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Some Final Words on the Season from Coach O'Neill
I would just like to send out one more Congratulations to ALL of this year's
Wootton Wrestling team. Every one of you has put in a tremendous amount
of work and should be proud of all of your accomplishments. Coach Cook and I
had a great time coaching you and we hope that everyone comes back next winter to try
to improve on the success we had this year. Until then, keep checking the
website, forum and your e-mail for info on Camps, Freestyle/GrecoRoman clubs,
Open Mats and Tournaments.
SUMMER WRESTLING REALLY DOES MAKE WINTER CHAMPIONS!
I would also like to thank all of the parents who drove to tournaments and matches,
submitted pictures, came to support the team or just adjusted your schedule so
that your son or daughter could practice and compete.
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Banquet 2008
Coaches, wrestlers and their families, and friends of Wootton Wrestling celebrated in carnivorous style at Green Field Churrascaria Brazilian barbecue in Rockville March 9. Coaches Cook and O'Neill honored the Patriot wrestlers for the team's fine varsity and JV seasons, and thanked the many people who helped out in making the season successful.
Varsity finished the season 7-7 in non-tournament competition, with three wrestlers (Mike Barbaro, Shane Bramble and Scott Oberst) placing in the Regional Tournament, and Bramble and Barbaro moving on to compete in the State Tournament. JV squad had a successful year as well, with many wrestlers placing in tournaments, and as a team losing just once.
JV Honors:
Most Improved JV Wrestler: Ben Parzow
JV Most Valuable Wrestler: Alex McSween
Varsity Honors:
Most First Take-Downs Award: Shane Bramble
Most Improved Wrestler: Scott Oberst
Most Valuable Wrestler: Mike Barbaro
The Patriot Award, for exemplifying the Patriot tradition of leadership, self-improvement and dedication to the team:
Dennis Deychak and SuYoung Park
One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of paper plate awards, put together by team captains Mike Barbaro, Dennis Deychak, Jeremy Rosenthal, Jack Corbett, Machine Park and David Taylor (along with guest presenter Sam Hollman). Here is a sample of those:
1st Annual Best Wrestler in the History of the World: David Taylor; the 3rd Annual Prestigious and Coveted "Rock 'n' Roll Pajamas" Award: Shane Bramble; TV Dinner Award (Wrestler Most Likely to Fit In a Microwave Oven): John Whitridge; Best Female Wrestler in the Entire School Award: Uyen Nguyen; the "Cranby" Award: Arash Fallah; the "CRADLE!!!!" Award: Volunteer Coach Scott Goldschein; "That Kid Used to be on My Team" Award: Volunteer Coach (and Junior League Coach) Ralph Barbaro; and "We've Got a Bleeder" Award: Volunteer Coach Mike Tritto.
Mr. Whitridge has put together an amazing album of photos, which are viewable -- and can be downloaded -- here (thanks, John!):
http://picasaweb.google.com/jwhitridge/2008WrestlingBanquet/
The coaching staff and wrestling families are grateful for all the support offered by so many parents during the season: photography, driving to matches and tournaments, volunteer coaching, helping with senior recognition, designing the match and banquet programs, putting together the slide show, helping out at concessions, and many, many other tasks that made this season a success. Thanks to the following families for their contributions in putting together the banquet: Barbaro (Sherry B's awesome craftswomanship is on display with the tie-dyed Patriot Wrestling pillows presented to seniors and coaches); Corbett; Firestone; Hollman; Rampp; Rosenthal; and Sureff. SPECIAL thanks to Coach Tony Maturana for getting the ball rolling on banquet planning.
To Coaches O'Neill, Cook and Maturana: on behalf of team parents, thank you for your dedication, patience and commitment to our wrestlers. We are deeply grateful for your positive influence in guiding what our kids do on and off the mat.
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Shane and Mike Featured
in Potomac ALMANAC story on State Tournament.
