DISTRICTS
Congratulations to Senior Oli Hyams (215) for being a State Qualifier!

SECTIONALS
Sycamore had 5 wrestlers advance to the Districts. Taking 1st place were Seniors Joe Patterson at 119 and Oliver Hyams at 275. Freshman Daniel Mason -Strauss (112) placed 2nd, Senior Nate Small (215) placed 3rd, and
Senior Chuck Luken (171) took 4th place.

GMC
Sycamore had 5 placers. Freshman Daniel Mason -Strauss (112) was wrestling a strong match against a State qualifier, when a head injury forced him to default. Senior Oli Hyams (275) took 2nd place after a controversial 2nd ref's call robbed him of his pin earlier in the match that showcased two stong opponents. Senior Joe Patterson (119) won 3rd place with a pin. Senior Nate Small (215) wowed the crowd with a final-seconds takedown to win 3rd. Senior Chuck Luken (171) took 4th place in a tight match.

Colerain Dual Showed Class(time)
Sycamore put up a good fight in its 37-31 loss to Colerain that was held at Colerain during the school day. Cheering Colerain students filled the bleachers and their band blasted music for the home-team advantage.Following a pin by freshman against a strong opponent, sophomore Ralan Kaplan (125) stunned the crowd when he pinned Colerain's senior captain and state qualifier during the first period. Four starters were out  due to injury (119, 135,145, 160), and Sycamore had to forfiet two of those matches.  But Sycamore ended strong finish with the heavyweights. Senior Chuck Luken (171)  kept control with a major decision win, Junior Dan Tauber (189) returned from his injury with a pin, senior Nate Small (215) won, and senior Oli Hyams (275) pinned his guy in an aggressive match.

LaSalle Duals
This webmaster was out of town, so I don't have all of the results.

Syamore Invitational nets 5 Placers
Second seed senior Oliver Hyams, (275) won another first place medal when he  solidly defeated the undefeated first seed 12-3 after he pinned his first two opponents. Unseeded senior Joe Patterson's  (119) march to his 20-5 decision first place win included a tech and a tight 17-15 overtime match against the 3rd seed in the second round. Freshman Daniel Mason-Strauss (112) started the tournament with 2 pins before he lost to the eventual first place winner in the semi-finals. But the 4th seeded Mason-Strauss came back with another pin and then beat the 3rd seed 8-1 to win 3rd place. Unseeded sophomore Ralan Kaplan (125) won 3rd place by beating the 2nd seed 10-5 after he had already beaten him early in the tournament by a point. Kaplan returned with a pin after his loss to the eventual first place winner in the final seconds of a 9-8 match in the semi-finals. Unseeded Senior Chuck Luken's (171) 4th place award started strong with a pin, and then a win against the 4th seed before he lost to the eventual winner in the semi-finals. He returned with a win but lost to the 4th seed when he met him again in the end. SEE ALL THE RESULTS.

St. Xavier Invitational brings home a Champ
Senior Oliver Hyams, 275, took first place at this tough tournament that draws schools from the Cleveland area and East Chicago as well as Greater Cincinnati and Greater Dayton. Oli won his three matches by a fall, with the total fall times equaling 3:45. Freshman, Daniel Mason-Strauss beat the 3rd seed and the 6th seed on his way to winning the 4th place award. See the total results.

SWOWCA Holiday Classic
Oliver Hyams (275) received the award for the Most Pins in the least amount of Time with 3 Pins in 2:57  at this year's Coaches' Classic featuring 28 top area teams. Oli and Joe Patterson (119) each placed 6th. Unfortunately, they were both injured during the Championship rounds and had to default the final matches. SEE RESULTS on THE SWOWCA COACHES CLASSIC PAGE.

Two Place at the Ironman Tournament
Seniors Oliver Hyams (HWT) and Nate Small (215) took home medals from the Ironman Tournament December 11 at Walsh Jesuit High School outside Cleveland. Oli placed 2nd, losing in the final round to Steve Mocco from Blair Academy who entered the tournament with a 54-0 record. Nate placed 6th. Matt Montgomery (135) and Dan Tauber (189) were one match away from qualifying for a medal. The Ironman Tournament is considered to be one of the toughest competitions in the country, drawing top-ranked, multiple state-placers and champions from Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. For complete results, please see the results page.

Welcome New Coaches
Jason Staggs has been named as the new Freshman Coach, and Troy Rees is his assistant. Coach Staggs, a 6th grade teacher at Sycamore's Greene Middle School, was a State Placer in 1993 when he wrestled at Fairfield. He continued to wrestle at Miami University until an injury ended his college wrestling. Coach Rees, a grad student at Miami University, works with special-needs students at Sycamore High. They join Kevin Whittman and John Traub as Assistant Coaches to  Head Coach Gary Listermann.

Sycamore Athletic Hall of Fame
honors Coach Listermann
Gary Listermann, honoring his 30th year as Sycamore Wrestling Head Coach was inducted into the Sycamore Athletic Hall of Fame on January 29, 2000 at 7 p.m. at the Gregory Center in downtown Cincinnati.