Directions to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy

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• Press

The GS cougars returned to visit the CHA Blue Devils for the second straight year, while wrestling for the first time in November in recent memory. Our guys remembered only earning four team points (on head-to-head matchups) in 2010, and used it as motivation for a better showing this year. Senior captain Peter Verner got the match going with a quick pin when he bumped up to 138 lbs. After junior captain Cyrus Vakili earned a forfeit, we jumped to a 12-point match lead. Senior captain Tommy Lodge-Yanez earned us another four team points when he won by a score of 18-8 at 160 lbs. CHA came roaring back with pins at 152, 182, 195, and 220 lbs to jump ahead 24-16. Thanks to a forfeit at heavyweight and a 28-second pin by freshman Cameron Vakili at 106 lbs, we regained the matchlead 28-24. Even though the Blue Devils responded with a pin at 113 lbs, sophomore Aidan Greer kept us ahead (34-30) when he earned a first period pin at 120 lbs. With double forfeits at 126 lbs, sophomore Luke Stackhouse sealed the deal for us with an impressive 49-second pin at 132 lbs. All in all, we survived this rollercoaster of a match. Next up we will try to avenge last year’s win versus The Hill School.

"George School Wrestling Opens Season with a Win"
Chestnut Hill Local, December 5, 2011

Directions to Germantown Academy

• Highlights

Individual results:

Varsity: Aidan Greer finished in second place at the 120 lb. weight class.

JV: Luke Stackhouse finished in first place at the 132 lb. weight class by accumulating four pins.

Directions to Hill School

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Match Results:

Win George School 60 - West Mont. 18
Loss George School 30 - Hill School 52

Directions to Chestnut Hill Academy

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George School participated in the 15-team tournament hosted by the Blue Devils last Saturday. The team ended placing 9th overall. Two Cougars were place winners. Sophomore Aidan Greer finished as the runner-up in the 120 lb weightclass (his 2nd place in two weeks). Junior tri-captain Cyrus Vakili finished in 4th place at 138 lbs.

Directions to George School

• Highlights

After losing the last two seasons against the Valley Forge Cadets, the GS Cougars were eager for their first battle at home. After winning by forfeit at 113 lbs,sophomore Aidan Greer continued on his pinning ways (he has 5 pins already this season) by dispatching his opponent in the first period. Junior Campbell Alden also got a nice second period pin at 126 lbs thus allowing us to jump to an 18-0 lead. Valley Forge came charging back with two pins and a tech fall of their own, to close the gap to just one team point (17-18). Freshman neophyte Jermaine Doris earned a fantastic 0:14-second pin at 152 lbs. Senior co-captain extended the lead another three team points with his impressive 12-6 decision versus a tough senior opponent. Although the Cadets would end up earning one more pin at heavyweight, their forfeit of three more weight classes sealed the match for George School. It was very gratifying to see our guys stay toe-to-toe with the Cadets on the mat. All in all, a very entertaining home opener and hard fought match.

Directions to George School

• Highlights

George School 21 - Lawrenceville School 58

George School 35 - Martin Luther King Jr. High School 42

Directions to Church Farm School

• Highlights

Our cougar grapplers participated in the 16-team Church Farm Invitational this past Saturday which included public schools like New Hope-Solebury, Chichester, and Penn Wood, as well as a handful of PIAA independent schools.

The varsity team finished in 6th place overall (ahead of all other friends league schools except Westtown) with five of our wrestlers placing in their respective weight classes:

Cyrus Valiki finished in 5th Place at 138 lbs.

Jason Cincotta finished 4th at 220 lbs.

Luke Stackhouse finished 4th at 132 lbs.

Cameron Vakili finished in 3rd place at 106 lbs.

Tommy Lodge-Yanez was crowned Champion at 152 lbs.

Tommy and Cyrus tied with most wins, each with 4.

Cyrus scored two pins and two decisions (one of those in overtime).

Tommy had three decisions and one major decision by racking up 18 takedowns for the day!

Directions to Church Farm School

• Highlights

(W) George School 48  Philmont Christian 30

(L) George School 10  Church Farm School 63

Directions to Hill School

• Highlights

This past Saturday our wrestlers participated in the Escape the Hill Invitational Tournament held at The Hill School. It included prep teams from Maryland, Connecticut, NJ, western PA, and four Philadelphia area schools. Several of our wrestlers distinguished themselves by winning matches in their weight class.

