Beat the Streets Philadelphia, has recently been nominated as a finalist for the first ever Wawa Foundation “Hero Award”. BTSP has already secured a $10,000 grant for being a finalist, and will be vying for a $50,000 grant alongside 3 other Philadelphia area non-profits. According to Wawa, the “Hero Award” is, “an honor given to non-profit organizations serving the greater Philadelphia area that assist others and helps to advance communities through preserving our freedom, protecting our safety, inspiring learning, and encouraging and empowering others to become better citizens and community members”. These values hold true to the principal BTSP was founded on, all children have the potential to be productive citizens when provided with the proper support. BTSP aims to positively alter life’s trajectory for underprivileged youth in the Philadelphia area, and has been incredibly successful, reaching over 1000 students at 20 different school and community programs in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
The winning organization will be announced in front of the Independence Hall on the 4th of July. The event is part of the Wawa Welcome America Festival, a multi-day festival running from June 27th-July 4th all over Philadelphia.
The winner of the award will be selected through a public vote starting today, Monday June 20th and ending on Wednesday June 29th. BTSP is an ever expanding organization, and a $50,00 grant would allow us to start more wrestling programs, help more kids, and ultimately help shape a better Philadelphia. We need your help to make this possible. Vote, share on social media, and let everyone know that Beat the Streets Philadelphia needs their help in order to win this grant!
Vote Here: The Wawa Foundation Hero Award
Author: BTSPhilly
BTSP Wrestlers Represent Philadelphia in Times Square
Beat the Streets Philadelphia had 5 wrestlers participate in the “United in the Square” exhibition held in Times Square this past Thursday, May 19th. The weather was perfect, and the air was thick with excitement as fans pressed together against the guard rails trying to get a glimpse of the outdoor action. The juxtaposition of the world’s oldest sport, against the hyper real, digital advertisement laden New York City backdrop was something to behold, as the matches were displayed to thousands, plastered across big screen televisions affixed to towering skyscrapers. Numerous passerby’s wandered into the event, curious to get a glimpse of the battling modern day gladiators, many of whom had never seen a wrestling match before in their lives. From a marketing perspective, the Beat the Streets event was a massive success garnering positive attention and interest to a frequently overlooked and underrepresented sport.
The Beat the Streets wrestlers opened for the main event, Jr. and Sr. level matches featuring the US National Teams vs. International competition. The BTS Philly crew wrestled admirably, with Angel Garcia earning a first period pin over BTS-NY’s Joe Perez, and Edwin Morales picking up a 21-8 tech fall over BTS-NY’s Simon Chee. BTSP’s Ronald Palmer had an exciting bout with Prep National runner-up and Stanford commit, Jake Barry. Although he dropped a back and forth 14-11 decision, Ron hit arguably the slickest move of the evening, a beautiful cutback trip for 4 points that dropped jaws and earned a standing ovation from the spectators. Ernest Holland and Tiarra Andrews also represented BTSP, wrestling tough, but eventually losing their matches by fall.
After getting off to a tough start, Greco World Bronze medalist, Andy Bisek, dropping a close 3-0 bout to former world champion Kim-Hyeon Woo of South Korea, team USA looked excellent. Returning Women’s World Champions Helen Maroulis and Adeline Gray won by pin and tech fall respectively against their Canadian opponents. Daton Fix, Mitch Mckee, and Mark Hall all were victorious in their matches against members of the Iranian Jr. National Team. While Zahid Valencia lost to returning Jr. World Champion, Mojtaba Goleij. The surprise of the night was newcomer to the international scene, J’Den Cox’s dominating 10-5 Sr. level victory over bona fide Iranian Stud, Meisam Mostafa Joukar. In the last match of the night, 4-time world champion and USA Wrestling poster boy, Jordan Burroughs took care of business and dismantled Pehman Yarahmadi, 11-2.
Overall, the event was quite the spectacle, and the Beat the Street Philadelphia wrestlers gave their all and represented their programs, schools, and city with pride.
BTSP Qualifies 4 for Fargo National Championships
Beat the Streets Philadelphia had 7 wrestlers place this weekend at the State Freestyle and Greco tournaments. Kyla Arroyo finished first in her women’s junior freestyle bracket, while Tatyana Ortiz won her women’s freestyle cadet bracket. Both of these wrestlers qualified for Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota later this summer. Joining them in representing Team Pennsylvania at Nationals will be Ernest Holland, who placed third in cadet freestyle, and Miles Lee who took third in Jr. Greco. Other placers from BTSP included Tiyian Weatherspoon who took 4th in schoolboy Greco, Daishawn Tilghman who took 4th in cadet Greco, and Alex Koenig who took 4th in Junior Greco.
All 7 placers are now eligible to train at the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center located in Philadelphia. There they will be instructed by Head Coach and Olympic Gold Medalist Brandon Slay, as well as a handful of other highly credentialed coaches including 2 time NCAA champion Matt Valenti, the head coach of the University of Pennsylvania, Adam Tirapelle, and the head coach of Drexel University, Matt Azevedo.
