This article featuring our student-athletes will be updated over the next week, adding a couple of profiles each day. Stay tuned to learn more about the journeys of all 9 BTSP student-athletes who are qualified for the Fargo National Championships!
Daishawn Tilghman (Junior – 220)
Now a 3-time Fargo qualifier, Daishawn is ready to make the jump. In all 3 of his trips to the National Championships, he’s fallen just short of the podium to some very challenging opponents. This year, Daishawn is a proving to be a challenging opponent his competitors should not overlook.
After finishing 2nd in FS at NE Regionals, Daishawn is primed for a deep run.
Angel Garcia (US #18) (Junior – 170)
After unexpectedly coming home empty-handed last summer, Angel believes he has what it takes to earn double All-American status. Following two nice finals victories over National Preps 6th place finisher Caden Rogers (Malvern Prep), Angel is ready to buckle down, fine tune his technique, & get his mind right for July.
His path to the top of the podium will be far from easy, but that won’t deter Angel even in the slightest. Anyone stepping into the circle with Angel can look forward to a difficult, physical, six minutes.
Jameel Coles (Junior – 195)
After stepping away from freestyle/greco for a couple of years, Jameel is back & seems to have gotten the rust off nicely. Coles cruised a championship in freestyle & won the greco championships with a ‘flying squirrel’ in the waning seconds of the match!
After a 5th place finish at the PIAA State Tournament this past March & a 7th place finish at NHSCA Nationals, Jameel is rolling & feeling good about his chances heading into next month. Although his path that has included a few twists & turns over the past few years, we’re happy to see Jameel having fun wrestling & competing at a high level!
Tatyana Ortiz (Junior – 106)
In her final Fargo campaign, Taty is locked in & focused on her goal of climbing the Fargo podium. A senior, she’s the seasoned veteran of the group & continues to set the example for Philadelphia wrestlers following in her footsteps.
Next year, Tatyana is looking forward to competing as an inaugural member of the East Stroudsburg University Wrestling Team! We’re so proud of how far Tatyana has come over the years & elated to see her getting the opportunity to continue wrestling that she deserves!
Grigol Khochishivili (Junior – 152)
Gaga, as his teammates call him, began combat sports at a young age as a competitor in Judo. He’d found a great deal of success in the sport, finishing 3rd nationally just a few years ago.
Entering high school, wrestling seemed like a somewhat natural fit. While he has enjoyed folkstyle, he found a real passion for Greco-Roman wrestling last spring. He qualified for Fargo in greco-roman 2018, but was unable to attend due to family commitments. After a successful folkstyle season, winning a DXII Championship & falling just short of the PIAA State Tournament, Gaga is prepared to make some noise nationally.
Despite placing 2nd at states in both styles, Gaga has elected to focus on greco as he prepares for Fargo. His goal is not just to get on the podium, but to climb as high as he can!
John Colburne (Cadet – 182)
In just his 2nd year competing in freestyle/greco-roman wrestling, John is just scratching the surface of his potential. With big throws & a relentless attacking style, John powered his way to a 3rd place finish in freestyle & 2nd in greco. In addition to qualifying for the National Championships, John is also incredibly excited to have earned the opportunity to train at the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center!
John’s growth over the last year has not come by accident. His hard work, embrace of the grind, and emergence as a ‘student of the sport’ has really shined this spring. We have no doubt that John is going to impress at Fargo!
Steven Foster (Junior – 106)
Steven has taken the path less traveled by many wrestlers. After spending a majority of his youth competing in boxing, Steven began wrestling freestyle & greco just last spring with no real experience in folkstyle. Steven took to both olympic styles quite naturally in 2018 & qualified for Fargo despite his newness to the sport; a fantastic accomplishment!
This year, Steven is back & he has set the bar even higher. After finishing 2nd in freestyle & 1st in greco, with a full-year of wrestling experience under his belt, it’s going to be exciting to see how his Fargo campaign plays out.
Mohammed Savriddinov (Cadet – 132)
Mohammed “Mo” Savriddinov has been training out of Rizzo PAL this spring & it’s great to see his hard work pay off! A freshman at Council Rock South, Mo has been excited to continue improving all spring!
