 – No. 4 JOE GRIPPI VS No. 13 KYLE DIESEL (MINISINK VALLEY 9)

135 – No. 8 UDIT THAKUR VS No. 9 JOSH HALLADAY (JOHNSON CITY 4) A3

135 – No. 14 KEVIN DAVIDSON VS No. 3 ANDREW LENZI (FORDAM PREP C)

140 – No. 15 JOE HAUSER VS No. 2 TODD HAGGAR (CICERO 3)

145 – No. 4 LUKE SPENO VS No. No. 13 TONY CARLO (MON. FARRELL  C)

145 – No. 6 RYAN TOMPKINS VS No. 11 MATT HARP (ONEIDA 3)  A3

152 – No. 4 STEVEN RAMOS VS No. 13 CHRIS CARLUCCI (JOHN GLENN 11) A3

160 – No. 5 JAMES BRUNDAGE VS No. 12 ROB DARGIE (CANTON 10)

171 – No. 4 CLAY NEIVERT VS No. 13 CURTIS BERNADUE (CANARSIE  P)

171- No. 14 SAL MARCHESE VS No. 3 ANGELO MALVESTUTO (NIAGARA WHEATFIELD  6)

189 – No. 14 JOSUE CARDENAS VS No. 3 ZACH BUONAIUTO (MILLER PLACE 11)

215 – No. 13 PATRICE CASTOR VS No. 4 KYLE SHERIDAN (BALDWINSVILLE 3)

285 – No. 12 ERIC LAPORTA VS No. 5 BRENDAN BYRNE (MINISINK VALLEY 9) A1

285 – No. 4 CRISTIAN GARCIA VS No. 13 NATE BROWN (AVERILL PARK  2) A3

Division II

96 – No. 12 DREW LONGO  VS No. 5 CHARLENE SLUBERSKI (FREDONIA  6) A1

103 – No. 7 ANTHONY CALVANO VS No. 10 ANDY EHLERS  (TUXEDO  9)

112  – No. 9 PENN GOTTFRIED VS No. 8 DOM GIACOLONE (CATO-MERIDIAN 3) A3

119 – No. 8 RYAN OSLEEB VS No. 9 COREY SPIRES (TIOGA 4)  A4

125 – No. 16 MICHAEL KANE VS No. 1 NICK WILCOX (GREENE  4)

125 – No. 15 GREG CANAPARO VS No. 2 SEAN HANSON (SOUTH JEFFERSON  3)

130 – No. 2 GENTA MURAYAMA VS No. 15 SATCHEL HOLDER ( BABYLON 11)

135 – No. 15 DAN MANLEY VS No. 2 ALEX EKSTROM ( PAL- MAC 5)  A1

140 – No. 10 PETER TALESNIK VS No. 7 JOSH MANUEL (TIOGA  4)

145 – No. 7 DERRICK LONGO  VS No. 10 BILLY SPINELLI  (PETRIDES  P)

152 – No. 11 CHRIS ORLANDO VS No. 6 ZACH CUMMINGS (GOUVERNEUR 10)

152 – No. 7 WILL CARTER VS No. 10 DAVID ADAMS  (SALEM 2)  A2

160 – No. 10 RAY WANG VS TROY IRELAND  (BATAVIA 5) A2

171 – No. 14 JARRON SAUNDERS VS No. 3 KYLE ROOSA (ALLEGANY LIMESTONE  6)

189 – No. 12 STEVE RAMUNDO VS JOHN EIBERT (CLIFTON FINE 10)

215 – No. 12 KRIS CASTRO VS No. 5 RYAN TALCOTT (TIOGA  4)

285 – No. 9 CHRIS GALLETTA VS No. 8 AARON KROLL (GOWANDA 6)

Posted by Jake Thomases on Thursday, February 26th, 2009 at 12:40 pm | Print Print | Email Email | 3 Comments »

Advertisement
About this blog
Go to the mat with The Journal News and LoHud.com to get the inside story on Section 1 wrestling in the Lower Hudson Valley.
Varsity Central
Other recent entries


Poll
Who most exceeded expectations at states?
  • Add an Answer
View Results


Monthly Archives

Bad Behavior has blocked 476 access attempts in the last 7 days.