From Edgemont Athletics Website:

Junior Cliffton Wang notched his 100th career victory this past weekend at the Center Moriches Tournament out on Long Island. Ciff is a two-time Section 1 Champion and finished last year in the Top 8 in NYS… He was also voted our Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament by the tournament coaches! He’s got big things on tap… so stay tuned… You can hear from Cliff right here:

Dear Edgemont Wrestling Family,

So – I’ve got to apologize for taking so long to send this update out… The Sectionals are always such a physically and emotionally draining weekend, it’s hard to sit down and get my thoughts into words.

After catching up on some loose ends, putting in some shifts at my “real job” (I’ve gotta pay my mortgage), and starting the process of preparing for the State Championships, I’m finally able to sit here and write to you… In fact I’m on the bus up to State Team practice right now!

So, here we go:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – this year’s team is certainly not the largest we’ve had and probably not the most talented, but I’d put them up against any other team in terms of work ethic, heart and grit.

Those qualities shined through crystal clear at the Sectional Championships.

I couldn’t be prouder of the way our guys battled against every opponent!

We finished in 5th place as a team with 8 Sectional place finishers. We had 4 finalists: Kyle Aslanian (132), George Mellor (126), Max Worobow (152) and Cliffton Wang (170). Cliff won his 3rd Section Title.

But all that really doesn’t tell the story of our tournament, so read on…

113 – Andy Williams went 2-2 at the tournament. He’ll tell you that’s a huge disappointment. I’ll tell you that due to his own hard work and effort, Andy has improved more than almost any wrestler on our team from last year to this year. This is the number one criteria on which we evaluate our wrestlers – if you keep getting better the winning becomes inevitable. We’re looking for a strong off-season from Andy and an even stronger senior campaign.

120 – Nick Meglino also showed some tremendous heart. In his first round match he got headlocked to his back, he spent what seemed like an eternity fighting from here and absolutely refused to be pinned. He rallied back from there to win a 19-6 major decision. In the quarters, he took the number 1 seed into the 3rd period only yielding the narrowest of margins to him. He rattled off two more wins before finally upsetting his way to a 5th place finish as freshman! Can’t wait to see the gains Nick makes next year!

126 – George Mellor is another wrestler who exceeded expectations this season (at least those of people outside of our program!). The exciting thing about George is you could literally see him get better every time he stepped on the mat. George really came into his own this season, in terms of his style and his belief in himself. We no longer have to keep reminding him of how good he really is! Most impressive this tournament was how he took it to his semi-finals opponent – a tough, athletic wrestler who beat him earlier in the season and then went after his opponent in the finals. While George finished as a runner-up, he is a clear threat to win a title next year in his senior season!

132 – What can you say about Kyle Aslanian other than he’s had a tremendous career: 4 Sectional Final appearances, All-State, over 100 career victories… Kyle dominated his way through his bracket and in the finals threw everything he had against his Putnam Valley opponent. Kyle fell short of the win but he competed hard. We have our fingers crossed he’ll be getting a wildcard to the State Championships (we should find out tonight) and will make another run at the podium in Albany. Kyle also just got news that he’ll be continuing his wrestling career at NYU, so we’ll clearly be hearing more about him in the future!

Chris Eppolito had to be one of the most inspirational wrestlers on our team this weekend. Chris came into sectionals as a senior with a less-than-stellar record, having never placed in the tournament before, but with more heart and desire than I’ve seen from almost any wrestler I’ve coached. Chris fell in the quarters to the eventual champion and found himself in wrestle backs. He needed to win twice to advance to the 2nd day’s placement rounds. He won his first match with a 0:55 pin of Irvington’s Ben Yeh and found himself in the blood round vs. 3rd-seeded Karl Burnich of Nanuet. Chris absolutely refused to lose and wrestled the best match of his career, upsetting Burnich 6-4 and advancing. In 5th place bout, Chris found himself up against a similarly strong opponent from Pearl River and came away with a 12-5 decision, ending his Edgemont career with a win and a 5th place finish in Sectionals!

