Beat The Streets Wrestling Presents Annual Awards at Annual Benefit; $1.2 Million Raised

    NEW YORK, NY, May 24, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Seven area student-athletes and five coaches were honored Wednesday night at the annual Beat the Streets benefit, following the freestyle matches in Times Square that afternoon and evening. A total of $1.2 million was raised for the organization, which works directly with the New York City Department of Education in a public-private partnership to bring the life changing sport of wrestling to over 3,000 New York City student-athletes to help them achieve their personal and athletic goals.

The winners are:
Student-Athletes:
Junior League Girls Wrestler of the Year: Alessandra Elliott, Tottenville
Junior League Boys Wrestler of the Year: Wilver Mariano-Peralta, MS 129
Female Student-Athlete of the Year: Amna Eldawaity, Bronx Studio
Male Student-Athlete of the Year: Joseph DiForte, Petrides
GRIT Award: Yonefry Polanco, Dewitt-Clinton
LADY LIBERTY Award: Pearl Fletcher, Harry S Truman
ATLAS Award and Become Your Own Dream Scholarship Winner: Brandon Nunez, John Bowne
Coaches:
Junior League Coach of the Year: Dmitriy Landa, Elite Wrestling Academy
High School Assistant Coach of the Year: Jonathan Khoury, Eagle Academy
Girls High School Coach of the Year: Dave Kantrowitz, Bronx Studio
Boys High School Coach of the Year: Stephen Perez, Grand Street Campus
Volunteer of the Year: Andy Martinez, Harry S Truman
As previously announced, BTS Awards were also presented to:

Man of the Year - Austin DeSanto, Pennsylvania State Champion 2017
Woman of the Year - Helen Maroulis, Olympic Gold Medalist 2016
Lifetime Achievement Award - Rocky Aoki (his daughter Devon and son Steve accepted in his honor)

The stars of USA Wrestling were unleashed upon Times Square on Wednesday evening with Olympic champions Helen Maroulis, Kyle Snyder and Jordan Burroughs leading a U.S. rout at the 2017 Beat the Streets Benefit dubbed "East Meets West." Nine exhibition matches featuring Beat the Streets youth athletes and the NYC PSAL Girl's Freestyle Dual Meet Championship preceded the Team USA vs. Japan matchup.

About Beat the Streets
The mission of Beat the Streets is to develop the full potential of the urban youth and to strengthen the culture of New York City wrestling. BTS works directly with the New York City Department of Education in a public-private partnership to bring the life changing sport of wrestling to over 3,000 New York City student-athletes to help them achieve their personal and athletic goals. Through the operation of wrestling programs in middle and high schools in the five boroughs, BTS and the DOE provide a safe, positive atmosphere in which disadvantaged and at-risk youth can learn the essential life lessons of grit, personal responsibility and teamwork, physical fitness and nutrition, and life-long learning. The goal of fostering strong, well-rounded student-athletes is delivered through coaching, after-school programs, life skills workshops, and summer camps. More information can be found at http://www.btsny.org.

About USA Wrestling
USA Wrestling is the National Governing Body for the Sport of Wrestling in the United States and, as such, is its representative to the United States Olympic Committee and United World Wrestling, the international wrestling federation. Simply, USA Wrestling is the central organization that coordinates amateur wrestling programs in the nation and works to create interest and participation in these programs. It has over 220,000 members across the nation, boys and girls, men and women of all ages, representing all levels of the sport. Its president is Bruce Baumgartner, and its Executive Director is Rich Bender. More information can be found at TheMat.com.

About FloSports
FloSports, the innovator in live digital sports and original content, partners with event rights holders and governing bodies to unlock a world of sports coverage that true fans have been waiting for. Through live streaming of premier events, original video programming, and weekly studio shows, FloSports is growing the sports, the athletes and the fans. Current verticals under the FloSports header are Wrestling, Grappling, MMA, Elite Fitness, Boxing, Softball, Tennis, Pro Wrestling, Gymnastics, Marching, Basketball, Volleyball, eSports, Rodeo, Climbing, Swimming, Cheerleading, and Track.

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