Upper Arlington High School Wrestling Program

2011-2012 Season Recognition

admin — Sun, 11 Mar 2012 13:12:21 +0000

Upper Arlington Wrestling Alumni and Friends:

The Upper Arlington High School Wrestling Program recently completed its 57th season at its annual banquet on March 7th.

The 2011-12 season was highlighted by the team’s second place finish at the OHSAA Sectional Tournament, which marked the program’s highest Sectional Tournament finish since 1990. Nine Golden Grapplers finished in the top four at the Sectional to advance to the OHSAA District Tournament at Hilliard Darby High School. These individuals included freshmen Thomas Cooper (106) and Keith Neely (132), sophomores Blake Reid (152) and Jared Drake (182), juniors Vito DiBenedetto (138), Danny Watson (160), and Cam Gardner (220), and seniors Skyler Sowry (170) and James Lowrey (195). DiBenedetto was Upper Arlington’s top finisher at the District Tournament, finishing 6th at 138 lbs.

At the banquet on March 7th, several awards were handed out. They included the following:

Thomas Cooper earned the team’s Most Improved Award. The freshman 106 pounder won 25 matches this year and finished 2nd at the Sectional. Down the stretch, Cooper beat three opponents at the Sectional and District Tournament that had beaten him during the regular season. Cooper placed 3rd at Bishop Ready and the All North, and 4th at Kettering Fairmont and Groveport-Madison.

Keith Neely won the Tim McClellan Outstanding Freshman Award, named after the program’s first freshman state qualifier in 1984. Neely won 28 matches and finished 3rd at the Sectional Tournament. In addition, he won championships at Upper Arlington and the All North during the regular season. In his match to qualify for the District Tournament, Neely pinned a wrestler who had beaten him three times during the regular season.

Andrew Steedman received the Robert Kelly Outstanding Team Member Award. A senior and two-year letterwinner, Steedman won 20 matches and was a consistent performer for the Golden Grapplers this year. His commitment and dedication this year epitomized the award given in honor of former team member Bob Kelly, who died tragically in an automobile accident in 1983.

Andrew Hennessey received the Blazek Brothers’ Sportsmanship Award. A senior captain and three-year letterwinner, Hennessey won 15 matches during the year despite missing three weeks to injuries to earn the award, which is given in honor of former Golden Grapplers Jay, Dave, Mark, and Scott Blazek.

Nick Pavoni earned the 15th Man Award, given annually to the team member who contributes significantly to the success of the team but is not in the varsity line-up at the end of the year. A freshman, Pavoni won 18 matches during the season, despite wrestling up two weights from his natural weight class. He finished 2nd at Upper Arlington, 3rd at the All North and Dublin Scioto, and 4th at Bishop Ready.

James Lowrey won the Ohio Capital Conference Scholar-Athlete Award, given annually to the individual who demonstrates both proficiency in academics and athletics. A senior captain and two-year letterwinner, Lowery has a 4.16 GPA and is considering Harvard, Princeton, and the honors program at Ohio State among his college choices. He was a two-time District qualifier, OHSAA State Alternate in 2011, and finished 3rd at the Sectional this year despite sitting out almost all of the season due to complications from an emergency appendectomy.

Junior Vito DiBenedetto collected the Most Wins Award (38) and Holman Brothers’ Most Falls Award (22). The latter award is named after Scott and Rex Holman who rank first and second on the Upper Arlington career falls list with 78 and 66 falls, respectively. Scott Holman was a two-time state runner-up in 1984 and 1985 while Rex Holman was a two-time state champion in 1987 and 1988. DiBenedetto captured the championship at Kettering Fairmont and reached the championship finals at Upper Arlington, Bishop Ready, the All North, and the Sectional.