138 – Zeke Cohen has consistently improved all season long. Although he’s only a second-year wrestler, he is always one of the hardest workers in our practice room. Zeke’s unorthodox style of wrestling benefits him quite a bit – more and more as he gains more mat experience – but it also still can come back to bite him sometimes. Zeke has the ability to get his opponent rolling all around the mat and has a knack for catching his opponent on his back in a lot of these situations. Unfortunately the reverse is sometimes true as well. Zeke’s two losses at Sectionals were of this variety. The good news is that in both of these matches, Zeke was wrestling extremely well, getting to his attacks and finishes, keeping great pressure on top and moving well on bottom. If Zeke stays on his current trajectory with some off-season work, there’s no doubt he’ll be on the podium next year.

Georgie Guarnieri, missed placing at the competitive 138-pound weight class by 1 win as only a sophomore. As only the 10th seed – Georgie lost to a bigger, stronger, more experienced opponent in the first round, but rallied back with a pin over Croton’s Jake Dominello, before his hard-fough 4-1 loss in the blood round. Like Zeke, Georgie pushes himself hard in practice everyday and his gains this season were noticeable. He added a lot of strength in the off-season and it showed on the mat this year. Georgie is strong in all positions without any glaring weaknesses. Put all this together and Georgie will undoubtedly be part of the core of our team next year.

145 – Hunter Moore finished 4th and wrestled a great tournament. He was thisclose to upsetting 2nd-seeded Robert DiNota of Westlake in the 3rd place bout. Hunter capped off a great senior season with a 23-11 record. He showed a lot of leadership for our team this season both on and off the mat and set a great example for our younger wrestlers with his always physical and aggressive style of wrestling. These accomplishments are even more impressive considering Hunter didn’t wrestle in 9th or 10th grade and had a losing record last year. He’ll be missed next year!

152 – Max Worobow finished his senior campaign as Sectional finalist and runner-up, netting himself All-Section honors along the way. I couldn’t be prouder of the season and career Max put together, as a terrific leader in our program and a 4-time Sectional Place Finisher. Max pinned his way into the semi’s where he took on 2nd seeded Ryan Duffy of Westlake. Max took a tie match into the 3rd period where he secured the winning takedown with 30 seconds left. It was an upset to everyone in the gym but our team. Max lost in the finals but put up a great fight – an admirable finish to a great career! Our leaders next year will have big shoes to fill.

Sophomore Maunil Kothari was also at 152 for us. Maunil does not have a lot of mat experience but straight up outworked his first opponent to get a pin and help out the team. Although he lost to his next two opponents, he gained valuable experience this year and has two more years to keep progressing.

170 – Cliffton Wang was just dominant. Not a single opponent made it out of the 1st period with him. He earned his 3rd Section Title as a junior and punched his ticket back to Albany. We expect him to do a lot of damage up at States and he’s been right back to training the past three days to make that a reality.

285 – Surmed Khan rounded out our 12 entries into the tournament. Surmed is an undersized heavyweight so every time he competes he’s up against a bigger, stronger competitor. I’m happy to report that Surmed went toe-to-toe with each kid he faced. He did not back down from anyone and did not allow himself to be pushed around – aggressively handfighting and attacking each opponent. His heart and desire shown through as he made it to the 5th place bout and took the victory in triple overtime in front of a packed gym. Surmed also has 1 more year for us and we’re confident he’ll make some more noise in the heavyweight division next year.

Top to bottom this team made more gains and showed more improvement than any team I can remember. It’s a testament to their work ethic, teamwork and ability to keep pushing each other to get better each and everyday.

Most of our returners have already had conversations with me about off-season training plans and we can’t wait to get to work after the State Championships!

More updates on States in a day or two!

Feed the Panther!

Pete

Peter Jacobson
Head Coach
Edgemont Wrestling

Let me start off with some great news!

If you haven’t heard, Kyle Aslanian got a wildcard bid to the State Championships and will be representing Edgemont and Section 1 in Albany this weekend at 132 pounds!

Action from the State Team practice.

Needless to say, we’re psyched to have two tremendous athletes heading up to compete this weekend and we’ve been busy prepping them!

Kyle and Cliff… ready to go in their sweet new Section 1 Wrestling Gear!

Who’s that guy in the middle that hasn’t slept in 3 days?!

