May’s wrestler of the month, Angel Garcia, has continued his excellent wrestling into June. Last week he accumulated a 15-1 record at the Cadet Duals wrestling for Pennsylvania Red. The team placed 3rd in the Greco-Roman portion of the tournament and 4th in Freestyle. Angel went 8-0 in Greco and made the “All Tournament Team”. In freestyle he went 7-1 only dropping his final match. Angel will be competing at the Freestyle and Greco National Tournament in Fargo, North Dakota later this July looking to bring home All-American honors.
Author: BTSPhilly
May's Wrestler of the Month: Angel Garcia
Angel Garcia has been following up a tremendous regular season, with an even better offseason. The Marianna Bracetti Academy freshman put together a 33-11 record while winning a public league title, taking third in the district, and third in the region. His season ended one win away from qualifying for the state tournament. While many wrestlers take time a break after the season, Angel continued practicing and worked on improving his technique.
Angel put his skills to the test by competing in some of the best offseason wrestling tournaments in the country. In March, he took 7th place to earn All-American honors at NHSCA Freshman Nationals in Virginia Beach. A month later he placed 4th in the prestigious War at the Shore tournament, falling to the eventual champion 1-0 in the semi-finals. Then in May he found himself on top of the podium in both Freestyle and Greco Roman at the Pennsylvania State Tournament. His performance there qualified him to train at the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center, and also earned himself a spot on Team Pennsylvania at Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, later this summer.
Angel’s impressive off season performances have earned him the May Wrestler of the Month honors.
April's Wrestler of the Month: Dymir Davis-Carruth
Dymir Davis-Carruth has been working his whole life towards an opportunity to wrestle in college. Starting at the tender age of 4, Dymir was rolling around on the mats at the Rizzo PAL Center. However, it wasn’t until he started middle school that he really started to excel. As a 7th grader, he placed 4th at the prestigious Eastern Nationals. As an 8th grader he won it. His skill was undeniable, and with the help of his youth coach, Ed Schneider, he was brought to the attention of coaches at the Hill School. Dymir attended tutoring at the Beat the Streets mentoring center in order to get himself prepared for entrance exams and making the jump from middle school to high school.
After getting accepted into the Hill School, Dymir made quite a name for himself on the mat. As a Sr., He was one match away from placing at the National Prep Championships. The loss was heartbreaking, but also provided Dymir with motivation for his future. His goal going forward is to be a 4-time college National Champion and an Academic All-American. After being courted by many schools including various Division 1 colleges, Dymir selected Ithaca College, due to their great balance of wrestling and academics and the opportunity to study physical therapy.
Dymir believes that wrestling is about never giving up, and that mentality translates to everything he does in life. Dymir also stresses the importance of dedication. By dedicating himself to the sport of wrestling, Dymir has opened up doors for himself and set up a pathway to his future built upon his hard work and dedication. For these reasons, Dymir is April’s wrestler of the month.
BTSP Wins 10 Gold Medals at PAWF State Tournament
Beat the Streets had a strong showing at the Pennsylvania Freestyle and Greco-Roman State Tournament, placing 11 wrestlers in the top four in Greco-Roman and 10 in Freestyle. Among those placers were 4 Greco-Roman State Champions and 6 Freestyle State Champions.
Fred Bachman and Joe Bachman won gold in both styles in the Intermediate division. Nikolas O’Neil took home double gold in the Schoolboy division while Reynaldo Garcia took first in Freestyle and second in Greco. Angel Garcia also took first in both styles in the Cadet division. Miles Lee won gold in Freestyle and finished second in the Greco-Roman Junior division.
The top 3 placers at each weight class in the Cadet and Junior divisions qualify for Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota this July. Beat the Streets had three wrestlers qualify, Daishawn Tilghman, who took third in Greco-Roman and fourth in Freestyle in the cadet division, as well as Angel Garcia and Miles Lee. John Dantzler took 4th in both styles in the Junior division and will be an alternate for Team Pennsylvania.
Overall, Beat the Streets earned 21 medals, 10 of them gold, and qualified 3 wrestlers for Nationals. This was one of our best showings to date.
Complete BTSP Placement List
Greco-Roman
Fred Bachman 1st Intermediate 50
Matthew O’Neil 4th Intermediate 55
Joe Bachman 1st Intermediate 65
Dylan Delraso 4th Novice 90
Nikolas O’Neil 1st Schoolboy 70
Reynaldo Garcia 2nd Schoolboy 120
Angel Garcia 1st Cadet 152
Daishawn Tilghman 3rd Cadet 220
John Dantzler 4th Junior 182
Miles Lee 2nd Junior 195
Greg Pugh 4th Junior 220
Freestyle
Fred Bachman 1st Intermediate 50
Matthew O’Neil 4th Intermediate 55
Joe Bachman 1st Intermediate 65
Arten Skyba 4th Novice 90
Nikolas O’Neil 1st Schoolboy 70
Reynaldo Garcia 1st Schoolboy 120
Angel Garcia 1st Cadet 152
Daishawn Tilgman 4th Cadet 220
John Dantzler 4th Junior 182
Miles Lee 1st Junior 195
March's Wrestler of the Month: Miles Lee
Pennsylvania is known as the toughest wrestling state in the country making placing at the PA state tournament quite a feat in its own right. Placing at the state tournament with less than 3 years of wrestling experience is nearly unheard of. However, Miles Lee did exactly that when he took 5th place at the Hershey Center this past March. Miles, although still a relative newcomer to the sport, became the first ever state place winner from a Beat the Streets program and only the second ever in Philadelphia Public League history.
