Ridgewood Junior Wrestling

Joe Tavoso won the Intermediate 112 pound State Championship last weekend, and Kyle Inlander took 2nd place in the Junior 144 division.  This is the second straight season for both boys to place at states.

After winning his first two bouts to reach the semi-finals, Joseph was trailing the 2x returning State Champ from Ocean 8-4 with 17 seconds before hitting a 5-point move to secure a 9-8 victory.  He used that momentum to win in the finals 14-3.

The rest of our wrestlers,  Nick Saglibemi, Robbie Tarvin, Robert Rigoglioso, David Caiafa, Owen McElroy and Kyle Pechko all wrestled hard but came away short of their goals of picking up a medal.  Robert Rigs took the returning State Champ from Paulsboro into OT before losing in a heartbreaker.  Owen McElroy, came within one victory of placing in the 105-lb bracket.

All of our boys represented us well in the tournament.  They wrestled hard to the final buzzer and handled their losses ( and wins) with good sportsmanship and made all of us proud to be their coaches.  Our five  8th grade wrestlers who made it to States earned my everlasting respect with their dedication over the last two months to wrestling.  When most kids were at home relaxing, these 5 were at Olympic until 10:00 2-4 times a week putting in the extra work that they needed in order to reach their goals.  They all improved dramatically over the past two years and their continued hard work will continue to pay off in their High School careers.

 Next weekend Kieran Calvetti and Travis Tavoso will compete in the Bantam and Novice divisions -- good luck to both of them!

This Week
If you do not plan to compete in the District Tournament, your season is complete.  Congratulations to all of our wrestlers for a fine season, and for representing Ridgewood well in all of our competitions!  We look forward to seeing everybody next year!

This week's schedule for District competitors:

• Tuesday 6:30-7:45 and 7:45-9:15
• Wednsday 6:30-7:45 and 7:45-9:15
• Thursday 5:00pm Weigh-in at West Milford (See details below)
• Sunday (all day) District Tournament at West Milford

Singlet Return
Attention all wrestlers.  When you are done with wrestling this month, pls return yr singlets, cleaned and in a ziplock bag labeled with yr name to 135 doremus ave.  There will be a box on the front porch.  All singlets should be returned by Feb 28th, with the exception of those wrestling in the states.  If there is anything that wd prevent you from doing this by the end of February,  you must notify Mary Saglimbeni(mary@sagfamily.com). If we do not hear from you and do not have yr singlet, we will be forced to cash yr equipment deposit check.  Once we receive yr singlet, we will destroy your check.

Photo Request
All wrestling families:  if you have taken pictures during the season and wd like to share them, we will be posting them on a bulletin board at the year end banquet.  All you need to do is to bring them an place a tack in them at the banquet.  Any questions, pls contact Mary Saglimbeni (mary@sagfamily.com)

Thursday Weigh-in
Who?    Everybody who will compete at Districts
Place:  Macopin Middle School, Highlander Drive West Milford NJ 07480

Sunday Tournament
Place: West Milford High School, Highlander Drive West Milford NJ
Time: Arrive by 8:30am for 9:00am start

Note: Those who finish 1st or 2nd at Districts are eligible to compete at the Regions Tournament the following Sunday in Hackensack.

Details for the 2011 Novice Tournament are now available at this link:

2011 TCJWL Novice

This Week
Regular Ridgewood practice

• Tuesday  6:30-7:45 and 7:45-9:15
• Thursday 6:30-7:45 and 7:45-9:15

Weigh-in for Skip Bailey Tournament

• Thursday 5:15pm at Saddle Brook High School
• See the last section of this newsletter for more details
• Note for kids in our early practice session; we've chosen to weigh-in early so you can all be back at RHS for our practice.

Saturday Twin County Meet

Our season opens this Saturday at Wood-Ridge High School! 