Based on a vote of the team, Skyler Sowry won the Dick Fryman Most Valuable Wrestler Award. As a senior captain and three-year letterwinner, Sowry overcame a nagging back injury that had ended his season early the previous three years. He finished with 33 wins and won championships at Upper Arlington and Bishop Ready Winter Classic, and finished second at Dublin Scioto. Sowry was also named Columbus Dispatch Athlete of the Week during the week of January 2nd. A leader by hard work and example, Sowry set the pace for the Golden Grapplers all season to earn the award named after former Upper Arlington Head Coach Dick Fryman, whose teams captured seven league, two Sectional, and two District team championships while compiling a remarkable dual meet record of 49-6-1 from 1965-72.

Special guests in attendance to present awards included former Upper Arlington Head Coach Dick Fryman, 1982 OHSAA State Quarterfinalist Jay Blazek, and two-time OHSAA State Champion and NCAA Champion Rex Holman.

Juniors Danny Watson and Vito DiBenedetto were announced as captains for the 2012-13 season.

With seven returning District qualifiers, which is the most for the program since 1987, expectations are high for the 2012-13 season. Your support of this effort is critical. In the coming months, look for information on how you can help the program as we seek to return Upper Arlington Wrestling to the top in Central Ohio.

Go Bears!

Matt Stout

Head Wrestling Coach, Upper Arlington High School

Season Wrap Up

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 20:59:01 +0000

UA wrestling wraps up its season after the State Tournament this weekend with its recognition banquet on Wednesday March 7 at 6:30pm in the cafeteria at UAHS. Wrestlers, family and friends from the high school, middle school, Mat Cubs, and alumni are welcome to attend. Contact Robin Sowry for RSVP and details.

UA’s season concluded last week at the District Tournament. Click here to read This Week’s account of the District Tournament and comments from Head Coach Matt Stout.

Also, don’t forget to check-out our photo gallery for the entire season.

The 2012 banquet will recognize outstanding individual and team contributors this year, and captains for the 2012-2013 season will also be announced.

UA Finishes 2nd in Sectionals Qualifying 9 for Districts!

admin — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:08:47 +0000

Congrats to the UA wrestling team who finished second in the Central Ohio Sectional Tournament and qualified nine wrestlers to the Central Ohio District Tournament! Count em…nine!

UA’s 2nd place finish is the highest team finish in the Sectional since they finishing 2nd in 1990. The nine District Tournament qualifiers is also the most since 1990 as UA qualified 11 wrestlers that year. Of note, 1990 was head coach Matt Stout’s senior year at UA and he was one of those 11 wrestlers.

UA’s winning performance occurred at the Sectional Tournament held at Central Crossing. Dublin Coffman won tournament with 196.5 points compared to UA’s 174.5 points which just nosed out 3rd place finisher Worthington Kilbourne with 174 points.

Individual results are below along with sectional and overall season records…

106 Thomas Cooper – 2nd (2-1, 24-17)
113 Stuart Gieser – DNP (0-2, 1-11)
120 Andrew Steedman – 6th (2-3, 20-23)
126 Peteer Devillebichot – DNP (1-2, 4-12)
132 Keith Neely – 3rd (3-1, 27-14)
138 Vito DiBenedetto – 2nd (2-1, 33-9)
145 Andrew Hennessey – 6th (2-3, 15-18)
152 Blake Reid – 2nd (2-1, 17-4)
160 Danny Watson – 3rd (3-1, 18-10)
170 Sklyer Sowry – 3rd (3-1, 32-8)
182 Jared Drake – 2nd (2-1, 25-12)
195 Jamie Lowery – 3rd (3-1, 7-2)
220 Cam Gardner – 4th (2-2, 6-7)

The district brackets are available at this link

http://www.baumspage.com/cedist/hi1/2011/2012%20Brackets.pdf or in text form at the link http://www.baumspage.com/cedist/hi1/2011/2012%20Pairings.txt

Congratulations to all the UA wrestling bears and good luck at Districts!