We’re all ready to go… our bags our packed and we leave for Albany mid-day today! We should get up to Albany around 4 PM and check-in to our hotel. From there we’ll head over to the arena for a workout and get to work making weight. Weigh-ins are at 7:30 AM tomorrow. Opening Ceremonies at 9:30 and wrestling at 10 AM!

Stay with us on Twitter and Facebook for updates and some behind-the-scenes info all weekend!

Section 1’s full State Team

Section 1 Wrestling Gear (it pays to be a State Qualifier!)

States Info

Here’s everything you need to know! We hope to see some of you up in Albany. PLEASE let me know if you’re going to make it up! We’d love to have an alumni get together after the finals on Saturday!

The State Championships start tomorrow morning at Albany’s Times Union Center at 51 South Pearl Street, Albany, NY 12207.

Brackets can be found here.

Tickets can be purchased from Ticketmaster here.

Select semi-final and final matches will be broadcast exclusively on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel. Check listings for times.

SESSION #1 Friday, February 26
8:30 am    Doors open
9:30 am    Parade of Champions/National Anthem/Sportsmanship Awards
10:00 am – 2:00 pm    Preliminaries: Division 1 and 2
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm    Quarterfinals: Division 1 and 2
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm    Wrestlebacks: Division 1 and 2

SESSION #2 Saturday, February 27
8:30 am    Doors open
9:30 am    National Anthem
10:00 am – 12:30 pm    Semifinals: Division 1 and 2 & Wrestlebacks: Division 1 and 2
12:30 pm – 2:00 pm    Wrestlebacks/Cons Semifinals: Division 1 and 2
2:00pm – 3:30 pm    Consolations Finals: Division 1 and 2

SESSION #3 Saturday, February 27
5:00 pm    Doors open
5:50 pm    Ceremonies begin
6:00 pm    Finals: Division 1 and 2 mats only (awards every 5 changes)

Feed the Panther!

Pete

Cliffton Wang – 3rd in NYS!

Just walked in the door after driving back from Albany and the NY State Championships. By this point, I’m sure most of you have seen how we fared on Facebook and Twitter. I’ll certainly be writing again to talk a bit more about that but right this second I felt I really needed to thank a lot of people for such a tremendous weekend and really didn’t want to wait!

First, I need to thank our coaching staff. We have the best coaches and role models in New York State: Bill Magner, Tyler Sick, Matt Lee, Manny Alayon, John Marsh, David Rice, Mike Mitchell, Jedd Chesterson, Timmy Hopkins, Derek Grant, Rob Breitenbach. They are the reason our program is where it is. These guys work TIRELESSLY, most on a volunteer-basis, for no other reason than to help our student-athletes achieve their dreams. You guys have no idea how much we all appreciate what you do. This weekend was no different – scouting, filming, warming our guys up, whatever it took, you guys made it happen. Thank you!

My awesome wife, Katie, who helped coordinate so much of our “operation” yesterday and has been so supportive of our wrestlers (and her husband) all season and this weekend. I love you!

Of course, Kyle and Cliff who both showed so much heart and fight this weekend, it was inspiring. While both fell short of their ultimate goal of becoming NY State Champions, both became tougher, stronger and better as young men and athletes this weekend. Kyle battled in every match and capped off a stellar career that included All-State Honors and over 100 career victories. Our loss next year is NYU’s gain. Cliff lost in a controversial overtime match in the quarter’s and then battled back to win 4 straight matches to take 3rd in NYS! So incredibly proud of both of them.

Thanks to Hunter Moore and Surmed Khan for making the trip up to Albany to support Kyle and Cliff. What awesome teammates and great members of our program! They showed they truly understand our program’s core values.

Thanks to our parents, of course the Aslanian’s and the Wang’s, but all of the others, as well, who have been so supportive of our program and our wrestlers all season.

Thanks to our AD, Anthony DeRosa, who, in his first year, has done so much to support our kids and our program. I wish everyone could see what goes into it behind the scenes and how much help he’s been.

Finally, thank you to our amazing alumni and fan base. Your support over the year has been humbling and motivating for our wrestlers, our coaches and myself. Your emails, your Facebook comments, your attendance at our matches all speak volumes. I feel like everyday I have another story to tell our wrestlers about an alumni who reached out with their support and encouragement.

