Wrestling
RANKED #1 2012 NJCAA (DIV. III) NON-SCHOLARSHIP
WRESTLING TEAM
Anthony Abidin (133lbs) led the Nassau Lions to their fifth NJCAA (Div. III) non scholarship wrestling national championship. Nassau had a total of six All- Americans: Joe DeAngelo (125lbs), Anthony Abidin (133lbs), Mac Maldarelli (149lbs), Ryan Fox (165lbs), Kyle Folk-Freund (197lbs), Yaseen Mudassar (285lbs). Coach Vougar Oroudjov was named NJCAA (non scholarship) Coach of the Year. Nassau sent eight wrestlers to the NJCAA National Championships which was held in Rochester, MN. After a disappointing second place finish at the District Championships the Nassau Lions rebounded in a big way.
Joe DeAngelo (125lbs) finished seventh by going 4-2 in the tournament. He lost to Jacob Colon (Iowa Central) 5-4 in the quarterfinals at the buzzer. DeAngelo defeated Marco Tomayo (Colby) 10-2 for seventh place.
Anthony Abidin (133lbs) is Nassau's 10th national champion in the college’s fifty year history. Abidin defeated Brandon Wright (Iowa Central) 7-4. Anthony was ranked 12th in the final NJCAA national poll, he would go (5-0) in the tournament. In the quarterfinal round Abidin beat former All American Eric Hughes (Labette CC) 16-1. Abidin would win a very controversial match in the semifinals against Martin Gonzalez (Clackamas CC) 8-7 in the last seconds before moving onto the finals to upset Wright of Iowa Central.
Mac Maldarelli (149lbs) capped off a tremendous season by finishing second at the NJCAA National Tournament. Maldarelli lost to Edwin Cooper (Iowa Central) 11-8 in the finals. Maldarelli had very tough matches throughout the tournament. In his first match he defeated Tyler Peete (Alfred CC) 6-2 before beating Nick Brenden (South West Oregon) 2-1 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals he would beat Mark Marionovic (Lincoln CC) 5-4. Marionovic was cruising thru the tournament before meeting Maldarelli. Malderelli would finish the season winning over 40 matches and is currently being recruited by numerous Division I programs.
Ryan Fox (165lbs) capped off a stellar year by finishing 3rd in the national tournament. Fox would lose to Ethan Orr the NJCAA National Champion 8-4 in the quarterfinal round but dominated his final four matches and finished his Nassau career by beating Bryce Lewis 14-2 for third place. Fox has committed to Binghamton University for the 2012-13 season.
Frank Merente (174lbs) would go (2-2) at the tournament. Merente finished the season with a very respectful record of (16-11). Hopefully this national experience will help him during next season.
Dan Sutherland (184lbs) came back from injury at the end of the season to help this team, Sutherland finished 3rd at the District Championships which qualified him for the national tournament. Sutherland finished the tournament going (1-2).
Kyle Folk-Freund (197lbs) finishes seventh by beating Charles Argeu (Harper CC) 11-5. Kyle went (4-2) for the tournament, is being recruited by many Div.III programs.
Yaseen Mudassar (285lbs) places sixth. After a great first day, Yaseen would lose to Trey Page (Labette CC) in the semifinals 3-1. Yaseen will be one of the favorites to win a NJCAA national championship next year.
Vougar Orounjov (Coach of the Year) a former world champion was recognized by his peers for his outstanding coaching skills. Coach Orounjov was very instrumental in the success of the NCC wrestling program and preparing the wrestlers for the national stage.
For final results of the: 2012 NJCAA Wrestling National Championships
