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!
Author: BTSPhilly
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!
Summer Training Makes Winter Champions by Jared Johnson
My name is Jared Johnson. I began wrestling in the 7th grade at Martin Luther King youth. Because of my continuation of training at PAL during the offseason when I was in eighth grade, I made connections with my current school, Roman Catholic High School. Every year that I wrestled in the summer I got better, and it showed when I stepped on the mat in the winter. My freshman year my season ended at districts. I am not a sophomore and was two matches away from qualifying for States because I continued to train during the offseason. Continuance is important because many sports stop when the season ends, but in wrestling you can continue to build upon your skills and techniques because the season never ends.
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.
Opportunity by Eric Appenzeller
Seizing Opportunity
Beat the Streets Philadelphia has given me opportunities to achieve on the mat, in the classroom, and in the work environment. I feel more confident about my future due to taking advantage of these opportunities. I learned many skills from my internship with Beat the Streets last summer, such as how to organize a fundraiser, improving my social skills, and learning about what it takes to run a business
Beat the Streets also provided tutoring that helped me get into a private school that will better prepare me for college. I am currently wrestling at The Phelps School and doing well on and off the mat. In the classroom this past year I improved my GPA from 3.0 to a 3.7. In addition to tutoring, Beat the Streets provides me with opportunities compete with the top guys at their offseason practices and tournaments.
I’m grateful for the opportunities I have had, so I like to give back by volunteering at Beat the Streets during my school breaks to try to help others achieve their goals.
Philadelphia Public League Sectional and Youth Wrestling Championships
Philadelphia Public League Sectional Tournament
South Philadelphia High School
Broad Street Line – Snyder Stop
Parking Lot and Street Parking
Friday, February 17th, 3:30 PM Start
Saturday, February 18th, 9:00 AM Start
Philadelphia Youth Wrestling Championships
Beat the Streets Wrestlers Only
South Philadelphia High School
Broad Street Line – Snyder Stop
Parking Lot and Street Parking
Sunday, February 19th
Novice – 8 AM arrival, 9 AM start
Advanced – 11 AM arrival, 12 PM start
Craig Duren: January's Wrestler of the Month
Craig Duren didn’t set the world on fire his first few weeks of wrestling. In fact, he started his freshman season off by going 2-11. While most would feel discouraged, Craig kept plugging along and making strides. The second half of his freshman year he went 14-7 and qualified for the district tournament. Craig’s wrestling progression continued at a rapid pace. With one year of experience under his belt, he went 36-13 as a sophomore. He followed that up with a 32-6 junior season.
Now, as a senior, he is off to his best start yet with a 24-1 record. His coach at Martin Luther King High School, Dom Castelli, points to his work ethic and toughness as keys to his success.
“There was a turning point in his freshman year where he realized that he could be a really good wrestler. After that the switch was flipped. He doesn’t do anything fancy, he’s just a tough wrestler that wants to go out there and dominate, which is really enjoyable to watch as a coach.”
Craig began to attend off-season wrestling practice as soon as his freshman season ended, frequently bringing his other teammates with him. As he continued to hone his skills, his record continued to get better. This season Craig reached 100 wins, an incredibly difficult milestone to achieve. However according to coach Castelli, he still isn’t satisfied.
“He’s a warrior and he wants to be the best. He wants to set the all time Public League win record. He wants to qualify for states. He wants to one-day wrestle in college. Wrestling has helped him set goals, and now he’s trying to achieve them.”
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Craig’s success this season is that he is doing it across 3 different weight classes. Although he is certified at 170, he has wrestled the majority of his matches split between 182 and 195. Craig’s strength and speed allow him to compensate for his lack of size. Having the option to slot him into 3 different weight classes and still get a win makes Craig an incredibly valuable wrestler in dual meets, and allows a lot of flexibility with MLK’s dual meet lineups.
Craig’s stellar season, and reaching the 100 wins milestone, has earned him the honor of January’s Wrestler of the Month.