It’s amazing how much can be accomplished when so many people work so selflessly toward a common goal.

I’m very grateful that we’ve had wrestlers qualify for the State Championships every year for the past 10 years. That’s a rare feet in it’s own right that puts us among the elite of wrestling programs. I’m also grateful to have coached 10 wrestlers to All-State Honors over those years. I’m very fortunate to be part of such a special program. Thanks again.

More updates soon!

Feed the Panther!

Pete

We got about two dozen emails asking for more about the States this past weekend, so here ya go!

Kyle and Cliff hydrating and fueling after weigh-ins.

Kyle Aslanian (132 lbs)
Kyle ended his HS career like a warrior. After getting the wildcard bid to States a few days after Sectionals, Kyle jumped right back into his training with a new focus and a terrific work ethic. He definitely made improvements which is rare to see in the short period between Sectionals and States.

In Kyle’s 1st match, he took on 5th-seeded Tyler Lapiene of Ogdensburg. Lapiene is a former All-State wrestler and a game opponent. He got off to an early lead on Kyle and took a 4-0 lead into the 3rd period. Knowing where Kyle is strong and having scouted Lapiene, we took top and Kyle went to work. He was able to turn Lapiene twice to take a 6-4 lead and win the bout. You can check it out for yourself right here!

In the quarter’s Kyle wrestled Brandon Gould of Watkins Glen. Gould’s takedown in the 1st period led to him taking a 3-1 lead into the 3rd. Kyle threw everything he had at Gould and almost scored back points in a couple of situations, but Gould managed to hold him off, scoring a reversal and backs right at the end as Kyle went for broke.

In wrestlebacks, Kyle faced Babylon’s Brett Frole. Once again, Kyle did not hold back as he worked with everything he had to score on Frole. Frole scored the winning takedown in an out-of-bounds situation that involved Kyle injuring his ankle pretty badly. Frole managed to squeak by with a 5-3 decision.

Kyle had a tremendous career here at Edgemont that saw him achieve All-State Honors, over 100 career victories and reaching the Sectional Finals four times. He has been a great leader of our program and will be sorely missed next year as he looks to continue his wrestling career at NYU.

Cliffton Wang (170 lbs)
Cliff opened up his tournament against Locust Valley’s John Pendranghelu. After giving up the first takedown. Cliff came alive and stormed back to win an 11-2 major decision.

In the quarters, he saw a familiar foe in Schulerville’s Tyler Green. Cliff and Green wrestled twice at this year’s Eastern States Classic. They had split results at Eastern States with Cliff winning the first bout and Green getting the victory when they met again in the 7th place bout.

This match ended in what we thought was a 7-6 decision for Cliff. The ref raised his hand. The assistant ref then pointed out a scoring error and that resulted in them declaring a tie and forcing OT. This was about a minute or two after they had raised Cliff’s hand. I think this unexpected shake-up caught Cliff understandably off-guard and he lost in sudden victory OT.

Despite the controversial loss, Cliff pulled himself together really well. He won 1 more match that night with a 1:40 fall over Cambell-Savona’s Geoff Hargrave to make the 2nd day.

The first round the next morning was the blood round, where he had lost last year. The winner is guaranteed All-State, the loser goes home empty-handed. Cliff wrestled Micah Miller of Maine-Endwell.

After a scoreless 1st period, Miller took bottom right away when he won the toss and escaped about 30 seconds in. Cliff eventually got to his takedown and took bottom in the 3rd with a 2-1 lead. He managed an escape and another takedown in the 3rd to win 5-1 and secure his first career All-State Honor.

In the consi-semi’s he won a 4-2 decision over Alexander’s Matt Gaiser on the strength of a 2nd period reversal and tilt.

In his 3rd place bout, Cliff wrestled another kid who had beaten him earlier in the season, 2nd-seeded James Hoeg of Mattituck. Hoeg gets in on knee-pull singles against everyone he wrestles. That’s how he took Cliff down to beat him the first time. Hoeg managed to get in on that shot 4 times during the match and took Cliff down in the first period. Cliff escaped in the first and 2nd periods to make score 2-2.

On their feet in the 3rd period, Cliff showed great composure and defended all of Hoeg’s attacks. Cliff got to his own takedown coming off of a lefty boot-scoot with 3 seconds left to win the match and take 3rd in NYS!

