The Mighty Few
Ellenville Holds Sway Over Undermanned Burke and Liberty As All Three Teams Evince Some Fine Performances; A Few Aspiring Sectional Contenders Loom Large From Each Program
Ellenville 39, John S. Burke Catholic 23
John S. Burke Catholic 30, Liberty 16
Ellenville 48, Liberty 12
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Photos at: www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Scenes from a night of compelling wrestling (clockwise) Burke senior Brian Leahey (138) continues his undefeated dominance with a pin of Ellenville's Kyle Conner. Defending Section Nine champion Andy Martinez (182) of Liberty pins Ellenville's Javier Cortez. Liberty's Luis Rivera (113) pins Burke's Martin Nowak. Liberty's Matt Rourke (152) puts up a tough battle before being pinned by Ellenville's Ethan Lonstein. Ellenville Coach Merrill Conner counsels his son Kyle after a losing match. Conner went on to win the nightcap. Burke's wrestling motto is "Non Vox, sed votum" which means, not the words but the deeds. Liberty and Ellenville show their colors as well. Liberty's Vinny Webbe(132) pins Ellenville's Willie Bruce
LIBERTY, NY—“These are the times that try men’s souls,” noted founding father Thomas Paine and indeed those words aptly describe the realm of small school wrestling. To be sure, each match is a trying affair as athletes are often pitted against adversaries who are strong, skilled and well-coached.
But the most trying aspect may well be the insufficient numbers of wrestlers that coaches have to go to war with.
With the preponderance of athletes in the already limited talented pool heading off in winter to play basketball or join the indoor track leagions, high school wrestling coaches like Ellenville’s Merrill Conner, Burke’s Dave Predmore and Liberty’s John Lennon are hard-pressed to find a sufficient number of wrestlers to fill out all of the weight classes.
With Ellenville’s illustrious record in indoor track and Liberty’s annual battle therein that usually places them second to the Blue Devils, a lot of potential wrestlers are making their presence felt as runners, jumpers and particularly as throwers. Football players often move on to track in winter.
The rigorous nature of the sport warrants toughness, intense focus and arduous training and it comes with its requisite collateral effects including cuts, bumps and bruises and occasionally even broken bones.
If you don’t put in the work in sports like indoor track, the worst thing that can happens is that you will lose in your event, whereas in wrestling, you can get brutalized or overmatched in a New York Minute. With parents and friends looking on, sometimes that’s even worse than leaving the mat battered and bruised.
Lennon has been coaching at Liberty for 31 years continuing his relationship with the program which he began as a wrestler for the Tribe. Lennon was second in Section Nine when he weighed in at 138 back in those days when it was far tougher. There weren’t two divisions then. You literally had to beat everybody.
Lennon has only six wrestlers in the fold this year. He had seven but one of his young wrestlers, a promising 170 pound contender, quit due to parental concerns about potential injury in the sport. Truth be told, kids are far more resilient than one might imagine and the rigors of the sport not only make them tougher, they are apt to build character, perseverance and fortitude for life’s coming challenges.
Still, out of Lennon’s six, three made it to the finals at the Walton tournament including Luis Rivera (120), Vinny Webbe (132) and defending Section Nine champion Andy Martinez (182). Martinez is a heavy favorite to successfully defend his title. He is currently 14-3 and undefeated against Section Nine opponents. He lost a pair of matches at Eastern States and another in an earlier tournament.
Lennon figures Rivera and Webbe will make it to sectionals too, and if he maintains his focus, Dylan Blackwell (113) could join them there. Also showing great toughness on this night was Matt Rourke (152) in an epic battle he staged against Ellenville’s Ethan Lonstein. The latter won by a pin in 5:32.
Small numbers are also a problem for Burke. Predmore has seven wrestlers in the fold that includes undefeated senior Brian Leahey (138) and Daniel Martin (113), two wrestlers Predmore feels can make some serious inroads in sectionals.
Leahey did a fine job of controlling Ellenville’s Kyle Conner, eventually pinning him in 5:50, while Martin pinned Joe Smith in 2:53.
According to Predmore, viewing the season in terms of head to head performance, the Eagles have only been vanquished once and that was against powerful Rondout Valley. They bested Ellenville 4-3 in this tilt in head-to-head matches. Still, with only seven wrestlers ready to battle, Burke has to yield 42 points and can only hope that some of those will be subtracted as no contests when the opposing team also has no one to go in those classes.
Conner counseled his son Kyle after the match, offering suggestions and strategy as well as pointing out the places where Leahey evinced the upper hand. He lauded the work of Luis Arango (152) in his pin of Burke’s John Longo in 3:30. “He’s starting to come around. It’s a good time as sections are coming up,” he noted.”
