- Brandon Cain
Beat the Streets New York earns top-5 finishes at 2023 Beat the Streets National Duals
BTSNY claimed second place in the boys division and fifth place in the girls division.
Beat the Streets New York took second place in the boys division at the second annual Beat the Streets National Duals, presented by ASICS, on Thursday at Wintrust Sports Complex in Bedford Park, Ill.
Eric Bocanegra and Devone Bogie each had a fall in under a minute against Chicago. Oumar Tounkara, Firdavs Ahmadzoda, Sulayman Bah, Botensky Bauzile and Xavier Giles each posted a technical fall, while Amir Avazov scored a win by decision.
New York, the No. 6 seed, fell to reigning champion Chicago RED 42-36 in the championship dual. New York defeated Baltimore 52-20 and Los Angeles 37-34 in pool play then upset No. 1-seeded Cleveland 41-35 in the semifinals.
Five New York student-athletes went 4-0 during the tournament: Giles, Bocanegra, Tounkara, Bah and Bogie. Bocanegra and Tounkara scored the most team points (19). Bocanegra had two falls, one forfeit and one technical fall, while Tounkara had three falls. Bah had three tech falls and one fall, Giles scored four tech falls and Bogie had two falls, a forfeit and won by a decision.
BTSNY girls claim 5th
The New York girls went 2-2 and took fifth place with a 41-27 victory against Baltimore.
Ashanty Peralta, Areti Kokonas, Katherine Berrezueta, Alessandra Elliott and Isabella Lorenzana all won by fall against Baltimore. Alexis Elson and Marieyls Lugo-Fernandez each won by decision, and Leona Gao recorded a forfeit.
In pool play, New York defeated Philadelphia/Lancaster 39-30, but fell to Chicago (41-30) and Los Angeles (49-24). New England captured the girls team title for a second straight year.
Lorenzana, Elson and Elliott each led New York with four wins apiece. Lorenzana scored the most team points (20) with three falls and one forfeit. Elliott had one fall, one tech fall and two forfeits, while Elson had one fall, two decisions, one forfeit.
Since being founded in 2005, Beat the Streets has pioneered a movement that now includes 150 individual wrestling programs, a youth league and the first girls high school league.
Beat the Streets works to develop the full human and athletic potential of the urban youth and strengthen the NYC wrestling culture. We aim to make a lifelong impact on student-athletes through the lessons learned on the wrestling mat -- discipline, perseverance, self-reliance, humility and a strong work ethic.