Why Penn State? Most people know I had narrowed my choice to either Michigan or Penn State. What many people do not realize that I was originally planning to go to Michigan. I visited Michigan and Penn State the same weekend. I was in Ann Arbor Thursday–Saturday and in State College Sunday–Tuesday. I had a great time at Michigan. The “Fab 5” were in the NCAA Final Four and won the game to go to the championship game. We went to a lot of parties, and I got to meet a lot of cool people that I thought I would want to go to school with. At the end of my visit, I told the coaches that I had to go to Penn State because it was too late to cancel my trip, but I planned to go to Michigan “if nothing crazy happened” on my trip to State College.
When I arrived in State College, nothing crazy happened. In fact it was the most relaxed recruiting trip I went on. This was probably the biggest factor in why I chose Penn State. We went to a movie Sunday night. Monday I toured the campus and met some people. I remember walking a lot mostly with Coach Oishi. I remember saying to myself, “Why can’t we drive to these places?” I later learned that the walking was only one of the many lessons that Coach Oishi would share with me during my time.
That night I watched the NCAA Championship basketball game. I remember telling the guys that I was going to be going to school with “those guys” next year (speaking of the Fab 5). They all met my statements with the same “Yeah, right” answer. I guess they knew that I was meant to be a Nittany Lion.
Tuesday morning, Coaches Fritz and Lorenzo drove me back to NY. I slept most of the way home, and they let me. I thought it was pretty cool because I really did not want talk on the entire ride home. We got to my house and they spent time talking to my parents and then they left.
The next few days were pretty normal. I had a few conversations with my parents and coaches to get their opinions, but no one would tell me what to do. I was truly on my own. I began to think back to my visits and how I was going to make my choice. My visit to Michigan was great—so much fun—and my visit to PSU was just another day. The more I thought about it, it became clearer. At Michigan, I was a recruit. At Penn State, I felt at home. The night before the signing date, I had a few more conversations and ultimately decided the first school to “pop” into my head when I woke up would be where I would go.
The next morning I woke up, and it was clear as day. I rolled out of bed, signed the papers, sealed the envelope, and went to school. It’s kind of funny because, after signing the papers, I did not tell anyone my choice for a few days—not my parents, not my coaches, not any friends.
A few days later, I was down in Florida wrestling freestyle, and I saw Coach Oishi and a bunch of Penn Staters were there. When I saw this, I knew it was the right choice. I knew I wanted not only to win the NCAAs, but I also wanted to be successful in freestyle wrestling. Seeing them there and not many other colleges represented made me realize that I was definitely going to the right place.
My favorite memory Obviously a lot of great things happened when I was in Happy Valley. We won the National Duals my freshman year and finished the season undefeated and ranked no. 1 in the nation. I beat the preseason 4th-ranked wrestler in my first dual meet. Later in the season I beat the 3rd-ranked wrestler in the nation. I had a winning streak of 88, won two NCAA and three Big Ten titles. I made lifelong friendships with so many people and truly had an incredible experience. The fans, alumni, staff, and administration were awesome. My teammates really made me who I am.
Those are some highlights, but my favorite memory was when I went to eat with the alums after being knocked out of the NCAA tournament my freshman year. I was pretty bummed out as you could imagine. I hate losing more than anything. I was just miserable. I was going back to my hotel to sulk, but I was stopped by some alums that were going to eat. I really did not want to be in public, but I was really hungry (I cut a lot of weight that year). So I went along. We drove for a while and finally stopped at this place. To this day I cannot remember the name of the place or what I ate for dinner. All I remember is that there were tons of supporters there, and they cheered and clapped for me when I walked in the door. I was shocked. I was thinking “Didn’t they see the tournament? Don’t they know I got beat?” It did not matter—they still loved me as they would if I had just won the championship.
So my grief subsided quite a bit after this welcome. We sat down and ate, and I felt a little better. But after dinner, the reality of losing crept back into my head, and I began to mope again. Well, that only lasted for a little while because the next thing I knew, the biggest piece of chocolate cream pie was put in front of me. In that instant a smile from ear to ear appeared on my face. I will always remember that moment. It really made me realize how special the Penn State wrestling family was. To make it better every year after that, when we went to the Christiansen’s for the annual picnic, Connie had a BIG chocolate cream pie waiting for me. They welcomed this skinny kid from Long Island into the family, and I will always be thankful for that.
