TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

Things are going pretty well for the team. We are improving every week, were competing well, we’re still a long way from where we want to be but we have started off pretty well. Myself, I’m competing well, but I’m not anywhere close to where I want to be but it’s early and we have a long way to go.

2. At the Oklahoma Gold Classic the team had its best-ever finish at the event, finishing second behind only 19th-ranked Oklahoma. What does it do for the confidence of the team to have a good result like that?

That’s huge for us. We didn’t have our full lineup, we still have a few guys out with injuries, but we went in there and wrestled hard. If a couple of matches went the other way, if we would have beaten a couple of Oklahoma guys, maybe we could have done even better and won the whole tournament, so that is something we have to work towards. But in terms of confidence finishing second should help this team a lot.

3. How do you balance the individual and team dynamics of a sport like wrestling?

In wrestling, even though it is individual, the only way that you get better is with your partners and your teammates. So we are always working hard in practice, pushing each other and the same things goes for tournaments. If someone is down or whatever you are always there for them, always pushing them. Without teammates you wouldn’t be able to get better, so it’s more of a team sport than people think.

4. You and Mike Ragusa grew up together in Foxboro, MA. What is it like having a college teammate that you also grew up with?

It’s incredible. I remember when we first started wrestling in the sixth grade, we would get off the bus together and go right to the high school and start practicing, we would allowed to work with the high school team in sixth and seventh grade. Then in eighth grade we started competing on the high school team. Just to think about how much different it is now, how much better we both have gotten. We have always done things together and we are best of friends. Sometimes we are hard on each other and fight because we are pushing each other to be better. It’s just incredible to see how much we have both grown since we started wrestling.

5. Along with Mickey Moran, you have been named a co-captain this season. What do you think that means in terms of your role on the team this year?

My role really hasn’t changed a ton, I’ve always tried to work hard and pushing everyone else. But I think that this year I just have to make sure that everyone is on track. We have a lot of young guys coming in but we also have a lot of older guys to help out. All of the seniors, and even the juniors, are doing a great job leading. Our wrestling room has been great this year, so it hasn’t really been a tough job so far.

6. You are the athletes-for-athletes (AFA) officer for the student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC). What is your role and how did you get involved in SAAC?

My role is to coordinate all of the AFA events. I tally up all of the points, take attendance and keep track of that stuff. Also, Tina Villa and myself are in charge of the Bulls Pride program, it’s a little extra job that takes some time. I got involved in SAAC about two years ago, just going to meetings. Then for this year I was nominated to be the AFA officer and I was picked, so that’s how I ended up in that role.

7. What are your goals and expectations for the rest of the season, both for you individually and for the team?

For the team, definitely to be a top 20 team and win the MAC Championship. It’s going to be tough with Central Michigan returning a lot of individual MAC Champions from their team last year. But I think that we can compete with them, as a team, and we have a shot to win the MAC Championship. For myself, I want to be an All-American and a national champion. I lost to the top-ranked guy in the country a couple of years ago by one point so I know that I can compete with anyone in the country. So my goal is to get to nationals and place, if not win.

8. Do you have a preference between the multi-match environment of a tournament and the single-bout feel of a dual meet?

I look at tournaments as training for the MAC Championships and the NCAAs. I think that they are important, but they are a little crazy and it can be tough to focus in on wrestling four matches in a day. But in dual meets, you know whom you are wrestling and you only have one match so you can go out and push as hard as you can. Dual meets are nice because of that, but tournaments are important as preparation for MACs and NCAAs.

9. Being from the Massachusetts and being a Boston sports fan, what is it like watching all of those teams have so much success?

It’s really nice. For a long time when I was younger, the Patriots stunk, the Red Sox hadn’t won and the Celtics and Bruins were good when I was really young, but then they were struggling too. But now they are all winning and it’s great. Being from Foxboro, I can ride a bike to the football stadium. It’s fun and hopefully I’ll be able to go home and celebrate more championships, but right now its cool to be able to see the Patriots play so often on national TV because they are doing so well.

10. What has been your favorite moment so far as a student-athlete at UB?

I don't have one specific moment that has been my best here at UB. Just being on a Division I wrestling team and part of UB Athletics has been awesome. I really enjoy all the hard work we put in and seeing the results of that work. Hopefully my best moment at UB has not yet happened; I hope my moment will occur at the end of March at the NCAA Championships earning an All-American plaque.