Take a look (click on photo to get to the story).
or go to:
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=94622&paper=70&cat=150
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Important Info on Navy Camp
Click Here for document
Navy Wrestling Camp has distributed important information, including registration procedures, a map, and camp rules. Please click on the link above to get this information (which also was sent via email to all registered wrestlers).
A strong Patriot crew is lined up to attend the Naval Academy Team Wrestling Camp in Annapolis from June 29-July 3. If you want a sense of what wrestling camp will be about (including a nice tour of the weight room AND ever-important dining hall), take a look at this video:
http://www.flocasts.org/flowrestling/resources.php?id=28
For additional information regarding what to bring and other logistics, please go to
Camp Website
http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/05-06-team-camp.html
(If this camp doesn't work for your family, please see item below for camp alternatives.)
Questions? Contact Coach O'N -- Kevin_O'Neill@mcpsmd.org. Thanks to the coaches for getting this program together.
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Attention: Naval Academy Camp Attendees
Camp begins this Sunday. Please plan to arrive for registration (at the Academy Stadium in Annapolis) by noon to meet up with Coach O'Neill and your teammates near the registration desk. Handouts are available through the link in the item below (you also should have received an email from the camp containing the same documents).
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Holiday Wrestling Tournaments
Wootton Wrestlers participated in two different tournaments over the Holidays. Here’s the recap:
The Damascus Holiday Tournament is one of the toughest tournaments in the area. Top private and public school teams from Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and D.C. came to go head to head with some of the best around. With only 10 wrestlers entered, Wootton placed 16th in a tough field of 19 teams. The team would have placed a few spots higher with a full roster of wrestlers. Almost all Wootton wrestlers were able to secure at least one win in the tournament and two wrestlers were able to place at the event.
· Mike Barbaro, 4th place at 145 lbs.
· David Taylor 7th place at 189 lbs.
The Reservoir JV Tournament is an annual tournament that plays host to many Montgomery and Howard county JV programs. Wootton wrestlers were given a chance to display what they have learned this year or how much they have improved from last year. Almost all Wootton wrestlers were able to secure at least one win in the tournament and four wrestlers were able to place at the event.
· Larry Somerville – 2nd place 145 lbs.
· Greg Potemken– 2nd place 130 lbs.
· Mitch Rampp – 3rd place 171 lbs.
· David Sureff – 4th place 119 lbs.
Congratulations to all of the Wootton wrestlers and coaches for successful tournaments over the break.
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At the risk of sounding sexist, there is strong evidence that watching wrestling matches can be particularly tough on moms. With this in mind, we bring you the "Moms Can't Watch" photo gallery. You will find it under "Photo Albums" under the Main Menu at left.
If you have more examples to expand the collection, please email them to: cgcorb928@comcast.net. Thanks!
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Patriot Varsity Has Winning Weekend
Varsity Patriot grapplers came away with two wins over the weekend, beating Wheaton 63-15 and Gaithersburg 45-21.
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Poolesville Punishes Pats 43-25; JV Squad Wrestles Well
The Patriot varsity grapplers suffered a frustrating 43-25 loss to Poolesville Wednesday night. Several wrestlers (Bramble, Mears, Barbaro and Park) scored strong wins, while others battled hard but lost closely contested matches. On the plus side, the Patriot JV squad put up more points than their Poolesville counterparts, with a number of young wrestlers showing good progress.
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Patriots Battle at Arundel Duals
Congratulations to all the Patriot wrestlers and Coaches O'Neill, Cook and Maturana for showing tremendous heart, intensity and stamina in wrestling eight teams in the marathon Arundel Duals tournament. The Patriots faced some of the toughest competition in the region. The team finished 2-6, just missing on a couple of the contests, and gained invaluable experience on the mat. Among the team's most successful wrestlers this weekend were seasoned sophomore Mike Barbaro, who went 6-2, senior David Taylor (5-3), junior Jeremy Rosenthal (5-3)(at left), senior "Machine" Park (4-4) and relative newcomer junior Sam Hollman (photo right), who was one of 22 wrestlers (in a tournament of more than 250 athletes) who went undefeated. Many thanks to the faithful fans and families who made the trek to Arundel and made it possible for the team to get there and back. The tournament was a great opportunity for the wrestlers to pull together as a team.