After a nice showing in freestyle, finishing 5th, Mo wrestled through a tough field on Sunday to finish 3rd in Greco-Roman. Our lone freshman qualifier, we’re very proud of Mo & excited for him to experience the Fargo for his first time!
Reynaldo Garcia (Cadet – 145)
After having his spring season cut short last year following a neck injury, Rey has been hungry to bounce back this spring! After great performances at NHSCA’s, Northeast Regionals, & Easton Freestyle Duals, Rey had some well-deserved confidence heading into the state tournament.
With confidence & high energy, Reynaldo dominated opponents on his way to a finals berth in both styles. While he ultimately fell short to a tough opponent in 2x PIAA State Medalist Paniro Johnson (Erie Cathedral Prep), Garcia walked away with a lot to build on over the course of the next few weeks. We’re very proud of the progress Rey has made & we’re elated to see him earn an opportunity that he’s worked so hard toward!
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Providing truly unique experiences to student-athletes, like Fargo, takes a community effort. With the support of our community, we have a goal of raising $10,000; which would fully cover the cost of Fargo for the 9 qualified student-athletes. Beyond exposure to wrestling on a national stage, the Fargo experience provides kids an opportunity to build lasting relationships with wrestlers from all over the US, to train with world-level clinicians, and (for some) to leave the city of Philadelphia for the first time! For these kids who have worked so hard, we ask that you please help us provide a positively life-altering experience that each of them deserves!
Donations can be made through Facebook or through our website directly. If donating through our website, please write Fargo Fundraiser in the ‘comments’ section of the Donate Now page
Tag: featured-events
May Program Update
The past few weeks have been eventful here at Beat the Streets; to say the least. This past month alone, wrestlers traveled to New York City to wrestle in the Rumble on the River (hosted by BTS NY), to Chambersburg, PA to compete in the PAWF State Tournament, and participated in 2 freestyle/greco clinics hosted by BTSP! Below are just a few key highlights from each of these events!
The Rumble on the River was an absolutely incredible experience for the kids. Each year BTSNY wrestles a lineup against all other BTS programs in an exhibition format. This year, 3 BTSP wrestlers were selected to compete: Zimire Rice, Zaire Crawford, and Angel Garcia. Zimir and Zaire both won matches by TF, while Angel lost a close match to a tough opponent in Terrance Parks. Following the exhibition matches, the kids were invited to stay for the main event as Team USA took on Team Cuba! We were all very thankful to have had out kids included in the days events and want to congratulate Beat the Streets New York on running yet another fantastic event!
The following morning, 23 wrestlers traveled from Philadelphia to Chambersburg to compete in the PAWF Freestyle/Greco State Championships. At this arduous 3-day affair, the goal was simple; survive and advance. A top 3 finish at this tournament qualifies athletes for the Fargo National Championships, while a top 4 finish qualifies athletes for the PRTC. Everyone wrestled extremely tough and should be proud of their efforts this weekend. For many of our kids, this was their 1st season of freestyle/greco and it was very rewarding to see them grow. There’s so much young talent here, it’s going to be fun to watch the kids compete. For the 1st time in BTSP history, 5 members of Team PA will be members of our organization! With that said, we would like to congratulate & recognize the individuals who performanced exceptionally well this weekend:
2018 Fargo Qualifiers
- Angel Garcia; 3rd FR, 1st GR
- Tatyana Ortiz; 1st FR(W), 3rd GR
- Zimir Rice; 2nd GR
- Grigol Kochsivielli; 3rd GR
- Steven Foster; *UWW NE Regional place winner
PRTC Qualifiers
- Luis Morales; 4th GR
- Jordan Tarlton; 4th GR
- Jihad Phillips; 4th GR
2018 Youth Wrestling Medalists
- Julie Ortiz; 3rd FR
- Mark Effendian; 3rd FR, 2nd GR
In large part, what made the success at the state tournament possible was the support of the local wrestling community. On May 5th & 12th, BTSP hosted freestyle/greco clinics open to all at the PAL Center in Port Richmond. Wrestlers from the surrounding area were welcomed in to train with BTSP and learn from high-level clinicians. Chase Pami (PRTC), Garrett Hammond (DREX), & Coach Savi (CRS), were all very generous in giving up their time to show some great technique and help to prepare the kids to face elite competition. Not only are these individuals amazingly talented wrestlers, they’re fantastic role models for the kids to look up to.