With so many forfeits by Burke and Liberty, Conner noted that “It’s tough to get your guys up for a match when you’re only wrestling five or six guys. At 10-7 overall, the Blue Devils are faring well given the fact that they have new wrestlers in the fold. That said, Ellenville which is in Division II-A is winless in that realm.
Conner expects Kenny Krygier (160) to make sectionals and eventually have to duke it out with Austin Weigel from Red Hook. “Sectionals will be tough and even now you an almost set the sectional line up.”
“Right now our biggest problem is having more competition in practice as far as my lighter weights are concerned.” Conner, who wrestled for Ellenville up until his graduation in 1984, has been coaching the sport for the past seven or eight years as part of his 12 years coaching tenure that includes football and baseball.
Predmore’s take on the match was “We did pretty well but some of our kids are still making the same mistakes they’ve made since the beginning of the year. There are definitely matches we should have won. Getting pinned in a match when you’re up by three or four points is inexcusable,” he noted.
“We hope to make a bit of a name for ourselves this year,” concluded Predmore. That aspiration is emblazoned on Burke’s warm up shirts in the latin words, Non vox, sed votum, which means not the words, but the deeds.
Here are the results of two of the matches. I am awaiting the results of the Liberty-Burke match won by the Eagles 30-16. I’ll add them to this story later.
Non-league: Ellenville 39, Burke Catholic 23
99 pounds: no contest; 106: Jon Candelaria (E) won by forfeit; 113: Daniel Martin (BC) pin Joe Smith 2:53; 120: Miguel Candelaria (E) d. Martin Nowak 10-6; 126: Greg Avery (E) pin Bert Cohan 3:48; 132: Kurt Hefner (BC) pin Dylan Bonitz 2:26; 138: Brian Leahey (BC) pin Kyle Conner 5:50; 145: Jack Ehret (BC) won by forfeit; 152: Luis Arango (E) pin John Longo 3:30; 160: Chris Maerling (E) won by forfeit; 170: Javier Cortes (E) won by forfeit; 182: no contest; 195: no contest; 220: no contest; 285: Kyle Cox (E) won by forfeit.
Ellenville 48, Liberty 12
99 pounds: no contest; 106: Jon Candelaria (E) won by forfeit; 113: Joe Smith (E) pin Dylan Blackwell 2:17; 120: Miguel Candelaria (E) pin Luis Rivera 3:48; 126: David Lonstein (E) won by forfeit; 132: Vincent Webbe (L) pin Willie Bruce 1:44; 138: Kyle Conner (E) pin Ethan Porter :48; 145: no contest; 152: Ethan Lonstein (E) pin Matt Rourke 5:32; 160: Ken Krygier (E) won by forfeit; 170: no contest; 182: Andrew Martinez (L) pin Javier Cortez 3:15; 195: no contest; 220: no contest; 285: Kyle Cox (E) won by forfeit.
For an album of photos, visit www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
Passionate Intensity
Tri-Valley Hosts Stellar Dual With Eldred-Fallsburg And Ellenville Blue Devils; Ellenville Gets A Pair Of Non-League Wins Over Second Year Sullivan County Teams; E-F Downs Tri-Valley To Stay Unbeaten In Division II-B
Ellenville 39, Eldred/Fallsburg 36
Eldred/Fallsburg 41, Tri-Valley 32
Ellenville 48, Tri-Valley 26
By RICHARD A. ROSS
Scenes from a great night of wrestling (clockwise) Ellenville's Kyle Conner (138) wins over Eldred' Fallsburg's Adam Hurwitz 8-4, Eldred-Fallsburg's Jesse Corcoran (285) pins Ellenville's Kyle Cox in 3:22, Tri-Valley's Kyle Rogers (113) pins E-F's Nick Perrello in 2;58, Tri-Valley's Jared Ratner (132) pins E-F's Shane Martin in 4:35. Tri-Valley's Hunter Kennedy (160) wins a tough 15-9 decision over E-F freshman Carl Peterson Langeland. E-F's Nick Perrello pins Ellenville's Joe Smith and E-F's Dominique Veles holds sway over Ellenville's Preston Gibson.
GRAHAMSVILLE, NY—Every sport has its unique aspects, allure, demands and set of skills, but few could argue that wrestling is one of the most rigorous.
Not for the feint of heart, the sport requires not only immense stamina, strength and agility, it also demands a passionate intensity and the capacity to learn the subtle skills that are a prerequisite towards vanquishing an equally determined opponent.
For small schools with their limited number of athletes, wrestling must compete with basketball, indoor track and skiing in winter in a fervent attempt to recruit a team large enough to fill out the spectrum of weight classes.