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Pats Crush Kennedy 72-12; Team Honors Seniors
The Patriot varsity beat the Kennedy Cavaliers 72-12 in a brisk contest that lasted less than an hour. The thinness of Kennedy's roster meant plenty of forfeits and limited wrestling (including no JV contests). All Patriot scoring came on forfeits and pins. The afternoon's highlight was recognition of our graduating seniors, wrestlers SuYoung (Machine) Park (below), Dennis Deychak (at left), and David Taylor (right, with Coach Cook), as well as our managers Amanda Hoy and Amelia Titus (below right). Head Coach Kevin O'Neill offered observations about the contributions of all of the seniors, emphasizing their dedication to the Patriot wrestling squad. Congratulations to our seniors and their proud parents.
The recognition ceremony would not have been possible without the contributions of several parents: Kim Sureff (design of the special senior program; she also does ALL of the home match programs!); Mike Hollman, photography; Sherry Barbaro, flowers, moral support and good sense; and Cindy Rampp, helium balloons and also moral support/good sense.
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County Tournament
The Patriots competed Feb. 21-22 in the Montgomery County Individual Wrestling Tournament, which was shortened to a single-elimination format due to inclement weather. Picking up wins at the tournament for the Patriots were Shane Bramble (125), Scott Oberst (135), Mike Barbaro (145) and Sam Hollman (215). Scott was the only Patriot to place at the tournament, qualifying for 5th/6th place (bouts to determine 5th and 6th placewinners were not held due to the tournament modifications caused by the weather cancellation. Congratulations to all the wrestlers; thanks to family and team supporters for coming out to watch the action; and thanks to Coaches O'Neill, Cook and Maturana for their commitment and support at this marathon event.
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Bramble, Barbaro Compete in State Tournament
Congratulations to Shane Bramble and Mike Barbaro, who competed in the State Wrestling Tournament at University of Maryland's Cole Fieldhouse. Shane (125 lbs.) and Mike (145) both qualified for States by taking 4th place in their respective weight classes at the 3A/4A West Regional Tournament. Scott Oberst took 5th in the 135-pound class at Regionals. Congratulations to all Patriot wrestlers who competed -- Jeremy Rosenthal, David Taylor, Sam Hollman and Nabil Lotfi -- and wrestled very hard against the best in the 3A/4A West Region. Congratulations also are due Coaches Kevin O'Neill, Lee Cook and Tony Maturana for their dedication. And thanks to all the Patriot faithful -- teammates, parents and fans -- who made the trek to Sherwood HS to cheer on the competitors.
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Join Wrestling Listserv (email list)
September 21, 2007 --
Do you want emailed news and notices about Wootton Wrestling to come straight your Inbox? Then send a message to cgcorb928@comcast.net, identifying yourself and indicating your interest in being added to the Wootton Wrestling listserv.
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Patriots Rock the Rams 50-24
December 18, 2007 --
The Patriots made a strong showing against the Rockville Rams, working through much of Rockville's lineup and putting up a score of 50-24. Six Patriot wrestlers -- Bramble, Oberst, Barbaro, Deychak, Hollman and Lotfi -- pinned their opponents. Jeremy Rosenthal and Eric Mears won by major decision (by eight or more points). Although the opportunities for JV wrestlers were quite limited due to a lack of Rockville opponents, the Patriot JV grapplers who got matches performed very well, particularly when considering they all were wrestling opponents from higher weight classes to provide an extra challenge.
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Churchill Slips by Patriots; JV Posts Win
Despite some heroic wrestling by the Patriots, a victory against the Churchill Bulldogs proved elusive as the Pats fell to their archrivals 30-28 Wednesday night in varsity competition. Wootton JV squad continued its winning ways by defeating Churchill's JV. Thanks to all the fans who turned out to support the team.
