Fox Lane’s Luke Ryan finishes fourth at state championships

Ryan finished his career as a two-time Section 1 champion for the Foxes.

Luke Ryan (second from left) with Fox Lane coaches Matt Grippi, Anthony Rodrigues and Jason Parker after Ryan received his medal at the N.Y. State championships.

Piero DiNicola won a pair of matches at the state tournament for the Foxes.

By JIM MACLEAN 

Many wrestlers have tried, but only a select few get to compete on the mats at the New York state wrestling championships at MVP Arena in Albany, and even fewer experience the thrill of standing on the podium as an All-State place finisher.

Fox Lane senior Luke Ryan was on a mission all season long. He won a Section 1 title last year and made it to Albany, and this year he was determined to get back and earn a spot on the podium. He accomplished that goal on Feb. 28, capping off the two-day tournament with a fourth-place finish in the Division 1, 167-pound weight class.

“Being on the podium felt great, coming up through the Fox Lane wrestling room, all the banners on the wall, and it’s crazy to think my name will be added as a state place finisher,” Ryan said. “There was a little less pressure the second time, but I felt the stress the first day. After I won in the ‘blood round,’ I knew I had placed and now I could just go out there and wrestle and get as high as I could on the podium. Definitely a legacy at Fox Lane to keep up, and I was really happy to set an example to show the underclassmen who will be there to keep it going in the future.”

Ryan was well aware of the Fox Lane history at the state tournament. Last year he made the trip to compete and watched teammate Alex Berisha win a state championship, this year he wanted to keep it going for the Foxes as the program has had a state place finish in 13 of the last 15 years.

He started with a bye in the first round on Friday, and then he won his first match with a 6-2 decision before falling in the quarterfinal round. That meant he would have to bounce back on Saturday to earn a medal and a spot on the podium. He won his first wrestle back match by tech fall, and then he scored a 7-2 decision in the blood round to guarantee a place on the podium. He followed that up with a 6-5 victory to advance to the consolation finals where he suffered his second loss to finish fourth overall.

“Saturday was the greatest I’ve seen him wrestle in his career, he was phenomenal,” Fox Lane coach Anthony Rodrigues said of Ryan. “In the blood round he dominated a kid from Long Island. Then his third match he was losing and he got a takedown with two seconds left to win that match. He was great and it was so exciting. When he was going for third it really hit me, we’ve had 13 kids place since I’ve been head coach, 27 kids place since I’ve been here, and it never gets old.”

Ryan was not the only highlight on the mats for Fox Lane as senior Peiro DiNicola earned a trip to compete in his first state championship tournament. DiNicola was the 18th-seed in the 126-pound weight class, and he won two matches and went 2-2 overall.

DiNicola opened with a victory in the first round by a score of 6-2 before falling in the second round to the second seed.

He bounced back to pull out a 4-2 win in his next match before losing just one round away from a shot at placing.

“This weekend, Piero wrestled really well, the best wrestling of his life,” Rodrigues said of DiNicola. “He didn’t let the moment get to him. Both Luke and Piero had great tournaments. I love them both, they’re great kids.”

It was a great finish to cap another great season for the Fox Lane program. Rondrigues has now been part of more than 500 career dual-meet wins at Fox Lane, first as an assistant with Joe Amuso, and now 215 wins as the head coach.

“It’s about the kids, and this comes from Amuso, the culture has been very strong,” Rodrigues said of the program. “This was one of the most fulfilling years since I’ve been at Fox Lane, knowing where this team started and what they did, and a lot of credit goes to the leadership of Luke, Piero and the seniors. This senior class when they started was not very good. They saw what other people did and now the freshman class this year saw what they did to get here. Our whole team was there to watch, and next season just started. Last night at the club it was packed, everyone is fired up the day after, but what will you do come summer when your friends are going to the beach. Wrestling, if you put the time in you can be good, and we’ll see who will buy in and do the work.”

Ryan certainly bought in, and now he leaves as a two-time Section 1 champion and a state place finisher with his name on the wall. He knows what it took to get there.

“It’s working hard every day, not just the days when you are motivated, but more about the days when you don’t want to be there. That’s what will set you apart.”