Long Island Takes Dual Title; Gladiators Win Team Crown at NYWAY Kickoff Classic

This article is from 01/01/14

The NYWAY season is now underway after two events got things started at SUNY Sullivan over the holiday break.  The NYWAY Kickoff Classic featured both a dual and an individual tournament showcasing some of New York's talented young wrestlers.

Bragging Rights to Long Island

Each of the eight NYWAY regions sent a team to Loch Sheldrake on Saturday for the Kindergarten through sixth grade dual competition.  In the end, it was Long Island that came out on top, after going 5-0 in dominant fashion.  The squad cruised through the first four rounds with the closest match a 33-point triumph.

The championship bout was tighter, however, as Long Island topped Western 31-18.

"We were pretty nervous about the Western Team," said Gary Redding, the Director of NYWAY Long Island. "A lot of their better kids were matched up against our better kids and if some of those matches had gone the other way, it would have been tough."

Long Island started off strong, with Anthony Connetta and Jared Weinhaus winning big in the first two matches to build a 10-0 lead.  Then came what Redding called a "swing match" at 60 pounds that Chase Liardi won 3-1 in overtime to make it 13-0.

"I think it was the third time in a row that Chase and Jace Schafer went to overtime.  They’re two great competitors and Chase's win was big for us," Redding said.

After Carter Schubert of Western won 1-0 in the next bout, Zach Redding reversed a past loss to Greg Diakomihalis with a 2-0 win and Logan Sciotto added a fall to put Long Island firmly in the driver's seat, 22-3.  Western won three of the next four, including two pins, but it wasn't enough.

"We knew they would be really tough to beat in the heavy weights, so we had to win some of the earlier ones," Redding said. "Luckily, we did that."

(Liardi, Redding and Ty Lukens all won individual championships on Sunday as well.  In addition to those already named, other strong contributors to the Long Island team were Jake Murphy, Gavin Bell, Peter Marion, Justin Vega and Thomas Giaramita).

The second place Western squad compiled a 4-1 mark on the day, with decisive victories on the way to the championship round.  Racking up perfect records in the dual action were Carter Schubert, Cooper Kropman and Cade Aina.

Nabbing third place was the squad from the Northern Region.

"We were obviously pretty proud of how the Long Island kids did," Redding said. "We take a lot of pride in our wrestling and we wanted to represent Long Island well. The kids did a great job. It was crazy to watch them get so excited for every match. That was really important - sometimes the team element of wrestling gets lost, but this event was great in showing the kids how big the team element in wrestling can be."

Gladiators Prevail on Sunday

In the Kickoff Classic individual tournament on Sunday, the team title was taken by Gladiators School of Wrestling.

"We knew we could be competitive and we went with the intent to win, but we knew there would be a lot of great teams there," said one of the team's coaches, Mike Squires.

Piling up an impressive 29.5 points was Troy Spratley, the champion at 70 pounds in Division 3.

"Troy did a wonderful job," Squires said. "He's pretty much the team leader as a two-time national champion.  He really helped the team out in a lot of ways."

Spratley wasn't the only gold medalist for the squad.  He was joined by Trevor Thayer (D1, 46-50), Joseph Marvin (D3, 75) and Maxwell Morris (D2, 55 pounds).  According to Squires, Morris defeated an opponent who had beaten him two or three times in the recent past.

After Spratley, the team's second leading scorer was actually a runner up in his bracket.  Nathan Merwin took second at 60 pounds in D3 but had four pins along the way.  Other silver medalists for the Gladiators included Tyler Rice, Chandler Merwin, Zachary Mills and Elijah Rodriguez.

"We had a great time and met some great teams," Squires said. "It was a very well run tournament and a great atmosphere. We go to tournaments all around and this was the best competition we've seen."

A Family Affair

G2 World Wrestling Academy featured a large number of champions and many of them were related.  That included the Diakomihalis brothers (Greg and Elijah), the Kropmans (Cooper and Max) and the Callaghans (Nicholas and Dillon).  In addition, Luca Pirozzolo and Malachy Farrell won titles for G2 and the Western Region.

