Ward Melville's Nick Piccininni will wrestle for Oklahoma State
Ward Melville's Nick Piccininni, right, wrestles Harborfield's Tim Johnson at 120 pounds in the Suffolk Division I wrestling semifinal at Hofstra University on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2014. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Nick Piccininni is going to be a Cowboy.
Ward Melville's three-time state wrestling champion announced he will grapple for Oklahoma State University next fall. Piccininni said the decision was a difficult one but after visiting the Cowboys' facilities and meeting with the coaches, he was sure he made the right choice.
"Everything slows down in Oklahoma and it's a different pace than New York and I loved it," said Piccininni, who has 135 consecutive wins heading into his senior season. "I loved the tradition at Oklahoma State and I like their style. They have a strong academic program and the program gets huge support. Everyone loves Oklahoma State wrestling."
Oklahoma State is getting one of Long Island's greatest all-time wrestlers. Piccininni looks to become the second Long Islander to win four state crowns this season. He also looks to break all of Jesse Jantzen's records at Shoreham-Wading River. Jantzen was a four-time state champion and had a career record of 221-3. He went on to win an NCAA Division I championship at 149 pounds for Harvard in 2004.
Piccininni, who was 45-0 last season, will wrestle at 126 pounds this year, and has a career record of 183-3. He chose the Cowboys over Iowa State and Penn State.
Although it's rare that the NCAA powerhouse from the Midwest recruits from the area, Piccininni will join another native Long Islander on the Cowboys roster. Sophomore Chris Koo of Great Neck South, a state runner-up in 2013, has been making quite a name for himself at Oklahoma State and is the team's starter at 152 pounds.
"The assistant coach Zach Esposito is an East Coast guy from New Jersey and he has the pull with the East Coast wrestlers," Piccininni said. "I'm really excited about being a Cowboy."
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
