| NYS COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS |
| January 24, 2004 |
| At the 35th annual New York State Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships held at Nassau Community College, Army won the team title as they amassed 178.5 points to finish ahead of Buffalo (135.5), Brockport (124.5), Nassau CC (121) and Columbia (93.5). The Black Knights crowned three champions among their five finalists and were impressive in the two-day tournament that featured the top wrestlers in the 19-team field throughout the Empire State. Winning titles for Army were Anthony Dunkin (14-8) at 149, junior All-American Philip Simpson (18-2) at 157 and Luke Calvert at 184 pounds. Runners-up for the Black Knights were Bernard Gardner (Wyoming) at 133 and James Hollis (California) at 285. Buffalo also garnered three champions as Mike Trotta (Oceanside HS) at 141, Kyle Cerminara (Lewiston-Porter HS) at 197 and Greg Thomas (Uniondale HS) at 285, won their respective weight classes. Trotta decisioned Justin Lijo (Cornell), 3-1, Cerminara edged Rob Cuffie (Brentwood HS),3-2, and Thomas defeated Army's James Hollis by a 2-1 overtime verdict. Brockport claimed two titles with Artie Weidler (Patchogue-Medford HS) who decisioned Nassau's defending NJCAA champion Carlos Patrick (Freeport HS), 3-1, for the 165-pound crown and Ed Pawlek (Southwestern HS) at 174 pounds. Host Nassau, currently the top-ranked NJCAA Division III (non-scholarship) squad, had a fine showing amongst the top collegiate grapplers in the state. Three Lion matmen had runner-up finishes; Chris DeLuca (East Meadow HS) at 149, the aforementioned Patrick and Hanif Abdush-Shahid (Ithaca HS) at 174 pounds. Rounding out the other individual winners were Jeff Sato (California) of Columbia at 125 and Terkoran Agyman (Truman HS, Bronx) at 133 pounds. MAT NOTES... Army's trio of champions all hail from different states, Dunkin (NJ), Simpson (Tenn) and Calvert (Okla) along with their head coach Chuck Barbee who was a '93 alumnus from Oklahoma State. Simpson is currently ranked third at 157 pounds by the Amateur Wrestling News...Nassau CC coach Paul Schmidt, the 2003 NJCAA Coach of the Year, hopes his Lions can defend their JUCO title. He points to returning champion Carlos Patrick (165) and returning All-Americans Chris DeLuca (third at 141) now at 149 and Chris Weidman (Baldwin HS) who earned a bronze medal at 197 pounds. Also, currently ranked fourth at 125 is three-time NYS place-winner Walter Sosnowski who hails from Massapequa...The three inductees into the NYS Intercollegiate Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame were Joe Giani (Suny-Brockport), Linda Kneutila (Buffalo area) and Al Sosa (Oneonta State). Joe Giani (Huntington HS) was a two-time NYS Collegiate champion while at Brockport in 1980-81.He was also a three-time All-American and Division III National Champion at 150 pounds in 1981. For the past eight years he has been the Section XI (Suffolk County) Wrestling Chairman. Linda Kneutila has worked behind the scenes in wrestling and helped develop the Western NY wrestling newsletter. She was also instrumental in the development of the Super Six Wrestling Club and has been dedicated to the sport of wrestling for the past 25 years. Al Sosa, a Long Island native from Babylon, has been at the helm of Oneonta State wrestling for 38 years. He was a two-time Conference champion while competing at Cortland State but unfortunately his coach never took him to the national tournament. Coach Sosa's teams have won over 250 dual meets and was inducted into the Division III National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2001. He commented on his induction and highlights during his 38-year tenure, " This is a great honor, but the most important aspect of coaching is seeing guys that come back that have enjoyed the experience through the great sport of wrestling along with the life lessons and great memories over the years." Our sincere congratulations to the 2004 Hall of Fame inductees... Click here for Results and Photos... |