Home Sweet Home for Hudson Valley

The regional team score title, signifying the area with the highest point total during the individual competition, went to the host - Hudson Valley.  The efforts of clubs such as Underground, Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club and Tri-State led the way.

What's Next?

NYWAY is in the process of developing 1 or 2 teams for the NUWAY National Duals February 16-17 in Columbus, Ohio (held in conjunction with the NCAA Division I National Duals).

Champions at this weekend's Kickoff invitational receive an automatic berth on Team Gold.  All other NYWAY members are still eligible for either Team Gold, if spots are available, or Team Blue.  All Team NYWAY applications are due by this Sunday, Jan 5 so that teams can be assembled.  Coaches interested in coaching a team should email contact@nyway.org.

“We are putting together teams for D2-D5 if participation allows and will send two teams each, if possible,” said NYWAY President Clint Wattenberg. “We are also excited to announce that we will be sending a girls team as well, and we are going to try to reach out to Beat the Streets to participate on the team.”

Those national duals are part of many events planned for the remainder of a season that got off to a good start over the holidays.

"The quality of wrestling was definitely very high," Redding said. "Everything ran smoothly. Getting to wrestle the other regions was awesome and a lot of the kids became buddies with others before the weekend was over.  Besides the great competition, this event was about working to unify the state and I think that went well too."

For results, see below:

Championship Match - NYWAY Kickoff Duals

Long Island defeated Western 31-18
50 - Anthony Connetta (Long Island) over Zachary Roots (Western) Maj 12-0
55 - Jared Weinhaus (Long Island) over Kiernan Magee (Western) Fall 0:40
60 - Chase Liardi (Long Island) over Jace Shaffer (Western) OT 3-1
66 - Carter Shubert (Western) over Jake Murphy (Long Island) Dec 1-0
72 - Zach Redding (Long Island) over Greg Diakomihalis (Western) Dec 2-0
79 - Logan Sciotto (Long Island) over Justin Smith (Western) Fall 1:30
87 - Cooper Kropman (Western) over Ty Lukens (Long Island) SV-1 2-0
95 - Mason Wersinger (Western) over Gavin Bell (Long Island) Fall 0:45
102 - Peter Marion (Long Island) over Karamvir Hothi (Western) Dec 7-0
110 - Cade Aina (Western) over Justin Vega (Long Island) Fall 1:18
120 - Thomas Giaramita (Long Island) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
135 - Double Forfeit

NYWAY Kickoff Individual Tournament

D2 - 45-50
1st Place - Ashton Seymour of Unattached
2nd Place - Kolton Kelley of Camden Youth Wrestling
3rd Place - Aiden Gillings of Newfane Youth Wrestling Club
4th Place - Jeffrey Ellert of UNDERGROUND
5th Place - Natalie McDowell of Bolivar Richburg
6th Place - Spencer Martinez of Hoosick Falls Wrestling Club


D2 - 55
1st Place - Maxwell Morris of Gladiators School of Wrestling
2nd Place - Trey Kimball of Camden Youth Wrestling
3rd Place - Shane Meenaghan of Long Island Elite
4th Place - Ryder Machado of UNDERGROUND
5th Place - Kiernan Magee of G2 World Wrestling Academy


D2 - 60
1st Place - Nicholas Callaghan of G2 World Wrestling Academy
2nd Place - Maxwell Gallagher of Long Island Elite
3rd Place - Connor Gregory of Journeymen
4th Place - Devlin Blanchard of Corinth Youth Wrestling
5th Place - Sean Zwart of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
6th Place - Nicholas Croce of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D2 - 65-70
1st Place - Zak Ryder of UNDERGROUND
2nd Place - Ryan Burton of UNDERGROUND
3rd Place - Jack Clough of IHC Cavaliers Wrestling Club
4th Place - Frank Volpe of Long Island Elite
5th Place - Maddox Mccormick of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
6th Place - Tanner Greer of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D2 - 75-80
1st Place - Andrew Filip of UNDERGROUND
2nd Place - Conor Meagher of Camden Youth Wrestling
3rd Place - Jesse O Donnell of Unattached
4th Place - Logan Morris of Tri-state wrestling
5th Place - Hamza Merrick of Lew Port Wrestling Club
6th Place - Tyler Donahue of Tri-state wrestling

