Archive for Athlete to Watch
Athlete to Watch: Fred Lamarca outlasts Curatolo in BJJ debut
Congrats to Fred Lamarca on a great performance in his first BJJ match on Friday, March 25. Here is a recap of the fight:
“Curatolo stuffs an early takedown attempt, snatches Lamarca’s leg, kicks it out, and lands in Lamarca’s guard. The crowd is fired up from Campbell-Kotarski and loving this fast early action. Lamarca (red shorts) is back up. Curatola tries for a standing arm-in guillotine. Lamarca gets the takedown passes to Curatola’s left side, and mounts. Curatola is breathing harder, and works for the armbar. Both men are back on their feet, Curatola slams Lamarca and ends up in top position after a fast scramble. Curatols and Lamarca work for legs and ankles, and try to kick one another off. Both men’s lower bodies come free, and Lamarca pulls guard. He brings up his left shin to what looks like the Lochness Monster of submission grappling: the gogplata. The lower shin is beneath Curatolo’s chin, but Curatola wisely keeps his back and chin up so that Lamarca cannot pull down and force the tap. The red-faced Curatola shakes his way out of Lamarca’s guard. This is sick. Lamarca takes Curatolo’s back and sinks in the rear naked choke, but not deep or fast enough to beat the closing bell. Curatolo controlled early; Lamarca finished stonger. Awesome match.”
Fred has made tremendous progress here at AFTLI, under the guidance of Coach Gaglione, and we know the best is yet to come from him! Nice work Fred!
Ed Giron helps lead Springfield College to win the Conference Championship
Ed Giron Finishes his Career leading his team to Victory
Congrats to alumni Eddie Giron for placing 2nd at his College conference tournament this past weekend.
Eddie fell a little short of his goal, but he had a great performance wrestling with a hurt knee that could have been a season ending injury. The most amazing thing about Eddie’s career is that he performed at a very high level in college without ever placing in the counties in high school. Ed is a great example of what can be accomplished with hard work and determination. He is a great role model for all of the wrestlers throughout Long Island.
Ed finished his career as a captain of the Springfield College wrestling team earning Academic All American honors, as well as being two time all conference and he helped lead his team to the conference tournament team title this past weekend.
Congrats Ed and good luck with all of your future endeavors! It has been a pleasure working with you all of these years and I know your positive attitude and desire to get better will serve you well in the rest of your life!
Good luck!
I will leave you with some memories of some of Ed’s high school high lights. Enjoy!
Dan Coder wrestles back tough to make All County
Wrestler to Watch Dan Coder
This week’s athlete to watch is Dan Coder. Dan did a great job this season and won his qualifying tournament. At the Counties he ended up in a tough spot drawing the number two ranked kid in his weight class his first match. Dan was sent into wrestle backs.
It can be very tough losing your first match at a big tournament like the counties, but Dan didn’t let it bother him and he shook it off and wrestled tough the rest of the day. Dan ended up winning three matches in a row to make it to day two of the tournament and place All County. In the round to place he faced a tough opponent he barley beat at the beginning of the year. Dan stayed very calm and knew what he had to do and ended up dominating his opponent with a barrage of explosive double leg take downs in his final match of the first day of the county tournament.
Dan worked extremely hard for the past few years on and off the mat and we wish him the best of luck in the future. Congrats to Dan Coder!
Louis Cotrone Commits to Marist
AFTLI athlete Louis Cotrone commits to Marist to play football. Louis is a tremendous worker here at AFTLI.
We are always very proud when we hear our athletes are going to move on to the “next level” for any sport. Louis has been a standout back for Holy Trinity for many years and we know the best is yet to come from him!
We are excited for Louis to start his off season training with us at AFTLI.
Keep training hard!
Ng commits to Harvard
Congrats to David Ng on his commitment to Harvard University for wrestling! It is a huge accomplishment to be accepted to any Ivy League school and we are very proud of David. David is a true gentlemen on and off the mat. His work ethic from training certainly carries over to the rest of his life.
David is a two time All County Football Player as well as a County Champion and All state for wrestling. He also recently got his 100th win in wrestling, which is a huge milestone, especially as a heavyweight. He is a tireless worker in the weight room and we know all his hard work will pay off this season! Good luck David and keep up the great work!
Nick Camera Takes Gold at the Roger Williams Invitational
Nick Camera Wins the Roger Williams Invitational Tournament
Nick Camera lead the Springfield College wrestling team, ranked #1 in New England Division III, to win the Roger Williams Invitational Saturday, defeating eight other teams along the way.
Nicholas Camera (184), captured his first individual tournament title. Nick is a tremendous worker and his hard work is paying off! He has made huge gains since training here at AFT of LI and we know the best is yet to come!
Keep working hard Nick and good luck the rest of the season!
Newsday Wrestlers to Watch
Congrats to AFTLI athletes who made the Newsday “Wrestlers to Watch this season”
Dan Spurgeon @ 152 lbs
Dave Ng @ 215 lbs
Joe Manna @ 285 lbs
Good Luck to all of the wrestlers who train or who have trained with AFTLI!
Keep training hard!
Wrestler to Watch: John Archambeau
John Archambeau takes Gold at the Doug Parker Invitational Wrestling Tournament
This past weekend John Archambeau of Springfield defeated Ethan Raymond of Bridgewater by a narrow margin of 3-1.
John came to traveled all the way from Massachusetts to train with us last year during his college intersession! This really shows the commitment and the drive of this young man to be the best he can be!
Keep working hard John and good luck the rest of the season!
Lacrosse Player to Watch: Heather Russell
Athlete to Watch: Heather Russell
Heather Russell, a senior at Our Lady of Mercy Academy signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division II lacrosse on scholarship at C.W. Post.
Heather has been a member of the varsity lacrosse team for four years and plays midfield. She was a N.S.C.H.S.G.A.A. All League selection in 11th grade and led her team in scoring last year. Heather has been an integral part in elevating the program and hopes to bring home a championship.
Heather has an incredible drive and determination to get better.She has made very impressive gain since starting with us. She is incredibly fit and strong and can hang with the best of the best here at AFTLI. All of us here at AFTLI would like to wish Heather the best of luck this season!
Softball Player to Watch: Stephanie Viggiano
Athlete to Watch: Stephanie Viggiano
Stephanie Viggiano, a senior at Our Lady of Mercy Academy signed a National Letter of Intent to play Division I softball on scholarship at Siena College.
Stephanie has been a member of the varsity softball team for four years and plays shortstop. She has been a N.S.C.H.S.G.A.A. All League selection in 9th, 10th, & 11th grade. She is looking forward to her final season at Mercy and wants to bring a championship back to the Academy.
Steph is an AFTLI veteran and her success is in large part due to her tremendous work ethic and consistency. All of us here at AFTLI would like to wish Stephanie the best of luck this season!