Here’s the 3rd place bout:
Last, but not least, here’s Cliff on the podium!
Stay tuned, guys. We have a bunch more cool insider videos coming at you in the next few weeks to thank you for being so awesome and supportive this season!

I was fortunate enough to be able to watch most of the NCAA Wrestling Championships this weekend with our entire coaching staff at MSG.

If you’ve never seen it, you absolutely have to. It’s one of the purest sporting events you’ll ever see. No million dollar contracts waiting for these guys, no glory outside of the wrestling community – just 330 student-athletes who have worked incredibly hard most of their lives for a chance to reach their dreams.

As a coach of this sport and knowing what goes into it for the athletes, it’s both thrilling to watch the victories and heart-wrenching to watch the defeats. For all of our coaches, this is true at the NCAA tournament and even more so with our own athletes at Edgemont, whose journeys we’re so personally involved in.

Friends always ask why I’m so tired after a wrestling tournament – “all you did was sit there.”

When I get home from a wrestling tournament I’m physically and emotionally exhausted. My body feels like it’s wrestled each of the dozens of bouts I’ve coached. Our entire staff feels similarly – we’ve talked about it.

You’re so emotionally invested in the successes and failures of your student-athletes and the roller coaster of emotions they face during the wrestling season, it’s easy to ask yourself why you do it.

Anyone who knows me or any of our coaches knows EXACTLY why we do it: to help our kids develop the qualities and characteristics that will make them successful. The adversity and struggle our wrestlers face, the wins and the losses, the exhilaration and the heartbreak are all a part of this.

The sacrifices we make as coaches are always worth it when we know the important life lessons have become a part of our student-athletes.

Hunter Moore ’16

Last month, graduating senior Hunter Moore wrote about what he got out of our program and the impact it’s had on him (by way of a few “Pete-isms”). Rather than tell you about it, I think you need to see it yourself:

When I came to Edgemont in 5th grade, I didn’t know anything about wrestling or the impact it would come to have on my life. Over the years wrestling has taught me many lessons and a lot about myself. As I prepare to put on an Edgemont singlet for the last few times and reflect back on my years wrestling for Edgemont, these are some of the lessons that I will take with me:

“The Buck Stops with You”
You can easily fault your situation for your lack of success, but YOU are the one that controls your destiny. In life, no one cares about your excuses. There is no one to blame for failure but yourself. And if you do fail, try again, and again, and again, because eventually you will succeed. If you want to double your success rate, triple your failure rate. Champions are made when no one is watching.
 
“Battle Stations!”
Everything you do in life should be done with a purpose, like you are going to battle.  Bringing intensity to what you do leads to success.
 
“Don’t Settle for Mediocrity”
The majority of people will coast through life giving 70%. These people stay in the middle of the pack their whole life. I will not be one of those people.
 
“Be a Finisher”
Finish what you start with the same intensity you started with.
 
“One More”
If you apply the “one more” mentality to everything you do, your potential is limitless. You can’t go from being a beginner to a state champion in one day but if you improve by just 1% everyday, it will add up.
 
“Be Grateful”
It is important to look around you and realize all you have to be grateful for. Sometimes it is instrumental in lifting your spirits. But most importantly, time is limited and you never know what will happen next. Take nothing for granted.
 
“The Hay is in the Barn”
Wherever it is you choose to keep your hay, whether it’s a barn or cabin, the hay will be there if you put the work in. Believe in yourself.
 
“Process over Outcome”
Everything is a process. It is important to realize this and not to get hung up on outcomes. Focusing on the outcome will only impede your success whereas learning from the process will make your success that much greater.

The lessons I have learned while wrestling for Edgemont are invaluable. Win or lose, no one can take these lessons away from me. My coaches have been an essential part of my growth and success on and off the mat and I know that I would not be where I am today without them. The level of dedication and knowledge they bring is unmatched and I will draw on their example throughout my life.
 
I have no doubt that the lessons I learned and the toughness I developed at Edgemont Wrestling instilled in me will be integral to all of my future endeavors.  I encourage everyone who can to take part in or to support Edgemont Wrestling and I hope that it changes their lives like it changed mine.