D1 - 85
1st Place - Elijah Diakomihalis of G2 World Wrestling Academy
2nd Place - Noah Morlock of Unattached
3rd Place - Gregory Florin of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D1 - 37-43
1st Place - Gary McDowell of Bolivar Richburg
2nd Place - Nate Racz of UNDERGROUND
3rd Place - Declan McKee of Waverly Wrestling Club

D1 - 46-50
1st Place - Trevor Thayer of Gladiators School of Wrestling
2nd Place - Zachary Filip of UNDERGROUND
3rd Place - Cade Denesha of Gouverneur Wresling Club
4th Place - Zachary Graziano of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D1 - 55-60
1st Place - Hunter Dean of Tri-state wrestling
2nd Place - Ayden Buttery of Newfane Youth Wrestling Club
3rd Place - Jacob Stephenson of NWAA

D3 - 55
1st Place - Joseph Florance of Unattached
2nd Place - Landon Machado of UNDERGROUND
3rd Place - Jared Weinhaus of Long Island Elite

D3 - 60
1st Place - Chase Liardi of Long Island Elite
2nd Place - Nathan Merwin of Gladiators School of Wrestling
3rd Place - Andrew Brown of Gladiators School of Wrestling
4th Place - Evan Hewett of UNDERGROUND
5th Place - Trevor Tufano of Port Jervis Wrestling
6th Place - Tyler Coffie of Camden Youth Wrestling
7th Place - Gabriel Goss of Burnt Hills Balston Lake
8th Place - Tyler Havniear of Cornwall Dragons Youth Wrestling


D3 - 65
1st Place - Carter Schubert of Superior Wrestling Academy
2nd Place - Jake Murphy of Unattached
3rd Place - Joey Rumola of Gladiators School of Wrestling
4th Place - Justin Kearns of Unattached
5th Place - Benjiman Menard of Gladiators School of Wrestling
6th Place - Cody Merwin of Gladiators School of Wrestling

D3 - 70
1st Place - Troy Spratley of Gladiators School of Wrestling
2nd Place - Dominic Algieri of Long Island Elite
3rd Place - Griffin Mills of Unattached
4th Place - Mickey Brown of Unattached
5th Place - Cody Havniear of Cornwall Dragons Youth Wrestling
6th Place - Trayton Tupper of Gouverneur Wresling Club

D3 - 75
1st Place - Joseph Marvin of Gladiators School of Wrestling
2nd Place - Eric Tigue of Tri-state wrestling
3rd Place - Lucas Wrobel of Unattached
4th Place - Isaiah Massa of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
5th Place - Aidan Tauszky of Tri-state wrestling

D3 - 80
1st Place - Luca Pirozzolo of G2 World Wrestling Academy
2nd Place - Stefan Wade of Hoosick Falls Wrestling Club
3rd Place - Joshua Durant of The Square Wrestling Academy
4th Place - Jeffrey Jones of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D3 - 85
1st Place - Tylynn Lukens of Unattached
2nd Place - Preston Machado of UNDERGROUND
3rd Place - Benjamin Wilson of UNDERGROUND

D3 - 90-95
1st Place - Cooper Kropman of G2 World Wrestling Academy
2nd Place - Gunnar Meland of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
3rd Place - Ethan Gallo of UNDERGROUND
4th Place - Simon Lingle of Newfane Youth Wrestling Club
5th Place - Joseph Croce of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D3 - 105-115
1st Place - Charlie Tibbitts of Unattached
2nd Place - Tyler Rice of Gladiators School of Wrestling
3rd Place - Chase Cardinal of Beaver River Youth Wrestling
4th Place - Evan Day of Hoosick Falls Wrestling Club
5th Place - Brett Fuller of Tri-state wrestling
6th Place - Dylan Burgos of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
7th Place - Jaedan Davila of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D4 - 65-70
1st Place - Greg Diakomihalis of G2 World Wrestling Academy
2nd Place - Dante Geislinger of Unattached
3rd Place - Erik Willis of Unattached
4th Place - Owen Weller of Bulldog Youth Wrestling Club
5th Place - Jace Schafer of Superior Wrestling Academy
6th Place - Brandon Callaghan of G2 World Wrestling Academy
7th Place - Matt Haycook of Canton Youth Wrestling