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While all of this sounds like a lot of programming, there is still much more ahead of us. In just a few short weeks, BTSP will be preparing to send our 5 wrestlers to Fargo & a few others to wrestling camps. In order to support our kids in reaching their goals, we need your help.
This year, we’ve created a Summer Programming fund to support the programming our kids take part in over the next few months. If you have the capacity to give, your support will help kids travel to North Dakota and compete for a National Championship, travel to day camps sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, and more.
March Program Highlights
NHSCA Nationals (March 22nd-24th)
After winter reared its’ ugly head (hopefully for the final time) here in Philadelphia, 14 BTSP wrestlers were more than excited to make the trip south to Virginia Beach for NHSCA Nationals. Congratulations are in order for all 14 wrestlers selected to attend; as decisions were made based on, commitment to academics, wrestling success, and recommendations from coaches:
- Tatyana Ortiz-JR (106)
- Jayshawn Copeland-FR (120)
- Tyler Mangan-MS (120)
- Aboubakare Diaby-FR (126)
- Zamire Rice-SO (126)
- Reynaldo Garcia (126)
- Mike Rubino-SR (138)
- Jarrod Johnson-JR (138)
- Naseen Pennington-SO (145)
- Lucien Anderson-JR(152)
- Xavier Rivera-JR(152)
- Angel Garcia-SR(160)
- Daishawn Tilghman-SO (195)
From great wrestling, to late afternoons on the beach, and quality time with teammates/friends, this was a memorable weekend for sure! From a wrestling standpoint, particularly nice performances were had by Tatyana Ortiz, Angel Garcia, Naseen Pennington who each had some impressive wins throughout the weekend. While ultimately our kids fell short of the podium, the opportunity to wrestle on one of the biggest stages in the sport was an invaluable experience! Heading into freestyle season, we are all very optimistic about the wrestling that lies ahead.
Lastly, BTSP would like to thank the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) and Beat the Streets-National for playing an instrumental role in making this experience possible for our kids. Opportunities like this keep our kids motivated, focused, and open their eyes to the world of wrestling outside of Philadelphia. Final brackets can be found on FLOARENA.
USMC Leadership Academy (March 24th)
This past Saturday, nearly 100 Philadelphia-area high school wrestlers came out to South Philadelphia High School for a day of wrestling and instruction from the United States Marine Corps! Beat the Streets has worked in partnership with the Marine Corps for a couple of years now in an effort to educate our kids and help to prepare them for life beyond wrestling.
PRTC Head Coach Brandon Slay, PRTC athletes, & the Bethea brothers led the wrestling technique clinic, while the Marine Corps educated wrestlers on leadership and the career opportunities presented by the Marines.
Overall, this was an awesome experience for our kids and we look forward to continuing to partner with the USMC in the future! To learn more about the Marine Corps, and the opportunities they have available, visit their website here.
Girls Folkstyle National Championships (March 24th)
In our final recap of March programming, BTSP would send a BIG congratulations to Jasintai Malliqui (Novice-75lbs) for her 3rd place finish over the weekend as the Girls National Championships!
Jasintai (or “T” as her coaches call her) made us all especially proud after losing a tight 5-3 match to the eventual champion, Zoey Utterback, and then rattling off 4 STRAIGHT WINS to take 3rd place! It’s never easy to wrestle back at any level, but to do it in her 1st experience in the national spotlight is downright incredible. T and her family should be very proud of a great end to a fantastic season!
Final results for the Girls National Championships can be found on FLOARENA.
Philadelphia Public League Championships 2017-18
Anyone in attendance at South Philadelphia High School this past weekend for the Philadelphia Public League Championships could see it clearly; this a league that’s on the rise. This years’ championships featured 136 athletes (the highest number in almost two decades) and the crop of talent is vastly improved.
At these championships, the greatest excitement was at the 126lb. final between Reynaldo Garcia (MBA) and James Clacks (GW). It was a nail biting 9-8 UTB victory for Garcia that won him the outstanding wrestler of the tournament. These two wrestlers absolutely put on a show and deservedly received a standing ovation from everyone in the audience.
Other notable champions included John Santiago (MBA), Daishawn Tilghman (OVB), Michael Rubino (NE), and Sami Kakar (NE); each of whom improved from their 3rd place finishes in 2017 to 1st place finished this year. Wrestling is a tough sport; you get out what you put in. These four wrestlers put in the work necessary get better this season and it will be fun to watch them this coming weekend!