Cameron Vakili took 2nd Place at 106-pounds

Aidan Greer took 3rd Place at 120-pounds

Peter Verner took 3rd Place at 132-pounds

Cyrus Vakili took 3rd Place at 138-pounds

Luke Stackhouse took 5th Place at 145-pounds

Zaid Walter took 1st Place at 110-pounds JV

Directions to Abington Friends School

• Highlights

George School – 60 Abington Friends School – 17

We started our tri-meet versus AFS kangaroos. The match started with a first period pin by the home team at 182 lbs. We then received six straight forfeits to go up 36-6. Junior Campbell Alden put up an admirable fight (17-2) versus their two-time All-League 126-pounder, thus avoiding giving up a pin. Sophomore Luke Stackhouse took on yet another All-League wrestler, but this time it was our time to score in double digits (16-9). After AFS gave up yet another forfeit, junior tri-captain Cyrus Vakili faced off Grey at 145 lbs. Clearly in control for over 5 minutes, Cyrus had built up a 6-0 lead. Then, he severely twisted an ankle trying to return his opponent to the mat. Clearly in pain and distress, Cyrus managed to fight off his back and barely win the match. Cyrus was done for the day and he had to be carried off the mat. Senior tri-captain Tommy Lodge-Yanez pinned his 152 lb opponent in 1:53. The match ended with teams trading forfeits at 160 and 170. This was nice start for us in FSL team competition.

George School – 54 Germantown Friends – 24

After feeling pretty good about the way we wrestled AFS, we immediately wrestle a tiny but talented GFS squad. We secured 7 consecutive forfeits from them right off the start to gain a 42-point lead. Then senior tri-captain faced a GFS senior at 132. Peter kept it close, but he lost by points (5-8). Sophomore Luke Stackhouse took on a tough GFS junior for his second bout of the day. Luke was not as sharp for this bout, although he managed to jump to a 6-2 first period lead by putting the GFS kid on his back. Luke never scored another point in his losing effort (6-12). Junior Damon McCasker jumped in to replace Cyrus, but was pinned late in the first period. Tommy bumped up to face Kurokawa at 152, a wrestler he had beaten 10 days before in the semifinals of the CFS Tourney. The match was tightly contested, with Kurokawa up 3-2 late in the second period. Tommy got caught trying to secure a takedown and ended on his back, pinned with two seconds to go in the second period. This was a humbling loss for Tommy. The match ended with teams trading forfeits at 160 and at 170. What we learned from this match is that that we need to be in better condition for back-to-back duals. Next up for us is undefeated Westtown, a team who has not lost a league match since February of 2005.

GS vs AFS

106 Cameron Vakili (GS) won by forfeit
113 Zaid Walter (GS) won by forfeit
120 Aidan Greer (GS) won by forfeit
126 Mainstein (AFS) won by tech Fall over Campbell Alden 17-2
132 Luke Stackhouse (GS) decisioned Astriants 7-6
138 Peter Verner (GS) won by forfeit
145 Cyrus Vakili (GS) decisioned Grey 6-5
152 Tommy Lodge-Yanez pinned El-Dada in 1:53
160 Herder (AFS) won by forfeit
170 Keita Erskine (GS) won by forfeit
182 Silver (AFS) pinned Dawit Klifermaria in 1:18
195 Ian Hodgin (GS) won by forfeit
220 Sebastian DiMino (GS) won by forfeit
HWT Jason Cincotta (GS) won by forfeit

George School 60 Abington Friends School 17

GS vs GFS

106 Cameron Vakili (GS) won by forfeit
113 Zaid Walter (GS) won by forfeit
120 Aidan Greer (GS) won by forfeit
126 Campbell Alden (GS) won by forfeit
132 Davis (GFS) decisioned Peter Verner 8-5
138 Reed (GFS) decisioned Stackhouse 12-6
145 Furukawa (GFS) pinned Damon McCasker in 1:42
152 Kurokawa (GFS) pinned Tommy Lodge-Yanez in 3:58
160 Nichols (GFS) won by forfeit
170 Keita Erskine (GS) won by forfeit
182 Dawit Klifermaria (GS) won by forfeit
195 Ian Hodgin (GS) won by forfeit
220 Sebastian DiMino (GS) won by forfeit
HWT Jason Cincotta (GS) won by forfeit

