NEW YORK STATE DREAM TEAM OF NCAA DIVISION I CHAMPIONS

​NEW YORK STATE

NCAA DIVISION I CHAMPIONS 



125- Troy Nickerson (Chenango Forks HS) - Cornell - 2009

         Jeff Prescott (Olean HS) - Penn State -1990, 1991

         Nick Gallo (Deer Park HS) - Hofstra - 1977

         Dave Auble (Ithaca HS) - Cornell -1959, 1960

         David Hirsch (Clarkstown South HS) - Cornell- 1994 

​         Brad Penrith (Windsor HS) - Iowa -1986

         Carl DeStefanis (Locust Valley HS) - Penn State - 1984


133- Vito Arujau (Syosset HS) - Cornell -2019-2024

         Clar Anderson (Olean HS) - Oklahoma State - 1983

         Joe Gratto (Canton HS) - Lehigh -1957


141- Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton HS) - Cornell - 2018, 2019

         Peter Yozzo (Sayville HS) - Lehigh -1987

​         Harold Masem (NYC-Brooklyn PSAL HS) - Lehigh - 1953


149- Jesse Jantzen (Shoreham-Wading River HS) - Harvard - 2004

         Gregor Gillespie (Webster-Schroeder HS) - Edinboro - 2007

         Frank Bettuci (Ithaca HS) - Cornell - 1953


157- Carl Adams (Brentwood HS) - Iowa State -1971, 1972

         JP O'Connor (Oxford HS) - Harvard- 2010


165- Kyle Dake (Lansing HS) - Cornell - 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013

         Keith Stearns (Pioneer HS) - Oklahoma- 1978

         Chris Edmond (Freeport HS) - Tennessee - 1985

         Joe Lemyre (Baldwin HS) - Penn State -1952


​174- Mitch Clark (Canton HS) - Ohio State - 1998

         Dean Morrison (Copiague HS) - West Virginia - 1994


184- Ed Banach (Port Jervis HS) - Iowa - 1980, 1981,1983

         Noel Loban (Copiague HS) - Clemson - 1980


197- Tom Schlendorf (Calhoun HS) - Syracuse -1967

         Josh Glenn (Johnson City HS) - American University -2007


285- Lou Banach (Port Jervis HS) - Iowa - 1980, 1983

         Kerry McCoy (Longwood HS) - Penn State -1995, 1997

         Nick Gwiazdowski (Duanesburg HS) - North Carolina State - 2014, 2015


ABOUT THE TEAM:

   This elite group of Empire State prepped wrestlers are NCAA Division I champions and collectively garnered 42 NCAA crowns and won two Dan Hodge trophies (symbolizing the top collegiate wrestler of the year) - those recipients were Kerry McCoy (1997) and Kyle Dake (2013). 


   At 125 pounds there are a stable of lightweight phenoms including four-time All-American Troy Nickerson (97-8, 38 falls) of Cornell who finished 2-1-3-4 at the NCAAs and a trio of MOW winners: two-time champ Jeff Prescott (88-15-2) of Penn State, two-time AA Nick Gallo, (104-14), also a member of the US Olympic team and the lone NCAA champion from Hofstra, along with Cornell's Dave Auble (51-1). Other lightweight stars were David Hirsch (116-17) of Cornell, Iowa's Brad Penrith, a three-time finalist who won his NCAA crown in his sophomore season and Penn State's Carl DeStefanis  who compiled a 114-16-1 mark and won his NCAA gold medal at the Meadowlands.


   Vito Arujau was a four-time All-American (4-3-1-1) and was a two-time NCAA champion with an impressive 93-9 career ledger. He is top pick at 133 pounds. Clar Anderson (73-17-4) began his college career at Auburn and then transferred to Oklahoma State, he had NCAA placings of 6-1-5 at 134 pounds.


   Cornell's Yianni Diakomihalis (115-2 career) was a four-time NCAA champion and is the solid pick at 149 pounds. He became the face of the franchise for the Big Red during his tenure at Cornell. Lehigh's three-time All-American Peter Yozzo (3-2-1) won his title with a stunning fall in the finals and had an 82-5-2 ledger. Another Lehigh alumnus was Harold Masem (35-4) who placed 4th in 1939, but didn't earned AA status because the NCAA only recognized the top three finishers. 


​    New York State boasts three studs in the 149-pound class, first team selection Jesse Jantzen (131-13, 50 pins) of Harvard, a three-time AA (3-3-1) who won the MOW Award at the 2004 NCAAs, Edinboro's four-time All American Gregor Gillespie (7-1-5-4) who compiled an impressive 144-13 career mark, along with Frank Bettuci, a three-time EIWA champion and NCAA OSW winner for the Big Red of Cornell.


     Iowa State's Carl Adams (77-9-4) dominated the 158-pound class in the 1970s and was the first true freshman ever to place at the NCAAs, finishing fifth at 152, and then won two NCAA titles, he is the top pick here ahead of three-time AA JP O'Connor (5-6-1) of Harvard who finished with a 132-16 ledger. At 165 pounds is the only four-time NCAA champion Kyle Dake (137-4) to win four titles in four different weight classes. Dake of Cornell was the NCAA MOW in 2013 and defeated David Taylor (Penn State) in an epic NCAA title bout. Other top 165-pounders are Keith Stearns, a two-time AA from Oklahoma and Tennessee's lone NCAA winner Chris Edmond who finished with a 75-15-2 record. Ohio State's Mitch Clark (119-27) scored a blistering 18-0 tech fall in the NCAA finals and is the pick here at 174 pounds over Dean Morrison (103-22-3) of West Virginia. 


