Leviathan Wrestling Club's athletes have been very busy this month. Caspian and Phoebe Grabowski traveled to Virginia Beach, VA to take part in the National High School Coaches' Association National Folkstyle Dual Meet. Both wrestlers represented New York Junior Terps' middle school team, filling slots for weight classes that many teams struggled to fill. Their team went 4-2, facing some of the top wrestlers in the nation from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Indiana, Virginia, and Tennessee. Plagued by forfeits, the team was not able to make it to the championship rounds.
Last weekend, Leviathan sent a small group of wrestlers to Fresno to participate in the State Freestyle Championship. Phoebe Grabowski, who had cut 9 pounds to be able to fill the 135 slot on New York's National Duals Team, wrestled in the Novice 143lb weight class. In her semifinal match, Phoebe pinned Valerie Covian in just 19 seconds after shooting a single leg takedown. Phoebe advanced to the championship round to face Marina Hernandez from Carruthers. Taking advantage of her judo background, Phoebe threw her opponent but failed to sink in a pin as the bottom wrestler scooted out of bounds. Phoebe's second throw ended in a pin at the 51 second mark, earning her the state championship.
Teammate, Caspian Grabowski, who had wrestled at Schoolboy 195lbs at Folkstyle and Greco State earlier in the spring, cut 15 pounds for National Duals and was able to wrestle at 175lbs for Freestyle State. Lighter wrestlers fight a little differently than heavyweights, and Caspian had to make some adjustments to his style. In his 5th place round, he faced Seth Hartshorn from Delta Wrestling Club who had placed 2nd at Greco State. Caspian dominated the match, pinning his opponent in the last seconds of the first period to come away with a 5th place finish. Teammate, Celeste Grabowski, faced a very tough bracket that included the Reno Worlds Champion at Novice 75lbs. Celeste finished in 3rd place after beating Melody Hernandez of Farmersville by tech fall.
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All three wrestlers have qualified for seeding at the Western Regional Championships in Pocatello, ID June 20-23 where they will be representing Team California. The competition will have one day of freestyle, one of folkstyle and one of Greco. This tournament will also have a girls' Greco competition for the first time ever.
Leviathan Wrestling Club is open to kids from kindergarten through high school and practices Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 6-8PM. The fall season will begin September 1 with coaches including SF State alumni Paul Healy and Felipe Flores, CIF State Placer, Jake Blackner, Oregon State wrestler Brad Wahrlich, and other local wrestlers. For more program information, please contact Leviathanwrestling@gmail.com.