D4 - 75
1st Place - Zachary Redding of Long Island Elite
2nd Place - Chandler Merwin of Gladiators School of Wrestling
3rd Place - Jordan Titus of Rocky Point Elite Eagles W.C
4th Place - Aiden Rabideau of Clarence Wrestling Club
5th Place - Alijah Seymour of Unattached
6th Place - Gregory Hotaling of Journeymen
7th Place - Joseph Henion of Unattached
8th Place - Brian Hedding of Unattached

D4 - 80
1st Place - Max Kropman of G2 World Wrestling Academy
2nd Place - Elijah Rodriguez of Gladiators School of Wrestling
3rd Place - Ryan Burgos of G2 World Wrestling Academy
4th Place - Michael Squires of Gladiators School of Wrestling
5th Place - Matthew LaPorte of Hoosick Falls Wrestling Club
6th Place - Logan Sciotto of Rocky Point Elite Eagles W.C
7th Place - Justin Smith of G2 World Wrestling Academy

D4 - 85
1st Place - Joseph Powers of Port Byron Youth Wrestling
2nd Place - Dean Shambo of Mexico Wrestling Club
3rd Place - Cj McMonegal of Unattached
4th Place - Jake Magsamen of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
5th Place - Tommy Askey of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
6th Place - Kaylee McDowell of Bolivar Richburg
7th Place - Michael Obrien of Unattached

D4 - 90-95
1st Place - Malachy Farrell of G2 World Wrestling Academy
2nd Place - Mason Wersinger of G2 World Wrestling Academy
3rd Place - Ian Bogardus of Fulton Wrestling Club
4th Place - Tyler Tupper of Gouverneur Wresling Club
5th Place - Sean Savacool of UNDERGROUND
6th Place - Nicholas Florin of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
7th Place - Forfeit Forfeit of Unattached
8th Place - Steven Gage of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
8th Place - Luke Horton of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D4 - 100
1st Place - Austin Lints of DAWGS
2nd Place - Nicolas Albornoz of UNDERGROUND
3rd Place - Cade Aina of G2 World Wrestling Academy
4th Place - Nicholas Curreri of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
5th Place - Rory Day of Hoosick Falls Wrestling Club
6th Place - Ryan Doherty of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D4 - 110-120
1st Place - Kasen Brennan of Unattached
2nd Place - Jace Hirsch of UNDERGROUND
3rd Place - Karamvir Hothi of G2 World Wrestling Academy
4th Place - Tyler Ormsby of Unattached
5th Place - Christopher Alberti Iii of The Square Wrestling Academy

D4 - 130-140
1st Place - Camrin Galvin of Fulton Wrestling Club
2nd Place - Haakon Meland of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
3rd Place - Zackery Goolden of Canton Youth Wrestling

D5 - 88-96
1st Place - Dillon Callaghan of G2 World Wrestling Academy
2nd Place - Dakota West of Camden Youth Wrestling
3rd Place - Quinn Robinson of Unattached

D5 - 103-112
1st Place - Derrick Magsamen of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
2nd Place - Zachary Mills of Gladiators School of Wrestling
3rd Place - Jackson Wrobel of Unattached
4th Place - Joseph Obrien of Unattached
5th Place - Andrew Norrison of G2 World Wrestling Academy

D5 - 120-130
1st Place - Dylan Greer of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
2nd Place - Joseph Decker of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
3rd Place - Austin Savacool of UNDERGROUND
4th Place - Andrew Freund of Rocky Point Elite Eagles W.C
5th Place - James Diverio of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D5 - 140
1st Place - Noah Currerri of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club
2nd Place - Timmy Ganuncio of UNDERGROUND
3rd Place - Shaun Burgos of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club

D5 - 160
1st Place - Shane Fuller of Tri-state wrestling
2nd Place - Andrew Bandura of Pine Bush Youth Wrestling Club