WRESTLERS PERFORM WELL AS LEVEL OF COMPETETION INCREASES
SBP places 4th in Christmas Classic in Pennsylvania

December 30, 2009

The Gray Bees ventured into the unforgiving wrestling territory known as the Lehigh Valley and came away with some very positive results.

Coach Solomon Fleckman’s team produced seven placewinners, including a championship performance by Chris Dowdy, and wound up in fourth place in the team standings in the Christmas City Classic at Bethlehem Catholic High School in Pennsylvania. St. Benedict’s racked up 155 ½ points and trailed a triumvirate of Pennsylvania schools in the team chase: Bethlehem Catholic (233 points), Schuylkill Valley (223) and Whitehall (175).

“The level and depth of the competition was just what we needed at this point in the year,” said Fleckman. “Our guys see now that they can compete nose-to-nose, even in the famed Lehigh Valley, and at the same time, learned just what it means to push hard for every second of a six-minute match.”

Fleckman was especially pleased by the performance of Dowdy, who won the 135-pund crown. Dowdy pinned his way through the three rounds heading into the final and then outlasted Schuylkill’s Mike Giorgio, 10-7, in the championship bout.

“He showed a great deal of poise from the first round, right through the finals, and technically, he is performing at a very high level,” praised Fleckman. “If he continues to work and build at his current pace from now until February, he will be in great shape as we head into Prep Nationals.”

Isaiah Cromwell was the only other SBP grappler to make it into the finals. But Cromwell, who pinned his way into the finals, saw the tables reversed when he got put to his back in the championship match against Dylan Scheidt of Schuylkill and had to settle for a runner-up finish.

Also placing for the Gray Bees were Zach Jacobs (6th at 119 pounds), Rob Ranalli (5th at 130), Ochirbat Bayanjargal (3rd at 145), Bobby Bah (3rd at 160) and Riad Abu-Smail (4th at 215).

“We saw, this week, tangible signs of growth both tactically and technically,” Fleckman said. “It was especially gratifying to see the progress that so many guys have made in getting off the bottom, and in terms of scoring points from the top position. We also had our share of disappointments throughout the two days – places where guys came up just short, or again, had trouble finding the poise to perform under pressure.”

– By Ron Jandoli
– Photos by Christy Worsoe