George School 54 Germantown Friends School 24

Directions to Westtown School

• Highlights

Westtown - 52 George School - 24

Freshman Jermaine Doris bumped up to 160 lbs. to get us started. He put up a valiant fight, one versus a considerably heavier and more experienced opponent, lasting just under five minutes. Westtown rolled through the next four bouts with two quick pins and two forfeits. Things started to look better for us when Westtown forfeited at heavyweight. Freshman Cameron Vakili once again faced his lightweight nemesis, a kid he had wrestled in tournaments on three different occasions. After another tightly contested match, Cameron lost by pin at the 5:05 mark. Sophomore Aidan Greer needed four minutes and thirty seconds of his own to earn his eight pin of the year. Junior Campbell Alden was winning comfortably by a score of 10-1 when his opponent had to stop because of a shoulder injury. Next, Sophomore Luke Stackhouse went against NFS grad Habeeb Onitri. Habeeb, an All-League wrestler, got an impressive first takedown by taking Luke to his back. After that, it was Habeeb who was continuously fighting off his back to avoid getting pinned by Stackhouse. Final score of that 132 lb. bout was 16-9 in Luke’s favor, an impressive win against an All-League wrestler. Senior captain Peter Verner bumped up to face a westtonian counterpart and one of their most accomplished wrestlers. Peter won by nine points in a courageous effort. Senior captain Tommy Lodge-Yanez took care of yet another westtonian seniors (eight of them in the lineup) by putting forth a takedown clinic for the silent hometown crowd. All in all, and considering Westtown had only given up six team points on the mat to their three previous league opponents, our performance left us feeling hopeful for our chances in the league championships coming up in February.

Directions to Solebury School

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George School – 38 Bristol Township HS – 31

Our Cougars faced gritty Bristol Township in the first part of a tri-meet on a frosty Saturday night at Solebury School. Sophomore Luke Stackhouse bumped up to 138 to fill in the gap left by junior tri-captain Cyrus Vakili (ankle injury). Bristol was ready for us and Luke was pinned for the first time this year. Freshman Jermaine Doris quickly turned the tide back our way with a quick first period pin. Senior tri-captain Tommy Lodge-Yanez earned his first technical fall (19-3) to keep our momentum going. We gained some valuable team points when Bristol forfeited 170, 182 and 195. They however came roaring back with a lightning pin at 220 and a forfeit at heavyweight. Freshman sensation, Cameron Vakili, earned his fourth pin of the year at 106. Bristol responded impressively with a pin, a one-point decision, and a major decision at 113, 120 and 126 lbs weight classes respectively. The meet score going into the final bout was 35 – 31 in our favor. It was up to our senior tri-captain, Peter Verner, to seal the deal for us. Peter used his nerves of steel to neutralize his athletic and corpulent opponent. He held a 3-2 lead going in the last 30 seconds, at which point he earned a late takedown to win his match 5-2. We did a good job holding off an opponent that matched up against us and kept down their mistakes to a minimum.

George School – 45 Solebury School – 33

Without much rest, we turned around and went against the heart of the Solebury lineup to start the match. Tommy Lodge-Yanez put on another strong performance (8-4) versus a physical opponent. Junior Damon McCasker took on a wiry, resilient opponent. Damon managed to get a buzzer-beating takedown to tie the score (9-9) and thus push the match into overtime. Although he snagged a single-leg quickly, Damon ran out of steam and lost the bout. Solebury went on a roll earning two pins and a forfeit in the next three weight classes. After getting three forfeits of our own and giving up a pin, the match went to the 120 lb. weight class with Solebury leading the meet score by 33 to 9. Aidan Greer went to work to avenge a 2-1 loss earlier in the evening. He secured a first period pin in our steady climb back. That was Aidan’s 9th pin this season. After two more forfeits by Solebury, the last match was in the hands of Luke Stackhouse. Luke was able to redeem himself with a second period pin (his seventh of the year) of his own to prevent Solebury from getting any more team points. All in all, it was an exciting match against a much-improved opponent. Considering our front-heavy schedule and that this was our 13th dual of the season, our guys seem to be finally getting the mat toughness we will need for the post season.

Directions to George School

• Press

"Cougars Record Five Pins"
Philadelphia Inquirer, January 25, 2012