2 Beat the Streets student-athletes win titles at Donald Douglas Memorial Championships

New York City wrestlers from catholic, independent and public schools competed for the title of "best in the city."

Beat the Streets Academy student-athletes Chris Edel and Kerolos Gorgy each won individual titles at the Donald Douglas Memorial Championships, formerly known as the NYC Mayor's Cup, on Sunday at Michael J. Petrides School on Staten Island.

The tournament features New York City's best high school wrestlers from the Public Schools Athletic League, Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) and New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS) competing for the title of "best in the city."

Edel, the No. 7 seed at 131 pounds, scored a fall and a technical fall before he upset fellow Academy member and No. 2 seed Brando Pineda of Sunset Park with a third-period fall in the quarterfinals. Edel (Francis Lewis) then scored a second-period fall against No. 6 John Foote (Poly Prep) and a dominate 15-6 major decision against top seed Jack Borowiec (Monsignor Farrell) for the title.

Gorgy (Edward R. Murrow) pinned his way to the final against fellow BTS Academy member Amin Ibrahim (James Madison) for a 1-2 seed showdown. Gorgy scored a takedown with 13 seconds remaining to claim the title against the two-time city champion.

BTS Academy members Matthew Velez (Thomas Edison), and Joshua Uben and Aiden Brito (both of Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy) fell in the finals.

Leona Gao (Brooklyn Tech) was the lone female to place in the tournament, taking home third place with a 1-0 win against teammate Gideon Kaye at 108. Gao and Kaye are both part of the BTS Academy.

Nineteen more BTS student-athletes earned a top-eight placement, including 13 in the BTS Academy program.

Evin Gursoy (Midwood) was voted the champion of champions by after he outscored his five opponents 65-0 with four technical falls and one fall. The 2024 New York state champion and Columbia University commit has yet to be scored on this season.

Monsignor Farrell (CHSAA) repeated as team champions with 266 points, followed by Tottenville (PSAL) with 187.5 and Poly Prep (NYSAIS) with 146.5 points. Farrell went 3 for 6 in the finals, including a head-to-head win against Tottenville at 108. Tottenville (3 for 5) and Poly Prep (2 for 3) also had multiple champions.

The tournament was renamed to honor the late Donald Douglas, a former PSAL Executive Director, who died of a heart attack at age 58 in 2021. The Brooklyn native and Bushwick High School alumnus spent more than 35 years working for the New York City Department of Education. He also served as a member of the BTS Board of Directors. 

INDIVIDUAL FINAL RESULTS

101: 18 Luke Foote (I-Poly Prep) DEC 1 Matthew Velez (P-Thomas Edison), 13-11

108: 1 Steve Ruggerio (C-Monsignor Farrell) FALL 2 Craig Monda (P-Tottenville), 1:33

116: 1 Brennan Sprague (C-Monsignor Farrell) TF 3 Rocky Molinare (P-Petrides), 21-5 3:38

124: 1 Evin Gursoy (P-Midwood) TF 6 Nikolas Raptis (I-Poly Prep), 16-0 6:00

131: 7 Chris Edel (P-Francis Lewis) MD 1 Jack Borowiec (C-Monsignor Farrell), 15-6

138: 1 Jordan Lee (P-James Madison) DEC 3 Lucas Tait (C-Monsignor Farrell), 10-5

145: 2 Leo Tansey (I-Collegiate) DEC 1 David Khodzhaev (P-Tottenville), 10-5

152: 1 Quinn Hunt (C-Monsignor Farrell) FALL 2 Jason Consalvo (P-Petrides), 4:34

160: 1 Ziko Madjidov (I-Poly Prep) FALL 3 Joshua Uben (P-Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy), :53

170: 1 Connor Justesen (P-Tottenville) DEC 3 Nick Zadvinskiy (C-Monsignor Farrell), 11-6

190: 1 Jayden Kiell (P-Tottenville) DEC 2 Aiden Brito (P-Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy), 12-5

215: 2 Kerolos Gorgy (P-Edward R. Murrow) DEC 1 Amin Ibrahim (P-James Madison), 7-6

285: 1 Rel Mccandless (P-Tottenville) DEC 2 Sami Uyanik (I-Dalton), 5-3

TEAM RESULTS

1. C-Monsignor Farrell (266)

2. P-Tottenville (187.5)

3. I-Poly Prep (146.5)

4. P-Petrides (143.5)

5. P-James Madison (141.5)

6. I-Collegiate (113.5)

7. P-Eagle Academy Bronx (95)

8. P-Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy (95)

9. P-Edward R. Murrow (88.5)

10. P-New Dorp (78.5)

BEAT THE STREETS RESULTS

101: 2nd, Matthew Velez (P-Thomas Edison)*; 4th, Qudir Lloyd (P-Eagle Academy)

108: 3rd, Leona Gao (P-Brooklyn Tech)*; Gideon Kaye (P-Brooklyn Tech)*

116: 7th, Starlin Cepeda (P-Bathgate)*

124: 3rd, Tysun Gillard (P-Eagle Academy); Andre Gordon (Francis Lewis); 8th, Abdul Wahab Moghul (P-James Madison)*

131: 1st, Chris Edel (P-Francis Lewis)*; 6th, Brando Pineda (P-Sunset Park)*; 7th, Jemali Dzotsenidze (P-Edward R. Murrow)*

138: 3rd, Erick Largo (P-James Madison)*

145: 5th, Alphonso Powell (P-Taft)*; 7th, Andrew Roman (P-Maspeth)

152: 3rd, Sellase Sunu (Eagle Academy)*; 6th Bilali Asspumanou (P-Lehman)*

160: 2nd, Joshua Uben (P-RKA)*; 4th, Lorenzo Lamattina (P-Petrides); 5th, Leo Cepeda (P-Martin Luther King)

170: 4th, Ismael Youla (P-Bathgate)*; 7th, Arian Moran (P-Taft)*; 8th, Omari Sanchez (P-Eagle Academy)*

190: 2nd, Aiden Brito (P-RKA)*; 7th, Tarik Bowen (P-Seward Park)*

215: 1st, Kerolos Gorgy (P-Edward R. Murrow)*; 2nd, Amin Ibrahim (P-James Madison)*

285: 5th, Christian Martel (P-Grover Cleveland)*

*Note: Part of BTS Academy program

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.

BTS 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. Discover how you can make a meaningful contribution to our work at btsny.org/donate.