Strong Performances

admin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:01:10 +0000

Dual Match Result – UA 39 – Thomas Worthington 31

UA wrestlers posted a strong pinning performance this past week in outlasting Thomas Worthington 39-31 in a dual match. The Bears recorded 4 pins and 2 major decisions to win the match. Of note, co-captain and 2011 District placer Jame Lowery is now healthy and returned to the lineup for the first time this season.

UA winners were…

Thomas Cooper (106) – Fall
Keith Neeley (132) – Fall
Vito DiBenedetto (138) – Fall
Taylor Neeley (152) – Decision
Danny Watson (160) – Major Decision
Skyler Sowry (170) – Fall
Jamie Lowery (220) – Decision
Cam Gardner (285) – Major Decision

All-North Tournament

On Saturday Feb 4th, UA finished 3rd in the historic All North Tournament behind Dublin Jerome and Grove City. The team score was quite close and UA was leading going in to championship round despite giving up valuable team points by having no entry in three weight classes.

Individual Performances, Place, Tournament Record, and Overall Season Records…

106 – Thomas Cooper – 3rd (3-1) (22-16 overall)
113 – Stuart Gieser – DNP (1-4) (1-8 overall)
120 – Andrew Steedman – 2nd (4-1) (18-20 overall)
126 – No entry
132 – Keith Neely – 1st (5-0) (24-13 overall)
138 – Vito DiBenedetto – 2nd (4-1) (33-8)
145 – No entry
152 – Taylor Neely – DNP (3-1) (21-13)
160 – Danny Watson – 3rd (3-1) (16-9)
170 – Skyler Sowry – 3rd (3-1) (29-7)
182 – Nick Pavoni – 3rd (3-2) (18-21)
195 – Jared Drake – 2nd (3-1) (23-11)
195 – Jamie Lowery – 3rd (3-1) (4-1) (non scoring extra)
220 – No entry
285 – Cam Gardner – DNP (0-3) (4-5)

On Feb 11th, JV will be in action at the John Post Invitational at Westerville North, freshman will wrestle at the All State Freshman Tournament at Dublin Scioto, and the varsity will take the opportunity to get healthy and prepare for the Sectional Tournament on Feb 18th.

Recent Results – Season Records – Upcoming Matches

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:20:32 +0000

On Thursday Jan 26th, UA was victorious over Westland by a team score of 54 to 24. Check out the awesome photos in our gallery here.

UA winners were:

Thomas Cooper (106) – Fall
Nikhil Makhija (126) – Forfeit
Keith Neely (132) – Major Decision
Vito DiBenedetto (138) – Fall
Andrew Hennessey (145) – Fall
Taylor Neely (152) – Fall
Danny Watson (160) – Major Decision
Skyler Sowry (170) – Major Decision
Nick Pavoni (182) – Fall
Jared Drake (220) – Fall

On Saturday Jan 28th, UA participated in the Groveport Cruiser Invitational. Individual place, tournament record, and overall season records are below…

106 – Thomas Cooper – 4th (3-2) (18-15 overall)
113 – Luke Fetch – DNP (0-2) (0-15)
120 – Andrew Steedman – 5th (4-2) (14-18)
126 – No entry
132 – Keith Neely – 4th (3-2) (18-13)
138 – Vito DiBenedetto – 3rd (4-1) (28-7)
145 – Andrew Hennessey – 5th (3-2) (13-15)
152 – Taylor Neely – 4th (3-2) (17-12)
160 – Danny Watson – DNP (1-2) (12-8)
170 – Sklyer Sowry – 4th (3-2) (25-6)
182 – Nick Pavoni – 6th (2-3) (15-18)
195 – Jared Drake – 5th (2-2) (20-9)
220 – No entry
285 – No entry

You can catch the varsity, jv, and freshman wrestling Bears in action on Thursday Feb 2nd at Thomas Worthington High School…wrestling starts at 6pm.

