Wrestling

By Gene Dermody
Exclusive to Outsports.com

The 10th annual Hillside Wrestling Week was held July 16-20 at a secluded men’s campgrounds in northeast Pennsylvania. The decade anniversary blowout attracted some 130 grapplers from Germany, Canada, and the USA.

While not the largest turnout (180), it was certainly the most spirited, hardcore, and emotional to date. The weather cooperated well, being cool and sunny, with only Friday morning showers dampening the camaraderie (and gear!). 

Wrestlers from New York City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Toronto, Fort Lauderdale, Rochester, Boston, Atlanta, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Seattle, Berlin, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Toledo, and Chicago pitched tents, donned singlets or shorts, and participated in the three style wrestling camp:  FreeStyle, Submission, and Pro.

Unlike other wrestling events that are primarily a two-day single-style tournament, clinic, or hotel social weekend, HillSide prides itself on its openness, accessibility, diversity, and opportunity. The result is a very healthy display of mutual respect and male bonding. It is incredible sight, an image that dispels the stereotype of the insecure ‘fantasy wrestlers’ propagated by the phony weight/jpg/skill claims of the AOL advertisements:   e.g.. 

The 24-7 open mats format provide for the “bring it on, shut up and wrestle” attitude of the fight fanatic.  There are technical clinics in all styles, culminating in a formal Freestyle tournament where the young lions get to test themselves against the reigning ‘Alphas’. There are also hiking trails, an Olympic pool, volleyball court, evening bonfires, and a ‘talent’ show. The only criterion for registering is that you were there to wrestle; voyeurs move on. The only ‘"downer" this year was that the pool was closed for one day because of the filters being clogged with oil & hair from the previous weekend’s ‘Bear’ event. 

Some of the Sydney Gay Games VI 2002 wrestlers were present to defend their titles, and there were plenty of novices and ringers to challenge them. The competition extended even to the ‘talent’ show, where after 10 years of trying, the wrestlers finally beat the perennial tired local drag show. NYC’s Mike Faraci and Kris Landher, both Gay Games medalists, put on a professional musical performance that was only rivaled by their wrestling talent. Dare I hope, could tired drag be finally on the wane?

The improvements this year also extended to the food. Meals are provided outdoors in a group camp setting, and in the early years, they were "iffy." Some of us remember the 1994 Saturday night "special" that was either frozen cordon bleu or baked Alaska.   This year’s menu was spectacular, and worthy of 4 gay culinary stars. This year’s T-shirt was also a winner; kudos to San Francisco’s Hank Trout for yet another hot design.  

There were no serious injuries and no "attitude incidents."  Rafael Rivera chaired the Wrestlers Without Borders annual meeting to discuss Sydney 2002 and Montreal 2006 wrestling issues. Nick Zymaris once again biked it all the way from Queens N.Y. The Saturday night anniversary dinner honored the event’s founder, Bob Sayers, and recognized those who had contributed over the years to the success of the event.  

This year’s Freestyle tournament was cursed/blessed with too many entries.   It would have taken more than a full day to get through the originally scheduled 40 matches. As a compromise, the "elite" wrestlers were asked to go settle their scores elsewhere, and the tournament paired down to 27 matches. The brackets were then very competitive, and yielded a new crop of up-and-coming stars to watch for Montreal 2006. However it is important to recognize these "elite" wrestlers, who graciously and gave up their matches and the spotlight for the good of the tournament.   They are true sportsmen.    

Special Recognitions:

1. Lightweights Carl Weissbach of NYC and Jim Saunders of Rhode Island (both novices) battled through their first Freestyle Tournament bracket to an exciting finals match up. Expect to see a lot of these two roosters in the coming years.   

2. Rochester’s middleweight Tom Dwyer has found his confidence and finally hit his tournament stride, upsetting the favorite, Philadelphia’s Glenn Hawley, in the finals (without injuring anyone including himself!). Watch out you middleweights, Dwyer has tasted blood!   