Ellenville Coach Merrill Conner once wrestled for the school. For the past seven years he's been coaching the sport in addition to the more than a dozen years of mentoring football and basketball as well. Conner coaches his son Kyle in both of those sports as well as wrestling which provides its own unique brand of intensity. On this night the younger Conner posted two wins which no doubt made his coach/dad happy. Ellenville has a bevy of non-league wins but has struggled in Division II-A. They have a nice mix of experienced and younger wrestlers in the fold.
Failing that, forfeits can quickly cause the opposing team’s score to mount. For Divison II-B host Tri-Valley, now in its second year under the savvy watch of coach Mike March, that issue is far less of a factor than it was in the Bears’ debut a year ago.
This night would feature a narrow 39-36 Ellenville win over Eldred-Fallsburg, a repeat of a nail biter from the Goshen Tournament as an appetizer for E-F’s 41-32 win over Tri-Valley and the nightcap of Ellenville’s 48-26 win over Tri-Valley.
Great wrestling, fervent fans and a number of down-to-the wire hard-fought matches were all proof positive of the sport’s increased traction locally. For both E-F and Tri-Valley, this is the second year of their programs and the progress from both programs is impressive.
Since last week’s story featured much about E-F, let’s start with host Tri-Valley.
The Bears’ strong suit begins with veterans like Hunter Kennedy (160), John Monforte (145) and Jared Ratner (132) ,Shawn Markle(171) and Alberto Hernandez (215) have a year of experience under their belt and you can see it in their overall deportment on the mat.
Aggressive from the get-go, T-V’s wrestlers show a fine range of skills and an inclination to be assertive rather than defensive.
The Bears did not have their full complement of wrestlers available on this night. Markle was out for this dual meet still nursing a broken finger but March has a couple of new wrestlers on board who are quickly blending in.
They include Kyle Rogers (113) who received the vocal accolades of the home crowd following his pin of E-F’s Nick Perrello in 2:58. Also new to the fold are Steven Graham (126), Michael Glinsky (138) and Kevin Palko (152). Palko recorded an impressive win over feisty Nick Brown of E-F by a technical fall, 15-0 decision.
Though the Bears would lose both to Eldred-Fallsburg and Ellenville, there were many positives. The large home crowd attests to the fact that the sport is building in its allure. Tri-Valley fans are known for their robust support of their teams and wrestling is building a powerful base of zealots.
Head to head, the Bears look impressive led by their big three veterans Ratner, Monforte and Kennedy, all extremely tough, skilled and determined.
Father and son: Tri-Valley's Jared Ratner enjoys a post-match moment with his dad. after pinning Eldred-Fallsburg's Shane Martin. Parent support is vital to this sport which often does not get the kind of attention rendered to basketball. Many parents were on hand for this match as the sport gains traction. A number of them came armed with video cameras, ipads and digital cameras to record the night's events.
Eldred-Fallsburg remained atop of Division II-B with a 3-0 mark following its win over Tri-Valley. The Ellenville match was a non-league affair. E-F got some impressive wins on the night including a Domique Veles (195) pin of Ellenville’s Preston Gibson.
But Coach Tim Bult shook his head following his team’s one match loss to the Blue Devils, a repeat of the result from the Goshen Tournament. “We made a little progress but we still have to go back to the room and fix some mistakes. There are some simple things we still need to work on. Kids are still reaching back and putting themselves in difficult positions at the half. Some of our kids have a tendency to work really hard when they’re in trouble. We’re trying to get them to work as hard offensively as they do defensively,” he observed.
“We’ll go back and look at the film of all of tonight’s matches so we’ll be prepared for tomorrow’s practice.” Bult had props for Carl Peterson Langeland a freshman who shows the kind of intensity and refusal to quit you love to see in a tough competitor. Peterson-Langeland had to contend with Hunter Kennedy, one of T-V’s top two wrestlers. Kennedy won the gritty match by a 15-9 decision after losing his opening match 7-1 decision against Ellenville’s Ken Krieger in an equally compelling performance.
Ellenville’s Coach Merrill Conner was pleased with his team’s pair of wins. “They’re a good group. It’s a nice mix of young and old. I coach my son Kyle (138) so it’s a little different situation. I get a little crazy when he’s on the mat.” Asked how the pair handle that father-son relationship, Conner smiled and said, “There’s good days and bad days. I coach him in football and baseball as well but in wrestling it’s so intense and I’m an intense person. We butt heads now and then but he’s having a pretty good year.”
Things will no doubt be rather peaceful in the Conner household after Kyle’s 8-4 decision over E-F’s Adam Hurwitz, a tough and stalwart competitor, as well as a pin of T-V’s Michael Glinksy.
Conner was extremely complimentary of the coaches from E-F and Tri-Valley. They’re doing an outstanding job. It’s so hard. We were there. John Burns started our program way back and I was on the last team in ’84 and then we didn’t have any more wrestling. We didn’t have it for quite a while until John got it back.