Who?    Everybody
Time:   Arrive 8:00am for 8:30am Start
Place:   Wood-Ridge High School
Location Information: http://www.tcjwl.com/woodridge.html

As you can imagine, scheduling over 100 matches for over 200 kids – making sure they are all paired against an equal opponent – is a huge logistical challenge.  If your child is going to miss a Saturday meet it is IMPERATIVE that you notify the coaches as early as possible.  It’s a huge disappointment for a child to show up for a meet only to discover that his opponent isn’t there!  Anybody who repeatedly does not attend a Saturday meet, or arrives late, without notifying us in advance risks being dropped from the Ridgewood Junior Wrestling program.

 For more information about our Twin County Meets, please review our FAQ section under "Your First Meet".

Sunday - Annual Skip Bailey Tournament

Time: Ages 10 and under (as of January 1) arrive 8:00am for 8:30am Start
         Ages 11 and over arrive around noon for apx 12:30pm start

Location: Saddle Brook High School

Weigh-in: 5:15pm this Thursday night at Saddle Brook High School

Registration: No registration required

Who? This is an optional tournament for anybody who would like to enter.  It is not a Novice tournament, meaning there will be kids of all experience levels.

Weigh-ins If this is your first weigh-in: You can wear your singlet under your street clothes, or change into it at Saddle Brook. We will meet as a team in the hallway at 5:15, then when notified by the tournament director enter the boys locker room where you will step on the scale in your singlet.  You are allowed to step on the scale ONLY ONE TIME, and there is no weight allowance at Skip Bailey.

 

USA Wrestling New Jersey State Championships
Every year "USA Wrestling" organizes and runs a series of open tournaments that lead to a state championship tournament for youth wrestlers.  These are not part of our regular schedule and are not covered by your registration with RJW. 

We have found, however, that our more competitve wrestlers enjoy testing themselves against the best wrestlers in the state, and have actually improved their wrestling by seeking the tougher competition that these tournaments provide.  In addition, each year a number of Ridgewood wrestlers qualify for, and even earn medals, at the state championship tournament.  This accomplishment is a source of pride that they carry with them for years to come.

For those of you who are interested, here is information that you may find useful:

Format:
Throughout the winter, a total of eight "qualifer" tournaments are held at various locations around the state.  These are single-elimination tournaments, and the top-3 finishers qualify to attend the state tournament held in March.  Note that there is no limit to the number of qualifiers that a wrestler may attend.  If you fail to qualify at your first attempt, you can continue to try at the next qualifier tournament.

Ages/Weight:
Age and weight categories are available on the registration form, available at this link: USA States Registration and Information

To register for a qualifier tournament
To register for a qualifier tournament,  you must first purchase a "USA Wrestling" membership.  These are $41 and are good until 8/31 of this year.  See "Obtaining a USA Wrestling Card" in the next section.

Next, use the link above to print the registration information.  Fill-out the form as directed and mail it to the address indicated on the form.  Important notices:

• Registration check should be made to the club described (ex: Union Wrestling Booster Club for the Union qualifier)
• For "Club / Town / Team"  you'll probably want to simply enter "Ridgewood".  If you attend a private club that requires you to wear their singlet and use their coaches, you'll need to discuss with them.   

Obtaining a USA Wrestling Card:
In order to wrestle in a qualifier tournament, you must have a USA Wrestling membership card, which are $41/year.  You can either apply for a card with your registration at your first qualifier, or you can use this link to print one online:

USA Wrestling Card

Note: When you register for a USA Wrestling Card you must specify a sponsering club.  Most Ridgewood wrestlers pick "Florian Techniques Wrestling Club" for Olympic Wrestling; but if you attend a different private club you can choose it.  DO NOT USE THIS as "Town or Club" name when you register for a qualifier.  

Coaching:
While you are free to attend any of the eight state qualifiers, it is important to know that because this is not part of the Ridgewood Junior Program you need to arrange your own coaching.  We do, however, always try to have members o our own coaching staff attend some of the qualifiers.  For 2011, the tournaments at which we will have coaches on-site include:

• Union
• Randolph
• Fair Lawn

If you have other questions, please feel free to discuss them with Coach Tavoso.