NEW YORK STATE DREAM TEAM OF NCAA DIVISION I CHAMPIONS

A LOOK BACK THROUGH THE YEARS OF

NEW YORK STATE WRESTLING NOSTALGIA

SOME OF THE TOP MATCHES OF ALL TIME IN THE NEW YORK STATE TOURNAMENT FINALS

               NEW JERSEY  vs  NEW YORK 

125- Gene Mills (Syracuse) vs Troy Nickerson (Cornell)

133- Darryl Burley (Lehigh) vs Clar Anderson (Oklahoma State)

141- Kellen Russell (Michigan) vs Yianni Diakomihalis (Cornell)

149- Darrion Caldwell (NC State) vs Jesse Jantzen (Harvard)

157- Jordan Burroughs (Nebraska) vs Carl Adams (Iowa State)

165- Donny Pritzlaff (Wisconsin) vs Kyle Dake (Cornell)

174- Chris Campbell (Iowa) vs Mitch Clark (Ohio State)

184- Myles Martin (Ohio State) vs Ed Banach (Iowa)

197- Damian Hahn (Minnesota) vs Tom Schlendorff (Syracuse)

285- Steve Mocco (Oklahoma State) vs Lou Banach (Iowa)

MAT NOTES:

     Certainly, an intriguing dual meet amongst the best NCAA wrestlers in the nation. After consulting and polling some "wrestling experts", many felt that this dual would be a five-five split and a 16-16 dual meet score. The marquee match-up would be at 157 pounds, where Burroughs vs Adams would be a test of double leg takedowns! Chris Campbell (Westfield HS) participated in high school wrestling for one year - his senior year- when he won the NJ state title and finished the season with a 30-0 mark, he went onto to being a two-time NCAA champion for Dan Gable at Iowa.

 A LOOK BACK:

1983 - The Empire State boasted three NCAA champions: Clar Anderson (Olean HS) - Oklahoma State at 134, Ed & Lou Banach (Port Jervis HS) - Iowa - Ed (190) and Lou won the Gorrian Award in the Unlimited Class, along with five other All-Americans.

1984 - Carl DeStefanis (Locust Valley HS) - Penn State -  won the 118-pound NCAA title, along with seven New York State AA's.

1985 - NYS had an impressive eight All-Americans, including champion Chris Edmond (Freeport HS) - Tennessee, who defeated Pete Capone (Watertown HS) - Hofstra, 14-10, for the 167-pound crown. Other AA accolades were earned by: Pete Yozzo (Sayville HS) - Lehigh - 3rd at 142, Chris Bevilacqua (Berner HS) - Penn State - 4th at 150, who defeated Rob Koll (NC) 13-7 in the prelims. Glen Lanham (Lindenhurst HS) - Tennessee - 8th at 158, Wayne Catan (Bellport HS) - Syracuse- runner-up at 177, and a pair of 190-pound placers; Paul Diekel (Whitehall HS) - Lehigh - 3rd and Jim Beichner (Cassadaga Valley) of Clarion who finished sixth. The team champion was Iowa with145 points.

1986 - Brad Penrith (Windsor HS) - Iowa - won the 126-pound NCAA title and NYS had three NCAA finalists - Al Palacio (Long Beach HS) - NCarolina at 118, Pete Yozzo (142) and Wayne Catan and a total of five All-Americans.

1987 - Pete Yozzo won the 142-pound NCAA crown with a stunning fall over Pitt's Pat Santoro. NYS had seven AA's and at 118 pounds, former NYS champions clashed in the consolations: Al Palacio edged Dennis Mejias (Mepham HS) - Wilkes, 9-7, for 7th place.

    Also earning All-American honors that year were Doug Dake (Kent State) - 7th at 177 and Rob Koll (North Carolina) - 8th at 150. Dake would  later coach his son Kyle at Lansing HS and Koll would get bronze medals in '86 and '87, and win the NCAA crown in 1988. He was at the helm for the Big Red of Cornell and mentored Kyle Dake to four NCAA titles and is now at Stanford.

 The Division I Pennsylvania team (compiled by Flo Wrestling) is unbelievable:

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​125- Spencer Lee (Iowa)

133- Jordan Oliver (Oklahoma State)

141- Cary Kolat (Lock Haven)

149- Zain Retherford (Penn State)

157- Jason Nolf (Penn State)

165- Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State)

174- Ed Ruth (Penn State)

184- Jake Herbert (Northwestern)

197- Quentin Wright (Penn State)

285- Carleton Haselrig (Pitt-Johnstown)

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   Take a look at the PA team alternates:

149- Nate Carr (Iowa State) - (117-20-1 career mark)

157- Wade Schalles (Clarion State) - (153-5-1, with 106 falls)

174- Mark Lieberman (Lehigh)

​285- Kurt Angle (Clarion State)

Another top wrestling state - California - has over 800 high schools and only ONE classification - they have a 32-man bracket and the top finishers earned All-State status. Here is a look at Flo Wrestling's Division I NCAA CA team:

125- Stephan Abas (Fresno State)

133- Eric Guerrero (Oklahoma State)

141- Gerry Abas (Fresno State)

149- Adam Tirapelle (Illinois)

157- Isaiah Martinez (Illinois) - 4-time placer (1-1-2-2) - 116-3 career mark

165- Mark Schultz (UCLA-Oklahoma)

174- Chris Pendelton (Oklahoma State)

184- Zahid Valencia (Arizona State)

197- Jake Varner (Iowa State)

285- Stephen Neal (CSU-Bakersfield) - highest state finish - 4th at 189 pounds

  Number One  CA Alternate:

  165- Dave Schultz (Okla State/Oklahoma)   

             NEW YORK vs CALIFORNIA

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125- Troy Nickerson vs Stephan Abas

133- Clar Anderson vs Eric Guerrero

141- Yianni Diakomihalis vs Gerry Abas

149- Jesse Jantzen vs Adam Tirapelle

157- Carl Adams vs Isaiah Martinez

165- Kyle Dake vs Mark Schultz

174- Mitch Clark vs Chris Pendelton

184- Ed Banach vs Zahid Valencia

197- Tom Schlendorff vs Jake Varner

285- Lou Banach vs Stephen Neal 

Mat Notes:

    The marquee match would be at 165 pounds and pit four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake vs three-time winner Mark Schultz. Incidentally, Dake won two NY titles while Schultz managed only one CA crown.