3. Ringers: Atlanta’s Chris Lewis and Boston’s Tom Sepak both tried to pass as novices and wound up facing each other in the finals. Chris had the most pins for the tournament.  

4. Washington DC’s Chuck Oakley impressive with his double cadet rolls, edged favorite NYC’s Kris Landher (Gay Games VI Bronze Medalist) by one point in the finals. It was one of the more "spirited" matches of the day.  

5. Fort Lauderdale’s wiry Bob Lubarsky stormed back to reclaim his Gold standing by dominating his bracket.  

6. NYC’s Dion Brown showed his amazing speed and athleticism in the toughest bracket. Dion has finally banished his fear of the "big guys" by being the lightest in his bracket and still winning it all.  

Bout Results: 

Elite Lightweight 140 pounds

Tim Hall (Washington DC) dec Mike Faraci (NYC) 4-3 

Elite Middleweight 160 pounds

Ed Lindsey (NYC) dec Mike Beirney (Washington DC) 11-5

Lightweight 130 pounds

Carl Weissbacher (NYC) dec Nick Zymaris (NYC) 9-4
Jim Saunders (Rhode Island) WBF Joe Doherty (New Hampshire)
Jim Saunders dec Carl Weissbacher 6-2
Gold    Jim Saunders
Silver  Carl Weissbacher
Bronze Nick Zymaris/Joe Doherty

Lightweight 145 pounds

Bob Lubarsky (Ft. Lauderdale) dec Ron Ward (Los Angeles) 8-7
Bob Lubarsky dec Rafael Rivera (Philadelphia) 7-2
Ron Ward dec Rafael Rivera 3-2
Gold    Bob Lubarsky
Silver  Ron Ward
Bronze Rafael Rivera 

Middleweight 155 pounds

Kris Landherr (NYC) dec Scott  6-0
Chuck Oakley (DC) dec Scott  5-3
Chuck Oakley dec Kris Landherr 7-6
Gold    Chuck Oakley
Silver  Kris Landherr
Bronze Scott

Lightheavyweight 170 pounds A

Tom Sepak (Boston) dec Mike Donovan (Pittsburgh) 8-4
Chris Lewis (Atlanta) WBF Mike Donovan
Chris Lewis WBF Tom Sepak
Gold    Chris Lewis
Silver  Tom Sepak
Bronze Mike Donovan

Lightheavyweight 170 pounds B

Glenn Hawley (DC) WBF Bob Eastey (Seattle)
Tom Dwyer (Rochester) dec Chris Papish (NYC) 6-0
Glenn Hawley WBF Chris Papish
Tom Dwyer dec Bob Eastey 5-1
Bob Eastey dec Chris Papish 5-0
Tom Dwyer dec Glenn Hawley 11-2
Gold    Tom Dwyer
Silver  Glenn Hawley
Bronze Bob Eastey 

Lightheavyweight 180 pounds

James Estrella (Phoenix) dec Kurt Schauer (Seattle) 6-0
Dion Brown (NYC) dec Mike Jasso (DC) 9-7
Dion Brown WBD James Estrella
Mike Jasso dec Kurt Schauer 4-2
Dion Brown dec Kurt Schauer 16-6
Gold    Dion Brown
Silver  Mike Jasso
Bronze Kurt Schauer/James Estrella 

Heavyweight

Jim Longo (NYC) dec El Parks (DC) 3-2
Joe Austin (Michigan) dec Jim Longo 6-0
Joe Austin WBF El Parks
Gold    Joe Austin
Silver  Jim Longo
Bronze El Parks 

Gene Dermody is a coach with Golden Gate Wrestling, a former Federation of Gay Games President, and a KQED San Francisco Local PRIDE Hero for 2003.

Previous year reports:
http://www.outsports.com/local/2002/0727wrestlinghillside.htm
http://www.outsports.com/local/2001/wreshillside.htm

 July 24, 2003