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Banquet: March 9
Banquet Invitation Here
All wrestlers and their families are invited to the team's end-of-season banquet on Sun., March 9 at 5pm. Don't wait to respond -- RSVPs are due Feb. 23. We hope to see you!
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Mad Mats Tournament a Success
Congratulations to the Patriots wrestling team and Coaches O'Neill, Cook and Maturana for getting the season off to a strong start with a successful Mad Mats Tournament. The team took 9th overall, against some very tough competition and with holes in some weight classes. Placing in the tournament were: Mike Barbaro (4th); Jeremy Rosenthal (4th); Shane Bramble (5th) (see photo) and David Taylor (5th).
Strong performances were turned in by all other Wootton wrestlers competing: John Whitridge; Aaron Kay; Kyle Nisson; Scott Oberst; Jack Corbett; Dennis Deychak; Mikey Maroulis; and Mitch Rampp. Several of these wrestlers are freshmen, competing in their first varsity tournament.
Thanks to the JV wrestlers, injured 171-pounder "Machine" Park, Patriot families and all team supporters who turned out Friday and Saturday, including head coach emeritus Chris McTamany and family, and Mat Club coaches Scott Goldschein and Mike Tritto. Special thanks to parent/Mat Club Coach Ralph Barbaro for masterful statisticianship and general support, and team managers Amanda Hoy and Amelia Titus for their help and dedication.
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Patriots Fall to Tough Northwest Squad
The varsity grapplers lost 19-46 to a tough team from Northwest HS. Highlights for the Patriots were pins from Dennis Deychak (160) and David Taylor (189), and a strong win (major decision) from Sam Hollman (215) wrestling in his first varsity match.
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Grapplers Fall to Whitman, Magruder
Despite some valiant individual efforts (including a pin by senior Dennis Deychak, left), the Patriots as a team fell to Whitman and Magruder on Dec. 15. The grapplers are looking for a win Tuesday, Dec. 18, when the team faces Rockville away beginning at 6pm.
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Important FROM COACH: All Varsity AND JV Parents/wrestlers, please read!
There has been some confusion about this week's JV Dual practice and next
weekend's Arundel Dual Tournament. Here is some information about the activities that will hopefully answer some if not all of your questions. If you still have
questions after reading the following, please do not hesitate to contact
Coach O'Neill by either calling the school, 301-279-8577 or by e-mailing Coach
O'Neill, Kevin_O'Neill@mcpsmd.org.
Northwest JV Duals, Monday January 21st (MLK Day)
This is a combined JV practice that all available JV wrestlers are expected
to attend. This is the second year that Northwest will be hosting the JV Dual practice. There will be
5-7 JV teams at Northwest High School from 8am-12 noon with the intention
being to get as many wrestlers as many matches as possible. The Wootton JV team
will be paired up against other teams, matching wrestlers of similar weights
against each other. Last year we were able to get 4 "dual meets" in and every
wrestler in attendance got at least two matches against wrestlers from other
schools. This is a great learning experience and we would like to bring as many
wrestlers as possible. Last year the event was held in the school's main gym
and seating was provided for parents who wish to stay and watch. Since this is
an informal event, wrestlers are instructed not to wear their singlets but
regular workout (practice) apparel. Parents are responsible for transporting
their wrestlers. Wrestlers attending should be at Northwest
High School (13501 Richter Farm Road in Germantown-- from Wootton, go straight up north on Great Seneca Hwy-- school on your left)
no later than 7:50 so that wrestling can start on time at 8:00.
Please notify the coaching staff in advance if you will not be attending.
There will be no varsity practice
on this day but varsity wrestlers are encouraged to
come to Northwest to cheer on their teammates.