The league not only celebrates athletic excellence, but outstanding service as well. Prior to the parade of champions, public league chairman Barry Strube took some time to recognize a few outstanding individuals. Larry Arata (GW) was awarded Coach of the Year title for making his athletes better wrestlers and better people. Christopher Mullins (FKD) received the Bud Lindholm award for his service and dedication to improving wrestling in Philadelphia.
And finally, an emotional Stephen Lebron (PLB) accepted the Larry Imgrund Award. A senior at 145lbs, Stephen is an extremely deserving recipient of this recognition. On the mat, Stephen is likely to graduate at the most decorated wrestler in Palumbo history. He is a 4x sectional place winner and 3x district place winner (2x finalist). His coaches tell us he is a clear leader to his teammates and someone underclassmen can look to for guidance. Off the mat, he is even more impressive. Stephen’s cross-country coach reached out last week to tell us about how Stephen helped a teammate with severe autism complete a cross-country course and compete in an event this past fall. His coach tells us that without Stephens’ help, the student he helped would’ve been unable to participate. This is just one of the many magnificent examples of the type of person Stephen is. After humbly accepting the award, Stephen went on to take home the title at 145lbs!
Congratulations to all those who competed this past weekend and thank you to everyone who helped to make it happen! This coming Saturday, the District XII Championships will take place at Archbishop Ryan High School.
To follow the action online or to view bracket information, click here.
More photos from the Public League Championships can be found here.
Featured Match, Frankford at Southern
The PIAA District 12 is the home for all Philadelphia High School teams including both Catholic and Public schools. Within District 12, the Public League divides it’s 15 team into two Divisions; Independence and Liberty. Last month we featured the top performing teams from the Independence Division: a rematch of the 2016-2017 Public League Championship, Central bested Northeast by a score of 52-15. (See the match recap here)
This month we directed our attention towards the Liberty Division’s two undefeated teams, South Philadelphia and Frankford. With playoff implications on the line, this was sure to be a dual neither teams could afford to lose. Coaches Rob Schloss (Southern) and Joe Farina (Frankford) clearly understood the stakes. Both coaches could be seen carefully reviewing roster strategy as their teams warmed up. When we asked Coach Farina for a prediction he exclaimed “It’s going to be close!”. He couldn’t have been more right!
The match started out with a forfeit at the 113 weight class. With South’s Thaj Williams getting his hand raised in exchange for 6 team points momentum was already on Southern’s side. At 120 Damien Riles recorded a first period fall over Frankford’s Iverson Ratchford. Keyauri Pooler from Southern picked up another forfeit win for South at 126 moving his team to a 18-0 lead after three matches.
Frankford’s 132 pounder Luck Hives put a stop to the losing streak with a 26 second pin over Aristodue Intwali erasing the team score goose egg. But with the experience of South Philadelphia’s next two wrestlers the momentum would swing back in their direction. Dawud Faruqi (Southern) pinning Tariq Mines (Frankford), followed by a fall from Naseen Pennington (Southern) over Camont Mull (Frankford), Southern now had a commanding 30-6 lead nearing the mid point of the dual.
Forfeits at 152 and 160 from Southern started to play a role with Frankford’s Marcus Logan and Fateen McFadden getting 6 points each after effortless hand-raises. South Philadelphia’s Anthony Williamson would offset some of the forfeit sting by pinning Eric Watson (Frankford) in 1 minute and 12 seconds of the first period. Frankford would respond with back-to-back pins at 182 and 195 with Christ Adechokan beating Edgar Caraballo, and Gabriel Perez coming from behind to beat Steve Cacciatore.