On Saturday Feb Feb 4th, UA will participate in the historic All North Tournament being held this year at Dublin Jerome…wrestling starts at 9am.

Go Bears!!!

Busy Week of Wrestling

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 01:22:47 +0000

Your UA wrestling bears are in action all over town this week. Check out a match…

Wed Jan 25 – Jones Middle School vs. Hastings Middle School. @Hastings. Wrestling begins at 4:30. Watch future high-schoolers in action.
Thu Jan 26 – Varsity, JV, and Freshman @Westland. JV and Freshman begins at 6pm. Wrestling begins at 7pm.
Fri Jan 27 – Selected JV will wrestling in a tournament at Hilliard Bradley. Wrestling begins at 4:30.
Sat Jan 28 – Varsity @Groverport Madison in the Cruiser Invitational. Wrestling begins at 9:30.

Go Bears!

Support UA Wrestling by Eating at Carsonie’s on Jan 24,25, or 26th.

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:41:22 +0000

You can help support UA Wrestling by eating at Carsonie’s on Lane Avenue on January 24th, 25th, or 26th. Our wrestling boosters take a cut of any non-alcoholic item on the menu – order in or carry out – lunch or dinner – just mention UAHS Wrestling Team when ordering.

You can pass along the information using this flyer – Carsonies Fundraiser.

I recommend the stromboli!

Top Ten Reasons You Need to be at the UAHS Gym on Jan 19th!!!

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:37:33 +0000

1) Free T-Shirts to the first 150 UAHS Students in the door
2) Free I-Pad giveaway to one UAHS Student
3) UA Freshman/JV Wrestlers vs. Worthington Kilbourne at 6pm
4) UA Varsity Wrestlers vs. Worthington Kilbourne at 7pm
5) Sumo Wrestling in inflatable Sumo outfits halfway through the varsity match between two UAHS students
6) UA Senior Wrestler Recognition
7) UA Middle School Wrestler Recognition
UA Mat Cubs Wrestler Recognition
9) UAHS Cheerleaders
10) Yes, #5 did say inflatable sumo wrestling outfits

BE THERE!

Sowry Named Columbus Dispatch Athlete of the Week

admin — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:33:24 +0000

Congratulations to Senior Captain Skyler Sowry for being named a Dispatch high-school Athlete of the Week. Sowry earned this recognition by winning the Bishop Ready Winter Classic Tournament including 5 of his 6 tournament wins by pin. Read all about … Continue reading →

Bears Take 2nd Place at Bishop Ready Holiday Classic Tournament

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 18:18:05 +0000

The wrestling Bears competed at the Bishop Ready Holiday Classic Tournament this past week and finished 2nd out of 21 teams with 239.5 points. Whitehall won the tournament with 274 pts. Eleven Bears earned team points contributing to this 2nd place finish including three wrestlers in the finals. Blake Reid (160) and Skyler Sowry (170) both won their weight classes and Vito DiBenedetto (145) finished second.

All of the Bear placings are below including their overall season record…

106 – Thomas Cooper – 3rd; 5-2 overall (Season Record: 11-8)
113 – Luke Fetch – DNP; 0-3 overall (0-5)
120 – Andrew Steedman – 3rd; 5-2 overall (7-10)
126 – Peter Devillebichot – DNP; 1-2 overall (2-5)
132 – Keith Neely – DNP; 2-2 overall (10-6)
138 – Andrew Hennessey – DNP; 2-2 overall (4-8)
145 – Vito DiBenedetto – 2nd; 6-1 overall (16-3)
152 – Danny Watson – 5th; 4-3 overall (4-3)
160 – Blake Reid – 1st; 5-0 overall (14-2)
170 – Skyler Sowry – 1st; 6-0 overall (16-2)
182 – Nick Pavoni – 4th; 5-2 overall (8-10)
195 – Jared Drake – 3rd; 5-1 overall (12-4)

Watch for photos in a few days.