– Hunter Moore  ’16

It’s so rewarding to see our wrestlers internalize these lessons and apply them to the rest of their lives. That’s truly what it’s all about.

Hope you guys found this as great as we did!

More updates soon!

Feed the Panther!

Pete

Some quick updates on some various goings-ons (is that a word?) with our wrestlers and our program!

Junior Nationals
Cliff Wang just got back from competing in the NHSCA Junior Nationals in Virginia Beach this past weekend. Cliff’s weight had over 70 of the toughest juniors from around the country!

Cliffton Wang

After getting knocked off in the first round by an absolute stud, Cliff went on to rattle off four straight wins, including a major decision and two pins, before getting caught and pinned in a scramble.

Cliff was two wins away from achieving All-American status which is pretty awesome, but more importantly he really opened up his offense in every single match, which is a big step forward for Cliff in high-level competitions. He truly capitalized on the amazing opportunity he had to compete in that kind of environment and got better because of it! Looking forward to more great things from Cliff!

MAWA’s

Andy Williams

Cliff wasn’t the only one competing this past weekend. As Coach Tyler Sick, Maunil Kothari and Andy Williams (as well as our esteemed alumnus Tyler Aslanian ’14 – now wrestling at Ithaca College) loaded up the car and headed up to Canisteo, NY just outside Rochester and near the hometown of Coach Tyler.

Maunil Kothari

Everyone wrestled hard. Andy took 3rd. Tyler Aslanian made it to the bronze medal match as well and injury defaulted to take 4th. And last, but not least, “Old Man” Tyler Sick made it to the finals and had to forfeit due to a should injury so he took 2nd. Great job all around!

Coach Tyler “Old Man” Sick

Also a big thanks to Coach Tyler’s parents who provided tremendous hospitality opening up their home to our wrestlers! Thanks!

Off-Season
So our off-season training is in full swing and a lot of our veteran guys are working hard – after all, we gotta keep making you guys proud to be fans!

We’re excited to let you know a bunch of our guys have been training at local wrestling clubs in the area. The commitment these guys have been showing to making themselves better is inspiring. I’m fired up and there should be a few more varsity guys that join their teammates at these club in the coming weeks so they don’t fall too far behind!

Panther Tough
There really is this tremendous energy with our team this spring that is noticeably different from prior years. I think it has a lot to do with the “Panther Tough” culture and values we’ve been developing in our student-athletes over the last few years. Because you’re associated with this program, I know you’re aware that there is no secret recipe or shortcut to success. It comes from making the right choices and living your life the right way on a consistent basis.

Our Panther Tough culture and values help our student-athletes by giving them the guidance they need to make this happen. I get a lot of questions about this so thought I’d let you guys behind the curtain with a quick look at exactly what our Panther Tough Core Values are:

1.  Teamwork – commitment to doing what’s best for the team

• Service – constantly striving to serve your teammates
• Respect – for teammates, coaches, parents, teachers, opponents and officials
• Sportsmanship – competing with class

2.  Accountability – holding yourself and others responsible for their actions

• Leadership – setting the example at all times

3.  Attitude – Consistency, Coachability, Enthusiasm, Positivity, Gratitude

4.  “One More” – pushing beyond your perceived limits

• Process over Outcome
• Determination – to handle adversity and achieve goals
• Confidence – persevering through the highs and lows of competition and training

It makes me proud to know that any wrestler in our program could recite these to you. We talk about them everyday… we even have two “Panther Tough” team meetings each week during the season to dig even deeper!

Like I said, there is no shortcut to success but there is a game plan! You can read a little bit more about our Panther Tough values here.

#PantherTough student-athlete! Freshman
Nick Meglino working on his homework by
cell phone light on the bus ride home from
our match. Keep #FeedingThePanther!

We spend so much time talking about our varsity guys, it’s important to take a step back and acknowledge the reason our program is so successful is because of the concerted of efforts of our wrestlers, parents and coaches at all levels.

One of the greatest things that sets our program apart from any other athletic program at Edgemont or any other wrestling program in the area is our view that we are not a wrestling “team” – we are a wrestling “program.”