After a forfeit for Southern’s Ishmael Kesserly at 220 the team score was 42-30. In anticipation of a forfeit win in favor of Frankford’s 106, Jorge Rivera, it was apparent that the match would come down to heavyweight. At 4 minutes and 10 Seconds in the third period it happened; Frankford’s Kenneth Purvis collects the fall against Marquise Millen! The final score 42-42! The winner would be determined by criteria. To the official rule book…
a. The team whose opposing wrestlers or team personnel has been penalized the greater number of team points for flagrant misconduct or unsportsmanlike conduct shall be declared the winner.
b. The team whose opposing head coach has been penalized the greater number of team points for coach misconduct shall be declared the winner.
c. The team whose opposing wrestlers were penalized the greater number of match points for unsportsmanlike conduct during a match shall be declared the winner.
d. The team having won the greater number of matches (including forfeits) shall be declared the winner.
e. The team having accumulated the greater number of points for falls, defaults, forfeits, or disqualifications shall be declared the winner.
f. The team having the greater number of points for technical falls shall be declared the winner.
g. The team having the greater number of points for major decisions shall be declared the winner.
h. The team having the greater number (total match points) of first point(s) shall be declared the winner.
i. The team having the greater number of points for near-falls shall be declared the winner.
After all the criteria was reviewed, Southern was declared the winner based on tie breaker criteria (i) in one of the craziest outcomes from the Public league this year. With playoffs just weeks away Beat the Streets looks forward to providing additional recaps in February.
A full gallery of images can be found at: https://goo.gl/TVuojz
Featured Match, Central vs Northeast
The District 12, Philadelphia Public League featured match in December had all the makings of a barn burner. A rematch of last year’s Public League Championship, Central Lancers traveled to Northeast High School with the goal of defending their status as the best team in the league. Coaches Jeremy Julien and Mike Siravo are no strangers to facing each other in matches like this. With the PPL being split between Central and NE for the past few years. Many would say that this match is a prelude to the seasons Championship match on January 24th, 2018.
Despite the big home crowd at Northeast, Central started the dual with a 2nd period win as Gregory Pugh pinned Jared Hynson. That would lead to a six match win streak for the Lancers with (106) Mosin Ghafary pinning Ryan Ponce, Caleb Perline’s tech-fall over Ian Santiago, Sami Kakar with a minor decision over Mike Acevedo, Aboubakare Diaby with a minor decision over Joe Lombardo, and Gai Lomidze’s tech-fall over Chris DelValle. Close matches at 120 and 126 could be swing matches later in the year. With the team score 28-0 after 6 matches Central looked to be in a good place to walk away victorious.
Adrian Lugo gets NE its first win with a 11-7 minor decision over Jackson Fung. Central would once again go on a win streak from 145-160 recording a minor decision from Nick Henry over Rigoberto Vasquez-Ortiz, an overtime win from Lucien Anderson over Mike Rubino, and a supprise pin from Greg Khochiashvili (wrestling in place of Nick Rubino) over Zamire Thomas. Central secures the team victory after that win with just four weight classes remaining. Matches up at 145, 152 and 160 can all go the other way in the future.
Northeast’s Emrakh Faikov pined Alan Giang at 170, followed by Central picking up wins from Vlad Falendysh pining Chris Lopez and Charles Livingston pinning Victor Tiu. The highest ranked wrestler on either team, Jameel Coles from Northeast finished the dual with the only forfeit leaving the final score 52-12, Central over Northeast.
Central Coach Bucky Johnson said “We thought it was going to be a lot closer. We won at some weight classes we didn’t expect to.”
Northeast’s Siravo stated “It stared off bad and continued throughout the entire match. We have some work to do before we see Central again.”
Regardless of the outcome from this match, one thing is clear…These are two very good teams that will be a force to be reckoned with after the break.
Next up for both teams is the Wetzel Classic in Hatboro Horsham on 12/29 and 12/30.
Full gallery of images available at: https://goo.gl/xDYg1t
High School Wrestling Season Has Started!
The PIAA 2017-2018 wrestling season officially starts today! Out of the 15 Public League teams in District XII, 13 receive direct support from Beat the Streets Philadelphia. An estimated 400 BTSP student-athletes will step on the mat in the month of November. Approximately 20% of those students will routinely visit our Mentoring Center for academic support, one on one near pear mentoring, as well as workshops specific to SAT prep, college enrollment, and leadership development.
Beat the Streets Philadelphia provides the resources necessary to grow the sport of wrestling in under resourced neighborhoods through out the Philadelphia region. Through the sport of wrestling, student-athletes develop valuable character traits such as, discipline, resilience, dedication, delayed gratification, teamwork, individual accountability, and an overall commitment to excellence. The lessons learned on the mat regularly spill over into the classroom. Teacher and Parents alike report notable improvements in wrestlers attendance, behavior, and performance.