Eldred-Fallsburg's Adam Hurwitz (138) pins Tri-Valley's Michael Glinski in 1:05.
It starts with a youth program and a lot of work. It takes time to get the community involved to back the sport. Conner is in his seventh year of coaching wrestling, while he has 12 or 13 years in the coaching in general.
Referencing the difficulties in starting new programs, Conner noted, “You get a junior coming out and you’ve only got him for two years. If you had that kid as a seventh, eighth or ninth grader they’d get to learn a little bit more about the sport.”
Mike March spoke about the success. “We have quite a few guys back. We have a few less forfeits than we had last year. We had a couple of injuries tonight and we had an academically ineligible wrestler. Usually we have about three more in the line up than we did in this match. As with any Division II school we may have some issues with team scores but head to head I think we’re doing really well,” he averred.
Head to head Tri-Valley actually defeated E-F 26-18 and came close to Ellenville 24-14.
“We’re solid. I’m getting kids from wherever I can take them. When basketball is announcing their cuts we’re right outside the door. I’m promoting it in Phys Ed. Class.” March talked about conditioning. “We’ve got our relatively new cardio-weight room and we get in there three days a week. We try to work at least a half hour in there getting in the major core of lifting.
Tri-Valley has only one win to date, a victory over Liberty. Tri-Valley is currently 1-2 in Division II-B. For his part, John Monforte continues to be on the upswing with a 11-6 overall record including some wins against Division I opponents.
Ellenville 39, Eldred/Fallsburg 36
99 pounds: no contest; 106: John Candelaria (E) by forfeit; 113: Nick Perrello (E/F) pin. Joe Smith 5:07; 120: Miguel Candelaria (E) pin. Allenson Flores :54; 126: Willie Bruce (E) by forfeit; 132: Dylan Bonitz (E) pin. Shane Martin 3:02; 138: Kyle Conner (E) dec. Adam Hurwitz 8-4; 145: Rafael Olan (E/F) by forfeit; 152: Ethan Lonstein (E) pin. Nick Brown 3:25; 160: Ken Krygier (E) dec. Carl Peterson-Langeland 7-1; 170: Tony Moriggia (E/F) by forfeit; 182: Javier Cortez (E) dec. Tadeusz Loarca 5-1; 195: Dominique Veles (E/F) pin. Preston Gibson 3:42; 220: John Mejia (E/F) by forfeit; 285: Jesse Corcoran (E/F) pin. Kyle Cox 3:22.
Eldred/Fallsburg 41, Tri-Valley 32
99 pounds: no contest; 106: no contest; 113: Kyle Rogers (T) pin. Nick Perrello 2:58; 120: Allenson Flores (E/F) by forfeit; 126: Steven Graham (T) by forfeit; 132: Jared Ratner (T) pin. Shane Martin 4:35; 138: Adam Hurwitz (E/F) pin. Michael Glinski 1:05; 145: John Monforte (T) pin. Rafael Olan 1:04; 152: Kevin Palko (T) tech. fall Nick Brown 15-0; 160: Hunter Kennedy (T) dec. Carl Paterson-Langeland 15-9; 170: Tony Moriggia (E/F) by forfeit; 182: Tadeusz Loarca (E/F) by forfeit; 195: Dominique Veles (E/F) pin. Albert Hernandez 2:31; 220: Jesse Corcoran (E/F) pin. Jesse Harris 1:47; 285: John Mejia (E/F) by forfeit.
Team records: Eldred/Fallsburg 6-5 (3-0); Tri-Valley 1-15 (1-2)
Ellenville 48, Tri-Valley 26
99 pounds no contest; 106: Jon Candelaria (E) by Forfeit; 113: Kyle Rogers (T) dec Joe Smith 1:01; 120: Miguel Candelaria (E) by forfeit; 126: Greg Avery (E) dec. Steven Graham 2:40; 132: Jared Ratner (T) tech fall David Lonstein 4:57 19-3; 138: Kyle Conner (D) WBF Michael Glinsky 0.39; John Monforte (T) by forfeit; 152: Kevin Palko (T) dec Luis Arrango 5-2; 160: Ken Krygier (E) WBF Hunter Kennedy 2:30; 170: Javier Cortes by forfeit; 182: no contest; 195: Preston Gibson (E) WBF) Alberto Hernandez 1:39; 220: Jesse Harris (T) by forfeit; 285 Kyle Cox (E) by forfeit.
Team Records: Ellenville 9-4; Tri-Valley 1-16
All three teams exited this match with a bevy of positives and a list of things to still work on assiduously if they plan to make any noise in the Division II Sectionals slated for Rondout Valley High School on February 12.
For an album of photos from this night’s matches visit:
www.sportsinsights.smugmug.com