From our 2nd graders on our youth team to our post-grads competing in college and our alumni that come back as coaches – we have all worked so hard to create a cohesive, coordinated and united program from top to bottom. To fulfill our mission of “building Champions on the mat and in life,” we work hard to build a culture and develop values in our wrestlers from the bottom up.

I love telling anyone who will listen that we have THE best coaching staff in NYS and that is absolutely true at all levels.

Mike Mitchell who runs our youth program does such an amazing job that we were up to 59 kids in our youth program this year, grades 2 to 6. More than we’ve ever had before and a testament not only to Mike and the program he runs but to all the kids involved and the environment we created for them!

Our modified team is no different. Jedd Chesterson and Rob Breitenbach have been getting better and better each year helping our wrestlers make the transition on the modified team from youth wrestling in 6th grade to varsity wrestling in 9th. We couldn’t ask for a better feeder situation for our varsity team. Similar to our youth team, actions speak louder than words. We had been struggling with the numbers on our modified team the past two years having rosters of 6 or 7 kids. This year however, a lot of the hard work by our coaches started to pay off! We had 18 kids on our modified roster this year – the largest we’ve had in years and are fired up about the future for these kids!

I know it’s easy for me to sit here and speak so glowingly of our staff because I know the effort they put in, but I figured we could show you much better than I could tell you, so please check out these quick videos we have about our youth and modified teams and see for yourself! (More importantly – PLEASE feel free to forward either or both of these videos to any parents, kids or friends that might be interested next year!)

Edgemont Youth Wrestling

Edgemont Modified Wrestling

I’m fired up today to announce to you our 2016 Post-Season Award winners!

Obviously, as usual, we’ve had our share of guys who were honored for their competitive achievements (more on that in a second) but more importantly, at our recent banquet, we were able to give out our internal team awards.

These team awards are really the ones that bear the most significance for our program – they’re based more on the process than on the outcome.

These awards give us the chance to recognize the student-athletes in our program who have gone above and beyond, demonstrating our Panther Tough values and setting an amazing example for everyone else in the program! I think you’ll see why when you read about each award. Our coaching staff agonized this year over our selections as each award really had a few kids who were deserving…not complaining though – this is a pretty awesome “problem” for us to have!

So without further ado…

• All-State, Section 1 Wrester of the Year and Section Champion – Cliffton Wang ’17
• All-Section – Kyle Aslanian ’16, George Mellor ’17, Max Worobow ’16, Cliffton Wang ’17 (All-Section Honorable Mention – Hunter Moore ’16)
• All-League – Andy Williams ’17, Nick Meglino ’19, George Mellor ’17, Kyle Aslanian ’16, Hunter More ’16, Max Worobow ’16, Cliffton Wang ’17, Alex Ravazzani ’17, Surmed Khan ’17 (All-League Honorable Mention – Chris Eppolito ’16)

• MVP and Academic Award – Cliffton Wang ’17

• Coaches Award – Max Worobow ’16

• Sean Ross Award – Named after wrestling Class of 2006 alumni and former coach, Sean Ross. This award is given to the Ultimate Teammate – always supportive and always doing whatever he can to help the team – qualities that Sean always exemplified as an athlete.
  Kyle Aslanian ’16

• Captains’ Award – Chosen by the current captains, this award is given to the most dedicated, hardest-working freshman or sophomore during the past season.
  Nick Meglino ’19

• Eric Kantor Award – Named after Edgemont’s first-ever wrestling coach and long-time program supporter, Eric Kantor. The award is given to the athlete who best exemplifies the qualities of good sportsmanship at all times throughout the season.
  Zeke Cohen ’17

• George DiChiara Award – Named after Edgemont’s longest-tenured Head Coach, George DiChiara. This award is given to the athlete who best exemplifies the characteristics Coach DiChiara strived to teach on a daily basis – Class, Character and Competition.
  Hunter Moore ’16

• David Rice Award – Named after wrestling Class of 2008 alumni, David Rice. Dave went from a barely .500 record his junior year to Section Champion, Sectionals Most Outstanding Wrestler and All-State his senior year. This award is given to the wrestler who has shown the most improvement since his last season.
  Andy Williams ’17

• Panther Award – Given to the wrestler who best demonstrates an ability to overcome adversity with mental toughness and resilience.
  Chris Eppolito ’16