As the season moves forward there are some competitions on the calendar worth recognizing.
- Friday 12/08: Five BTSP teams competing at the New Hope-Solebury Tournament
- Wednesday 12/20: Rematch of last years Public League Championship, Central at Northeast
- Saturday 1/27: Central HS hosts the Lancer Invitational.
- Saturday 2/3: Martin Luther King hosts the Cougar Duals
We encourage you to support these programs by attending competitions or by making a tax deductible contribution through our donate now portal. More than 60% off the total funding for these HS programs come from Beat the Streets Philadelphia. Without your support these student-athletes would not have the opportunity to wrestle.
NWCA All-Star Classic
BTSP Wrestlers Enjoy the NWCA All-Star Classic
Over the weekend, Beat the Streets Philadelphia wrestlers had the opportunity to watch some of the greatest talent in the world of wrestling at the NWCA All-Star Classic! 12 BTSP wrestlers took the trip to Princeton University for an awesome fun-filled day of wrestling!
In the morning, our kids had the chance to attend a fantastic clinic led by PRTC Coach & Olympic Gold Medalist Brandon Slay. Coach Slay was joined by 2016 Olympic Gold Medalists Kyle Snyder of Ohio State University & Helen Maroulis! These world-class athletes took the time to speak with our kids about the value of wrestling, go over some of their favorite technique, and answer questions about what it takes to be a champion in such a tough sport. The kids had an incredible time and left the clinic smiling ear to ear!
Afterward, the kids grabbed a quick bite to eat and eagerly made their way into Jadwin Gym where they found front row seats to take in the allure of the All-Star Classic. The kids from BTSP were happy to support Penn wrestlers May Bethea (165 lbs) & Frank Mattice (197 lbs); wrestlers who have both supported Beat the Streets in a mentoring & wrestling coaching capacity in the past!
Seeing such high-caliber wrestling up close was undoubtedly a memorable experience for our kids. Beat the Streets Philadelphia would like to thank the Wrestlers in Business Network and the National Wrestling Coaches Association not only for putting on such a spectacular event; but for helping to ensure that our kids were able to take part in it!
BTSP Wrestlers Compete at Penn Homecoming
Penn Wrestling coach, Roger Reina invited Beat the Streets Wrestlers to the Palestra in Philadelphia to compete in exhibition matches in front of a crowd of Penn Alumni. Wrestlers Leo Petrowski, Reynaldo Garcia, and Tatyana Ortiz recorded wins by fall in their respective bouts. Coach Reina spoke with the group of young wrestlers about the history of the sport we all love so much. One interesting point Coach Reina shared is the origin of the word Palestra and it’s historic importance in NCAA Wrestling.
Palestra: (Ancient Greek) a wrestling school or gymnasium. The Palestra is believed to be the site of the nations very first college wrestling tournament. Coach Reina spoke about the significance of Philadelphia’s rich wrestling history while challenge BTSP wrestlers to be fearless in pursuit of individual aspirations.
BTSP, along with Penn Wrestling, and the Pennsylvania Olympic Training Center, have created an eco-system of support that serves the interests of everyone involved. Beat the Streets athletes are paired with Penn Wrestlers for one on one and group based mentoring / academic intervention. PRTC athletes regularly attend BTSP wrestling practices as guest clinicians, while qualifying High School wrestlers earn the right to train at the PRTC at points through out the year.
BTSP actively engages more than 1200 at risk students from Philadelphia, Camden, and Trenton with programs that enrich participants lives; both physically and mentally. Our mission of “positively altering life’s trajectory” has been successful because of generous support from Foundations, Corporations, and Individuals. As a sports based youth development Non-Profit, we rely on continued support of donations to keep programing impactful. If this story was significant to you, please considering making a monthly or one time pledge at our Donate-Now page.
Coach Development – October 21st
On October 21st, Beat the Streets will be hosting a coach development meeting for all Beat the Streets coaches. Hosted by Pennsylvania Regional Training Center Head Coach, Brandon Slay, all who attend will have the opportunity to learn technique from a world-class coach, ask questions, and ultimately offer the best possible programming to your wrestlers! More information (i.e. time, location, etc) will be announced soon. If you want to receive updates about this event, fill out this form