    Three-time champion Ed Banach (141-9-1) of Iowa is still the Hawkeye pins leader with 73 falls and was an Olympic champion, he was an Iowa mainstay during their NCAA title runs in the early 1980s. Another standout was Noel Loban (88-13) of Clemson at 184 pounds. At 197, is Tom Schlendorf (84-8-1) of Syracuse who was a top NCAA grappler in the late 1960s, just ahead of two-time AA Josh Glenn (116-14) of American University. New York has a trio of spectacular heavyweights, with the top choice being two-time NCAA and Olympic champion Lou Banach (90-14-2) of Iowa. Other top 285-pounders are: two-time NCAA winner and two-time Olympian Kerry McCoy (105-18 career) of Penn State, along with four-time AA Nick Gwiazdowski (8-1-1-2). Gwiazdowski started his NCAA career at Binghamton and then transferred to NC State where he claimed two NCAA titles.


             - TOP LI WRESTLERS THAT NEVER WON A NEW YORK STATE TITLE -


1. NICK GALLO - Deer Park HS - Hofstra University

    * 4th NYS - two-time NCAA All-American -1977 NCAA champion and MOW (126)

    * compiled an impressive 104-14 collegiate mark

    * 1980 US Olympic team

2. PETE GALEA - Brentwood HS - Iowa State

    * 2nd NYS - Four-time Big Eight champion (36-0) in conference competition

    * Midlands champ and two-time NCAA All-American - finalist in 1976 at 150 lbs.

3. CHRIS EDMOND - Freeport HS - University of Tennessee

     * 3rd NYS - NYS Greco-Roman champion - two-time NCAA All-American

     * NCAA champion in 1985 at 167 pounds - compiled a 75-15-2 collegiate mark

4. TOMMY RYAN - Wantagh HS - Syracuse University - Iowa University

     * Three-time Nassau County champion and three -time NYS place-winner

     * EIWA Champion - Two-time Big Ten champion

     * Two-time NCAA All-American - lost to Pat Smith (Okla State), 7-6, in 1991 finals

5. DEAN MORRISON - Copiague HS - West Virginia

      * 3rd NYS - Three Eastern League titles

      * Two-time NCAA All-American (103-22-3 career) 

      * NCAA champion at 177 pounds in 1994

6. NOEL LOBAN - Copiague HS - Clemson University

      * Suffolk County place-winner - NCAA champion (88-13) in 1980 at 190 pounds

      * Bronze medalist in 1984 Olympics representing Great Britain

7. JON MASA - Long Beach HS - Hofstra University

       * Five-time Nassau County place-winner - two-time NYS place-winner

       * 2000 NHSCA champion - Four-time CAA champion 

       * The Pride's  only three time All American with a stellar 126-32 career ledger

8. ED PIDGEON - Locust Valley HS - Hofstra University

       * Two-time NYS runner-up, lost the MOW Mark Iacovelli (Ithaca HS) in the 1977 final

       * NCAA All-American at 126 pounds in 1981

9. WILLIE GADSON - Huntington HS - Nassau CC - Iowa State 

      * Suffolk County finalist 

​      * Two-time NJCAA champion (45-0) at Nassau CC and NJCAA OSW Award winner

      * Two-time NCAA All-American, lost to Chris Campbell (Iowa) 3-1 OT, and finished third 

9. MIKE PICOZZI -Huntington HS - Iowa State

      * 2nd NYS - lost in an exciting final to Robin Parker Scott (Caledonia-Mumford) in 1976

      * NCAA All-American - 5th place at 118 pounds in 1980

10. RICHARD MAHER - Amityville HS - Orange Community College 

       * Three-time Suffolk County champion

       * Three-time NYS place winner - NJCAA champion (160 pounds) for Orange CC in 1969

​11. MARTY WILLIGAN - Amityville HS - Hofstra

         * 3rd NYS

         * Two-time NCAA All-American - lost to Dan Gable at 137 pounds in 1969 

         * Two-time Gold Medalist in World Games for the Deaf

12. RON ADAMS - Brentwood HS - Farmingdale State College

         * 3rd NYS

         * NJCAA champion at 150 pounds and led his team to the national title in 1972


MAT NOTES:

      Another highly-acclaimed wrestler in the Empire State to NEVER to win a state title was MITCH CLARK (Potsdam-Canton HS)

      * Three-time Section Ten champion - three-time NYS place winner (3-2-2)

      * Lost to the MOW winner in the state finals in both years - Jason Kraft (Sachem HS) won 13-5, in his junior campaign and then lost to Sirrell Gissendanner (Spencerport HS), in the exciting 1992 state final,12-10 OT, on a blast double leg takedown

       * 1993 NHSCA national champion

       * At Ohio State - two-time Big Ten champion

       * Two-time All-American at Ohio State (2-1)

       * NCAA champion - rolled to an 18-0 tech fall at 177 pounds in 1998 with a 39-1 record 

       * Author of the popular wrestling book, entitled " Make it Happen " in 1999