Nationals will take place between July 16th and July 23rd in the Fargodome on the campus of North Dakota State University.
Beat The Streets Philadelphia Qualifies 78 Spots for Freestyle and Greco State Tournaments
This past Weekend South Philadelphia High School hosted a Pennsylvania Regional Freestyle and Greco qualifying tournament. The top 4 placers at each weight qualified to compete in the state Freestyle and Greco tournaments at Chambersberg High school this up coming weekend. The Beat the Streets Program performed exceptionally well qualifying 29 spots in Greco Roman and 49 in Freestyle with 10 Greco champs and 9 Freestyle champs respectively. BTSP wrestlers, Ernest Holland, Ronald Palmer, and Miles Lee won championships in both styles.
One of the most compelling storylines from this weekend was BTS wrestlers Miles Lee and Edwin Morales running into each other in both styles. These two wrestlers were both state qualifiers during the high school folk style season, an incredible accomplishment, especially in the talented loaded state of Pennsylvania. They wrestled once in freestyle and three times in Greco due to limited competitors in the brackets. Myles came out on top in all 4 bouts, but Edwin wrestled admirably, and never quit fighting despite bumping up to 195 pounds, 25 pounds heavier than his high school weight class. If these two wrestle to their abilities in Chambersberg, it is more than possible that they could have a rematch in the state finals. This speaks volumes to the level of wrestlers BTSP has been developing.
Wrestlers who place top 4 at states automatically qualify for Nationals. Kids Nationals takes place from July 6th– 8th in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Cadet and Junior Nationals are held in Fargo, North Dakota from July 16th to July 23rd.
BTSP Wrestlers to Compete in United in the Square Showcase
Beat the Streets Philadelphia is taking some of its top wrestlers to New York this Thursday to wrestle exhibition matches in the Beat the Streets New York, United in the Square showcase. The main event highlights members of the US National and Jr. National teams wrestling against members of the Iranian National teams. The BTS Philly wrestlers will be going head to head on the undercard against members from the New York and Baltimore chapters of Beat the Streets.
Representing BTS Philly will be, 7th grader Tiarra Andrews, a first year wrestler and honors student who is improving rapidly, 8th grader and 2 time PJW state champ Angel Garcia, Jr. state qualifier Miles Lee, Sr. 2-time district champion Ronald Palmer, and Sr. state qualifier Edwin Morales. Their matches will be held in the middle of Times Square in front of thousands of spectators, wrestling fans and tourists alike.
Edwin Morales, who is finishing up his Sr. Year at Mariana Bracetti Academy, can’t wait to wrestle on such a large stage. In particular, he’s looking forward to opening for Jordan Burroughs, the returning World and Olympic champion. “It’s an honor to compete on the same mat Burroughs is wrestling on. He’s a legend” Morales says. Edwin is also excited for the opportunity to wrestle outside; an experience he’s never had before. The match will take place under freestyle rules, which is slightly disappointing for Edwin whose preferred style is folk due to his ability to control a match with his top wrestling skills. Never the less, he is experienced and talented at freestyle as well, qualifying for freestyle states last weekend at the South Philadelphia High School regional qualifier. He will be taking on Simon Chee, a public school athletic league champion from the BTS NY program. The match will take place at 185, 15 pounds heavier than Edwin was wrestling during the school year. Edwin isn’t nervous though, he’s confident that he’s big enough to solidly fill into the weight class. At the end of the day, Edwin is thankful, and looking forward to having fun wrestling at an iconic venue in front of such a large crowd.
Edwin Hitting a 4 Point Throw. Photo By James Mangan.
The event will be live streamed by Flowrestling, and will be available to watch with a paid subscription. The BTS exhibition matches begin at 3:45 eastern standard time, while the main event will start at 6:00. A gala will be held after the event for those who have made donations to the event.
Remembering Morris Johnson
I’d never had a wrestling coach quite like Morris Johnson. He seemed too nice compared to the normally, gruff, no-nonsense coaches I had grown up wrestling for. He was a soft spoken prototypical gentle giant with a warm smile that was infectious, even during a tough conditioning session. He could have been braggadocios, or at least held an air of cockiness, after all he was a Division II Champion and 2-time finalist for San Francisco State. He wasn’t though. In fact, he was one of the humblest people you could ever meet. I didn’t find out about his incredible accolades until years later when I had finished wrestling. He never brought them up at practice. He kept it focused on us, the kids. Morris was the kind of coach that you worked hard for because you wanted to make him proud. I only knew him as a youth club coach, but his prowess stretched much further than that. He was the assistant coach at San Francisco State, and also bounced around to help at Arizona State, and the University of Pennsylvania. A lot of success the upper weights had at Penn in the late 90s and early 2000s can be accredited to the work Morris put in with them.
