GRAY BEES SEEM TO BE PUTTING IT TOGETHER AT THE RIGHT TIME
Eight grapplers place in D.C. tune-up for National Prep qualifier

February 14, 2011

The Gray Bees head into this weekend’s National Prep qualifier with plenty of momentum.

Chris Dowdy and Vinnie Bellaran will lead SBP contingent into Poly Prep this Saturday, fresh off victories in the 33-team St. Albans Invitational in Washington, D.C.

Dowdy and Bellaran were among eight wrestlers who placed 7th-or-higher at St. Albans this past weekend, which has St. Benedict’s coach Solomon Fleckman cautiously optimistic headed into the national qualifier.

“It was a very positive weekend and we have it going in the right direction,” said Fleckman. “I think we are making progress toward where we want to be at the end of the year. But there is still a lot of wrestling left to determine how it all shakes out.”

Dowdy, a National Prep runner-up last year, won the crown at St. Albans at 140 pounds, while Bellaran, a transfer from Manasquan who can make a strong run at a national prep title this year, claimed the 171-pound title.

Those two, plus much of the Gray Bees starting varsity lineup, won’t be in action when the New Jersey Preps are contested on Wednesday (Feb. 16) at Blair. Fleckman, for good reason, doesn’t want his wrestlers to go all out in a meaningless state meet only two days before having to compete in a national qualifier.

The state Preps used to be the barometer as the national qualifier until last year when a number of New York teams joined the fray.

“It doesn’t make sense for our guys to have to compete in the state preps only a couple days before a national qualifier,” said Fleckman. “Hopefully this situation can be rectified in the coming years. But with the set-up like this, the best wrestlers will most likely be sitting out the state preps.”

Besides Dowdy and Bellaran, a number of other Gray Bees wrestlers gained a huge boost of confidence heading into the national qualifier at Poly Prep in Brooklyn after fine efforts at St. Albans.

Helping SBP place 5th in the team standings in D.C. were the third-place efforts of Jawan Jones (103 pounds), Whitney Forte (130) and Isaiah Cromwell (189); the fourth-place finish of Terrell Forbes (152); the fifth-place showing of Don-Tai Garner (135) and the seventh put up by Chris Reynolds (215).

The wrestlers who make it through the qualify test at Poly Prep will come back the following Thursday-through-Saturday (Feb. 24-26) to compete in the National Prep Championships at Lehigh University.