New York City State Champions Adis Radoncic and Rich Sisti have been selected to represent New York against All-Star Teams from Delaware, Florida , New England, and New Jersey.

This is the third year of the event which was founded by Monsignor Farrell Assistant Coach Jason Bross and benefits Pinning Down Autism. In previous years, the event has been limited to a dual meet between New York and New Jersey; New York has won each year by a slim margin.

This year, the event has been expanded and will take place over two days, Saturday-Sunday March 16-17th at New Jersey's West Orange High School. New York's team looks especially strong this year.  All 15 wrestlers representing the Empire State have won state championships, with all but 1 winning this year.

Event Schedule

• Saturday, March 16
  • Round 1 – 10:00 am – DE vs NE, NY vs FLA
  • Round 2 – 12:00 pm – NJ vs NE, DE vs FLA
  • Round 3 – 2:00 pm – NY vs DE, NE vs FLA
  • Round 4 – 4:00 pm – FLA vs NJ, NY vs NE
  • Round 5 – 6:00 pm – DE vs NJ
• Sunday, March 17
  • 10:00 am – Feature clinic
  • 11:00 am – Additional challenge dual TBA on 2 mats, NY vs NJ
  • 1:00 pm – Main event, NY vs NJ

New York Lineup

• 99 - John Yianni Diakomihalis
• 106 - Kyle Quinn
• 113 - Nick Piccininni
• 120 - Alex Delacruz
• 126 - TJ Fabian
• 132 - Tristan Rifanburg
• 138 - Nick Tighe
• 145 - Louis Hernandez
• 152 - Corey Rasheed
• 160 - Tyler Grimaldi
• 170 - Adis Radoncic
• 182 - Shayne Brady
• 195 - Dan Choi
• 220 - Rich Sisti
• 285 - Michael Hughes

Visit the event page at pinningdownautism.org.

The deadline for the Become Your Own Dream Scholarship is March 29^th, 2013.  The Scholarship is a 1-year award that goes to help a New York City student-athlete who has overcome hardship, graduated from high school, and plans to wrestle in college.  It was created by Hooman Tavakolian and co-founded by Lorelei Martin and Jon Tush.  Past Scholarship recipients are William Vera, Amanda Jackson, and Ahmed Elsayed.  They used the scholarship money to enroll at Nassau Community College, the Naval Academy, and Brown University respectively.

For information on the award including how to apply, please visit the BYOD Scholarship page.

Mark your calendars for next weekend as Monsignor Farrell Alum Connor Hanafee will represent the Army Black Knights at 141 pounds in the NCAA Division I National Wrestling Tournament.  Connor qualified by placing 7th last weekend at the EIWA Tournament.  Connor is the first NCAA qualifier from Monsignor Farrell and the first BTS-affiliated NCAA qualifier.

Hanafee began his career in the Lions Wrestling Club and competed in the BTS Junior League.  Connor wrestled under then Monsignor Farrell Head Coach Lou Destefano and won two CHSAA Titles while placing sixth in the New York State Tournament as a senior.

Hanafee had a rough start to the season and his record stood at 6-6 entering December. But since then, he has been on a tear, winning 15 of his last 22 matches and placing at both the EIWA’s and Southern Scuffle.  Hanafee enters the National Tournament with an impressive 21-13 record.

The NCAA committee did not do Connor any favors.  He will wrestle Joey Lazor of Northern Iowa in a pigtail bout.  The winner of that match will wrestle Bryan Pearsall of Penn State.  Should Connor win his first two matches he will likely wrestle undefeated Kendric Maple of Oklahoma.

Visit the BTS website next week for coverage of Connor at the NCAA Tournament

Links: NCAA Brackets | Connor's Army Athletics Profile

Video of Connor's match in High School against the Russian Junior Team

Watch more video of USA vs Russia Dual Cadet/Juniors on flowrestling.org

On an overcast and drizzling day at the Michael J. Petrides School, there were a lot of smiles and good cheer.

In honor of being named as the United States Marine Corps Marine of the Year, 2009 graduate and former wrestler Corporal Billy Spinelli was celebrated with a flag-raising ceremony and series of presentations at his alma mater in Staten Island.

School Principal Joanne Buckheit declared March 12th, 2013 as "Billy Spinelli Day" and a representative from the office of Staten Island Borough President James P. Molinaro was on hand to read a Borough Proclamation commemorating the award.

Dozens of elementary school students made banners and signs, the school choir sang beautifully, and friends and family were on hand for the occasion, including former head coach Michael Blyth and current head coach Dave Olah. Both coached Spinelli during his four years on the Petrides team.

As noted in the news release on the Petrides website, Billy was a city wrestling champion at 138 pounds. "I love wrestling; it's my favorite sport," Billy said. "Everyone asks me -- wrestling is everything to me." 

Read more: Petrides-grad Spinelli honored as Marine of the Year

This past Saturday, March 9th, 2013, 16 of the best female wrestlers from New York City competed at the Mohawk Valley International Tournament. Eight brackets of round-robins, 40 competitors, and over 90 matches later, the Beat the Streets Girls Wrestling Team won the tournament by a landslide. Other teams in the tournament came from Canada, Puerto Rico, and upstate NY. (More pictures on the BTS Girls Facebook page.)

Notable performances were turned in by Sara Andreson (Hunter), Kim Cardenas (Petrides), and Destane Garrick (Wingate/PSAL Catch-All). 

Read more: Girls kick off season in grand fashion at Mohawk Valley

With over 70 girls in attendance, it's possible a New York City record was set for the number of girl wrestlers in one place. Due to the overwhelming turnout, a second clinic has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 12th from 4:30pm - 6:00pm. The coaches clinic scheduled for 4:00pm has been rescheduled for 6:00pm following the girls clinic.

Beat the Streets would like to thank Terry for running a great clinic and sharing a number of inspirational stories with the girls!

More photos available after the jump.

Read more: Steiner clinic draws over 70 girls; 2nd clinic scheduled

Three NYC Wrestling Alumni competed Saturday in the EIWA Championships and two have advanced to Sunday's Championship Rounds.  

Connor Hanafee, a Monsignor Farrell Alum competing at 141 pounds for Army went 2-2 on the day to advance to Sunday's 7th place bout.  Fellow Catholic League Wrestlers Andrew Murano (Xavier, Franklin & Marshall) and Andrew Lenzi (Fordham Prep, Penn) competed at 149 pounds.  Each Andrew started the day with a loss and advanced to face each other in the consolation bracket.  Lenzi bested Murano 7-3.  They each finished the day with a 1-2 record and Lenzi will compete in Sunday's 7th place match.  

Columbia University sits in 7th place in the tournament after advancing three wrestlers to the finals. It is the first time since 1912 that Columbia has had so many Eastern Finalists.

Follow all EIWA action at: http://www.scarletknights.com/wrestling/eiwa.asp