Miles had an incredibly dominant season leading up to states putting together a 36-4 record with his only losses coming to the number 1 ranked wrestler in the country, a Delaware state champ, and 2 PA state placers. Miles won the Public League tournament, Districts, and Regionals. He was named the “Outstanding Wrestler” at both the the Public League and District tournaments.
At states, Miles won his first match 8-4. In the quarterfinals, he gutted out an 8-6 sudden victory win to guarantee himself a spot on the podium. He dropped his next two matches to the wrestlers that finished second and third respectively, putting him in the 5th and 6th place match. He ended his high school career on a high note, winning his 5th place match 6-3.
Miles’s success comes as no surprise to those who know him. An incredibly hard worker, Miles would frequently supplement his South Philadelphia High School practices with training at the Philadelphia Police Athletic League,and the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center. In fact, sometimes Miles would have to be reminded to allow his body to rest and recover because of how hard he pushed himself. Miles has been named March’s Wrestler of the Month for his incredible season and 5th place performance at states!
February's Wrestler of the Month: Samirah Conners-Reed
Samirah Conners-Reed was faced with a dilemma at the end of the season. She was unsure of whether to enter the beginners or advanced bracket at the Beat the Streets youth tournament. By all accounts she was a beginner, not even having completed a full season of wrestling yet. However, her dominance in the practice room gave her the confidence to challenge herself in the advanced bracket. The decision turned out to be the right one, as she reeled off 4 straight wins including a pin in the finals to take home the championship. The bracket was co-ed, and Samirah beat male wrestlers in both the semis and finals to win and was the only female placer in the weight class.
The 7th grader at Wissahickon Charter School took naturally to wrestling and began to excel immediately at practice. Her combination of strength, body control, and gut instinct made her dangerous right from the start, and her strong work ethic and competitive nature helped her progress rapidly. Samirah displays a strong desire to get better, and consistently works to hone her technique in the wrestling room. Her hard work has paid dividends and she recently placed 2nd in the Folkstyle State Tournament. For taking 1st and 2nd her first ever tournaments, Samirah has been named the March Wrestler of the Month!
Beat the Streets Philadelphia's Second Annual Bowling Night May 11th
Save the date! Thursday, May 11th, Beat the Streets Philadelphia will be hosting their second annual “Bowling Night” at Lucky Strike Philadelphia. There will be live music, pingpong, giant Jenga, and of course, bowling, as well as much more. More information will be coming soon.
Miles Lee Places at PIAA State Tournament
South Philadelphia High School’s Miles Lee has become the first ever state placer in Beat the Streets Philadelphia’s history and the second ever from the Philadelphia Public League. He opened the tournament Wednesday night with an 8-4 win over Quakertown’s Noah Wood. Earlier this afternoon, he punched his ticket to the semifinals with an overtime victory against Northern York’s Jake Koser. Tomorrow, he will face General McLane’s Ethan Laird for a shot at the finals. Miles has guaranteed himself at least a 6th place finish. Beat the Streets would like to congratulate Miles on his tremendous accomplishment.
Anyone that would like to follow the Miles through the PIAA State Tournament brackets can do so on FloArena at this link.
Miles Lee Wins North East Regionals and Moves on to States
Last weekend at the Northeast Regional Tournament, South Philadelphia High School’s Miles Lee made history by becoming the first ever Regional Champion from the Philadelphia Public League. He rolled through the tournament without giving up a single takedown, picking up a 4-3 decision in the quarterfinals, an 8-5 win in the semis, and an 11-5 decision to bring home the title. This week, Miles will be competing at the PIAA State Tournament in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Miles becomes the first ever 2x state qualifier from the PPL and has another chance to make history by becoming the second ever state placer from the PPL (Slav Mukha of Northeast High School placed 7th at Heavyweight in 2006). Miles is seeded third in the 195-pound state bracket, and is looking to improve on his 1-2 performance last season.
Also noteworthy, Roman Catholic had their first 2 ever state qualifiers, Michael Leyland at 220 and Matthew Galasso at Heavyweight, and Bishop McDevitt (AA) also had their first ever state qualifier, Nasir Pettus, at 220.
The other state qualifiers from District 12 were:
285 Vincenzo Pelusi (LaSalle) 2nd NE Region
106 Liam Logue (Fr. Judge) 3rd NE Region
152 Trevor Elfvin (Fr. Judge) 3rd NE Region
You can follow the state brackets at pa-wrestling.com
Post Season Recap: Regionals on the Horizon
This season Beat the Streets had over 102 wrestlers compete in the Philadelphia Public League Sectional Tournament with 52 of those wrestlers qualifying for the District 12 tournament. Among the district qualifiers, 8 wrestlers were members of Beat the Streets youth wrestling programs.
Last weekend at the District Tournament 28 public league BTSP wrestlers qualified for the regional tournament, including 10 former BTSP youth wrestlers from both the public and private leagues. Of note, Caesar Fountain, of Father Judge, a former participant of the Martin Luther King Youth Club Team, won a district title at 138 pounds. Other public league wrestlers that won District Titles, were Central’s Gerrit Roscioli at 160 pounds, Martin Luther King’s Craig Duren at 182 pounds, and South Philadelphia High’s Miles Lee at 195 pounds.
Craig Duren made history on back to back weekends, first becoming the Philadelphia Public League’s all time wins leader with his victory in the Public League Finals. Then last weekend, becoming Martin Luther King’s first ever District Champion.
Mile’s Lee won his second district title, and was crowned the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament, an award he also won at the Public League Championships the week before. This weekend at the North East Regional Tournament at Bethlehem Liberty, Miles will look to win a Regional Title and qualify for his second State Tournament in Hershey Pennsylvania. The top 4 placers advance, and BTSP is hopeful that other public league wrestlers will punch their tickets to states as well.