Arundel Duals Tournament, Friday and Saturday, January 25th and 26th
This is a Varsity Dual tournament. Different from the bracket
tournaments (Mad Mats and Damascus Holiday) we have competed in, this tournament
will consist of all dual meets (similar to a regular season meet) in which the
entire team wrestles against an entire team from another school. Each team is
scheduled to wrestle 8 matches over the two days. The teams will be placed in
pools in a semi-seeded format based on: win/loss record; strength of schedule;
and whether teams have already met or will meet. On Friday each team will
wrestle at least 3 matches (possibly 4) in their pool. On Saturday, teams will
complete their pool competition before the next competition round (4 matches).
Teams are encouraged to bring more than one wrestler per weight class to
maximize the available wrestling opportunities. Following completion of pool competition on
Saturday, the top teams from the initial pools will wrestle on two mats,
placed in a modified eight-team seeded bracket (8 Teams, Double Elimination, 1st Round
losers to 5th and 7th, Semi-final losers to 3rd). The bracketing arrangement may be altered to ensure
the most competitive teams reach the finals bracket. The event committee and/or
tournament director shall determine the composition of the final bracket. The
goal of the bracket is for the most competitive teams to meet during the event.
The remaining teams will be assigned to wrestle "consolation" duals against
teams they didn't face in earlier pool competition. Match-ups will be assigned
by the tournament director, with some challenges as approved by the tournament
director.
Because this is such a long event and our team and wrestlers will be
wrestling 8 times in two days we would like to bring some JV guys with us in
case of injuries or in some cases, just to give our Varsity guys a break if they
have a tough match coming up. Remember this is a team event and wrestlers do not
get eliminated after one or two losses. All weight classes will be wrestled 8
times. We are allowed but not required to bring 20 wrestlers to the event.
Since Arundel High School is about an hour away from Wootton we are arranging
and paying for local hotel rooms for coaches and wrestlers to cut down on travel
time and allow the wrestlers more time to sleep Friday night. The wrestlers
choosing to stay in the hotels will be supervised by the coaching staff and will
be driven to the hotel Friday night and from the hotel back to Arundel High
School Saturday morning. Wrestlers who cannot stay in the hotels may still
participate in this event but their parents are responsible for transportation
home Friday night after the event and back to Arundel High School Saturday
morning. We expect wrestling to end around 9-10 o'clock Friday night and
weigh-ins on Saturday morning start at 8a.m. Friday weigh-ins begin at 2p.m.
and the participating wrestlers will be leaving the school around 12:30, missing 7th and 8th
period on Friday. Wrestlers are expected to notify their teachers in advance of
the absences and make up any work that they may miss while out of school.
Transportation will be provided by parents and coaches to Arundel on Friday
afternoon and back to Wootton on Saturday after the conclusion of event. All
Varsity wrestlers are expected to attend and the coaching staff would like to
select 4-6 JV wrestlers to participate as well.
IMPORTANT: To make the selection of which wrestlers we will be attending the event easier, Coach O'Neill asks that ALL
wrestlers (Varsity and JV) discuss the tournament with their parents and notify
me through e-mail (Kevin_O'Neill@mcpsmd.org) whether or not the wrestler
will be able to attend event and whether or not the wrestler will be allowed to
stay in the hotel. If you have more questions about the event please feel free to contact us for more information.
Kevin O'Neill
Technology Education Teacher
FOT Online Instructor
Varsity Wrestling Coach
Thomas S. Wootton High School
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Patriots Fall to Swarmin' Hornets;
The Patriots fell to Damascus 55-9 Tuesday night. While the wins were few, several matches were close, so the score doesn't tell the whole story. The Wootton wins came at 127 and 132, as freshman Shane Bramble pinned Damascus' Bobby Velisek and junior Jeremy Rosenthal decisioned Marty Higgins 13-7. Many were awaiting the rematch between the 147-pounders, masterful Mike Barbaro and Damascus' highly regarded Zeke Gammill, who have faced each other in tournaments. The wrestlers battled to a 4-4 tie in regulation time, and Gammill took this one in sudden-death overtime. These opponents may well face each other again at the County tournament Feb. 22-23.