Morris had the urge to help people, whether it was on honing their wrestling technique, or helping them deal with their problems. He received a PHD in counseling from Bryn Mawr College which he put to use as a psychologist specializing in family therapy and children suffering from domestic abuse. He worked at the Philadelphia Child Guidance Center and later moved to the Delaware County Intermediate Unit. As Morris once said in a 1988 interview with the Sun Sentinel, “There are a lot of problems in the world, and I`d like to help solve some of them.” Morris accomplished that goal, helping countless individuals over the course of his life. He even directed some of them towards Beat the Streets Philadelphia, putting them in situations to excel that would have never been available without his guidance.
While you could write a fine piece on Morris’s accolades alone, he has a lot of them, DII National Champ, Pan-American Greco Champion, California Wrestling Hall of Fame member, San Francisco State Hall of Fame member, just to name a few. You would be remiss if you didn’t mention the lasting impact he left on those around him. Morris Johnson’s legacy will be remembered as a great wrestler, but an even greater man who helped as many people as he could with the time that he had.
Ronald Palmer
Ronald Palmer had a feeling he was going to make a pretty good wrestler. He was stronger then most kids his age, his muscles honed from years of parkour and breakdancing. These unique pastimes gave Ronald a sense of body awareness, and flexibility that served him well on the wrestling mats. Ronald had almost unheralded success that most Philadelphia wrestlers fall short of achieving when they start their careers as freshmen. He became Mariana Bracetti’s first ever 2-time district champion, and joined the exclusive 100 wins’ club. More importantly however was how Ronald’s involvement in wrestling jumpstarted his academics. Although never a poor student, Ronald didn’t exactly emphasis his school work. Once he started having success on the mat, he realized if he wanted to wrestle in college, he would have to be successful in the classroom as well. Ronald exemplifies what Beats The Streets Philadelphia strives to do. For the first time in his life, he began taking honors level classes, and his hard work finally paid off. This fall Ronald is set to attend Kutztown University where he will continue wrestling and majoring in business. Although his high school wrestling career didn’t end how he would have liked, a heartbreaking overtime loss in a match that would’ve qualified him for states, Ronald cannot wait to get on the mats in college.
Derick Morton
Derick Morton didn’t know what he was going to get from wrestling when he first started as a 9th grader at Martin Luther King High School. 4 years later, after finishing up his freshmen year at East Stroudsburg University he’s better suited to answer that question.
“Perseverance, not giving up when the going gets tough.”
Derick is a dual major in physics and environmental studies. Two majors known for their difficult classes and large course loads. While that would be a full plate for most college students, Derick also plays rugby on the school’s club team, sings in the Triumph Gospel Chorus, is a member of the school’s multicultural club, the environmental club, and the NAACP. Balancing the plethora of academic and social commitments, wasn’t easy, and Derick admits his grades struggled when he first got on campus. However, Derick persevered, and stuck to a rigorous daily schedule, that started with class, and then his mandatory club meetings, followed by finishing his homework in the dorms. After all of that was done, he allowed himself to socialize and hang out with his friends and Rugby teammates. Derick credits the sport of wrestling for pushing him to never give up, and to work through his problems as well as Beat the Streets Philadelphia for pushing him to look at colleges and universities after high school. One piece of advice Derick would give incoming freshmen is to get enough sleep, which is absolutely vital when you have a schedule as full as his.
Offseason Wrestling is Underway!
Many Beat the Streets Philadelphia student-athletes have been working hard and training at our various offseason wrestling facilities. On April 17th BTSP sent 40 wrestlers to the Downingtown West Freestyle Tournament. There was a large turnout at the tournament, with nearly 200 Greco participants and over 300 Freestyle participants. Although the day was long, nearly 8 hours, the BTS squad brought home a haul of medals, including the Philadelphia Atheltic League’s Matt Oniel, who won the 50 lb. Bantam Freestyle Championship.
Beat the Streets Philadelphia will be hosting our first freestyle state tournament qualifier. The qualifier will be held on May 15 at South Philadelphia High School, the same location as the 2016 Philadelphia Public School League Tournament. The athletes that have been putting in the extra time in this offseason are looking to reap the benefits of their hard work and qualify for the Pennsylvania State Freestyle Tournament which runs the following weekend, May 20-22. This tournament is particularly exciting because it is the first BTSP tournament to include wrestlers from outside the Philadelphia area.
First Annual Philly Bowling Fundraiser a Success
Thursday, April 28th Beat the Streets Philadelphia held our First Annual Bowling Night at Lucky Strike Lanes in Center City. The fundraiser was a great success, hosting over 200 attendees in a night filled with fun and entertainment. Mr. Green Genes front man, Bryen O’Boyle, provided music to go along with the night’s many festivities, including bowling, ping pong, giant jenga, connect four, a 50/50 raffle, and our silent auction. A special thanks to our sponsors for making this night a huge success and helping raise money for our program and the kids.