The Monmouth University club wrestling team hosted their first match of the year on
Nov. 15, and for the first time, in Anacon Hall. The team has expanded from three to 30
members in a year and has moved into an on-campus practice space.
Now, the club practices in the basement of Cedar Hall and shares the space with the 5678
Dance Club. Richard Famularo, assistant wrestling coach, said, “That has been an excellent
transition for us. It gives us a place to practice on campus where previously we were practicing at
Triumph Wrestling Club, which is in Ocean Township, so students had to travel there and
carpool together. Here, they can walk to the practice facility. We have lined it all up with mats
on the walls and on the floors and it is good to go.”
John Dooley, senior business student and club president, said, “It has been great, it is
more accessible, it is a lot easier to get to practice so the turnouts for practices are really great
and it is a nice room.”
The club has grown in number of active members over the past year, now they have
athletes competing in every weight class. Dooley said, “My freshman year there were maybe
three guys on the team and now, we are up to a full lineup with about 20 kids. This is our first
year having a practice facility on campus, so it definitely helps get more kids to come out. If you
wrestled in high school or just wanted to learn how to wrestle, come out to practice.”
Luke Pattacia, senior business student, said, “We are in the Cedar Hall basement right
now. It is a good place to practice in. Our growth in numbers definitely helps that but really, our
growth in organization, coaching, and leadership has really brought us to this point. We have a
couple people who are just leading the way.”
December of 2023 was the first time that the Wrestling Club held a match on campus.
Dooley said, “Our first match ever hosted at home was last year in Boylan (Gym), and this year
we upgraded to Anacon. I think it is a really good venue for us.”
Famularo said, “I think this is a great facility (Anacon). Last year, we did have a home
match. That was the first time there has been a home match on Monmouth University’s campus
for fifty years because Monmouth University used to have a wrestling program in the 70’s. So,
this transition to this facility has been great, and we have an excellent score board.”
Michael Verrochi, another assistant wrestling coach, said, “I have seen the whole
program grow. John has done a great job at getting things going. He is very active, and it is
getting to the point now where we used to just get a couple of kids at the match but now, we have
been getting about fifteen kids at practice all the time.” He continued, “A big thing was we had
to go wrestle at a club off campus but now, we have a facility on campus that has made it really
good for kids to get there. So, it has been a great thing, and you are seeing it at the ground floor
here, but it was baby steps before that.”
The wrestling club has seen many new members this year, especially freshmen. Jasid DeCastro,
a freshman health studies student, said, “I joined this year. I have my own personal reasons.
There is a lot I want to accomplish here, seeing these guys working hard over here and making a
name for themselves as a team, and I want to be a part of that.”
Nikko Polycandriotis, a sophomore business student and wrestler, reflected on his
decision to join the wrestling club. He said, “For me, I did four years of high school wrestling,
and I knew some of the people in general here and I thought, ‘You know what, I’ll continue
wrestling.’”
The wrestling team won the first match of the year against Stony Brook University. They
will compete at home again on Nov. 23 and Jan. 24.
