SPRING ’05 NEWSLETTER

The 2004/2005 wrestling season has come to a close but what a season it was for Olympic Wrestling Club! It was memorable in many ways but mostly because of the championships it produced for so many of our fine young men.

Let’s begin by congratulating all of our wrestlers who have worked so hard and accomplished so much this past season. The time and effort they put into the season resulted in many of them achieving their lofty goals.

Most notable among the many titles won by our wrestlers were the New Jersey High School State Championships won by;

* Dan Vallimont (for the 2nd time!) – 140lb - Jefferson HS - attending Penn State * Tom Fazio – 145lb - Lakeland HS – attending Brown

As well as our other State Medalists;

* John Trumbetti – 3rd - 112lb – St. Joseph’s * Ricky Eichenlaub – 6th - 160lb – Pascack Hills

And the Regional Championships won by:

* John Trumbetti – 112lb – St. Joseph HS (Reg 2) * Tyler Milonas – 112lb – Jefferson HS (Reg 1) * Brad Arlington – 125lb – Mahwah HS (Reg 2) * Dan Vallimont – 140lb – Jefferson HS (Reg 1) * Tom Fazio – 145lb – Lakeland HS (Reg 1)

In addition, Olympic had 5 County Champions and 16 District Champions! And the best evidence of the quality and quantity of wrestlers in our room is the fact that we sent 35 wrestlers to the Regionals and 16 of them placed and moved on to the States in Atlantic City! For a small club like ours these are amazing statistics and a real tribute to our hard working kids and superb coaching staff headed up by our Director of Wrestling, Florian Ghinea. You can find a complete listing of our wrestlers who won championships and/or medaled in the States, Regions, Districts, and Counties on our web-site at www.olympicwrestlingclub.com.

Olympic also had a record 28 Junior wrestlers qualify for the States! And of those 26, 15 medaled! Our Junior State Champions are:

* Frank Cagnina – 80lb – Intermediate * Chris Villalonga – 85lb – Intermediate

And our other State medalists are:

* Patrick Creamer – 6th – 65lb Bantam Chuckie Slater – 5th- 70lb Midget * Dylan Milonas – 2nd - 75lb Midget Johnny Sebastian – 3rd – 90lb Midget * Travis Picariello – 8th – 110lb Midget Connor Melde – 4th - 75lb Junior * Matt Dottino – 7th – 125lb Junior Andrew Wrede – 3rd – 95lb Inter. * Chris Lombard – 5th – 105lb Inter. Vince Perry – 3rd – 125lb Inter. * Mike Magaraci – 4th – 140lb Inter. Chris D’Amico – 8th – 152lb Inter. * Dan Clarke – 3rd – 140lb Cadet

Now that April is here our sights are set on the new season…and our work has already begun. We have a room full of junior and high school wrestlers who are hard at work looking to improve their performance. Beginning immediately we’ll be focusing on free style on Monday and Wednesday evenings, and scholastic techniques on Sundays.

Also, we’ll be introducing our Summer Special packages beginning June 1st. These packages enable wrestlers to come to the Club any 24 times they want between June 1st and August 31st for only $375 for high school wrestlers (8th grade and above) and $360 for juniors (7th grade and below).

And, attached are details regarding our Summer Champ Camp. Camp dates are June 27-30th and the cost is only $125 per wrestler. This is our first summer camp and we’re excited about the prospects. Each wrestler will get a minimum of 2 matches per day (8-10) over the four days – about a 1/3 of a season’s worth of matches in just a 4 day period! This match experience along with the instruction from Florian’s team of guest instructors, makes this a great head start on the season.

And lastly, we’re in the process of forming our Olympic Wrestling Teams. Florian and I are planning to enter high school and junior teams in several tournaments over the summer as a way to get our wrestlers match tough. Details are being worked out but anyone interested in wrestling under the Olympic banner should see Scott.

In parting, Florian and I want to thank you all for your continued support over this past year. Our enrollment has grown, our wrestlers have improved, our reputation has spread, and Olympic is definitely on the move. We’re gratified by the response from the wrestling community but recognize this is a world where you are only as good as your last win. We’re not resting on our laurels. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve all aspects of our operation and are happy to get your feedback. For example, we know we can do a better job getting more timely information on our web-site. It’s something we feel can be a helpful communications tool and we’re working to upgrade our service.

Thanks again for your confidence in our Club. We’re dedicated to developing good wrestlers and good men. It’s an awesome combination!

Here’s to take downs and pins!

Florian and Scott

Olympic Wrestling Club