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Patriots Top Blake, Lose Heartbreaker to Blair
With veterans of last year's landmark wrestling team there to cheer them on, Patriot varsity wrestlers bounced back from a bitter loss to Poolesville on Wednesday to split a tri-meet over the weekend, topping a strong Blake team 39-27 and losing a heartbreaker to a tough Blair squad 39-36.
There was plenty of intensity in both battles, with three matches decided in overtime, a number of matches decided by 1 or 2 points and many Patriots recording pins against one or both teams: Oberst (2), Hollman (2), Taylor (2), Nisson, Rosenthal, Mears, Barbaro, Deychak and S. "Machine" Park. The team's younger wrestlers worked very hard and earned solid experience as they continue on the path to becoming seasoned wrestlers.
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Patriots Blast RM Rockets
Patriot varsity worked over a depleted Richard Montgomery lineup Wednesday night, winning 65-9. The team has won three in a row and is 6-5 in dual contests (non-tournament).
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Weekday PRACTICE SCHEDULE
We will hold practice from 3:00-5:30. From
2:20-2:50 all wrestlers will attend Academic Support Time (AST).
After school wrestlers are required to check-in with Coach O'Neill before 2:20
and inform him how they will use their AST.
Wrestlers with a 2.5 GPA or
less on the first report card will be required to either stay in Coach
O'Neill's room and work on homework OR meet with a teacher for after
school help. If a wrestler meets with a teacher for after school help
they will need to show Coach O'Neill a note saying that they have done
so.
Wrestlers with a 2.5 GPA or above on their first report card will
be allowed either of the first two options or they can go to the weight
room with Coach Maturana to lift until 2:55 (extra 5 min because they
will already be changed and ready for practice).
The coaching staff hopes the AST program will help the team in a number
of ways.
-Improve the overall academic performance of the team.
-Allow students to participate in other clubs and/or activities
simultaneously with wrestling.
-Improve team building by having the wrestlers work together
academically as well as athletically.
-Allow time for students to make up or retake tests or other assignments
without missing practice time.
Coach O'Neill will send out progress reports with the wrestlers every
two weeks after the start of the season and if their GPA slips below a
2.5 or they do not meet any of the other requirements (all HW submitted,
respectful in class, etc) then they will lose their privilege to lift
and will be required to use AST for school work.
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Varsity Rips Walter Johnson 66-11
The Patriot varsity pinned its way through much of Walter Johnson's lineup Saturday (see Jeremy Rosenthal at left and Shane Bramble at right; photos courtesy of Mr. Whitridge), dropping just three matches. Patriots next face Richard Montgomery away on Wednesday.
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JV Fares Well at Tournament
Two Patriot wrestlers, Larry Somerville and Alex McSween, placed and six teammates picked up wins at Saturday's Gaithersburg JV tournament. Somerville was the 152-pound tournament champion. Larry picked up four wins on his way to the championship, defeating wrestlers from BCC, QO and two from Damascus. McSween took 3rd place, wrestling in the 125-pound weight class. Alex took one forfeit in addition to three wins to earn his third-place finish. Other wrestlers picking up wins for the Patriots were: Demetri Tzamaras, Denys Podlyesnyy, Adam Nieman, Matt Greenblatt, Ben Parzow (see photo, courtesy of Mr. Whitridge) and Greg Potemken. Congratulations, and thanks to coaches, teammates and parents for their support.
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Wootton Wrestling 2007-2008 Calendar is Available
Click here for Calendar
August 9, 2007 --
Parents and wrestlers, please keep in mind that the team will be attending the Damascus Holiday Tournament this year. This tournament falls on the December 28th and 29th (over winter break). To compete in this tournament wrestlers are REQUIRED to attend the two practices prior to this event (Dec 26th and 27th). ALL practices over winter break are mandatory unless your absence has been cleared with Coach O'Neill in advance. Failure to attend these practices or the tournament could result in the loss of a varsity spot for the remainder of the season.
ALSO: JV wrestlers will be going to Reservoir HS for a tournament on Thursday, Dec. 27, which is not reflected in the calendar handout.
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