A LOOK BACK

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A Look Back at some New York State legendary wrestlers who ALMOST went unbeaten:

* Vito Arujau (Syosset-8) - (216-1 career) - lost to Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton-5), 3-2 OT, in the 2013 NYS finals.

* Frank DeAngelis (Spencerport-5) - (102-1) - lost to Steve Hunte (BJFK-8), 16-9, in the 1973 NYS semifinals.

* PJ Duke (Minisink Valley -9) - (152-1) - lost to Tyler Kasak (Bethlehem Catholic, PA), in the 2013 Ironman finals by injury default.

* Mark Iacovelli (Ithaca-4) - (135-1-1) - lost to Jeff Thomas (Huntington-11), 7-3, in the 1974 NYS semifinals, had a draw with Randy Reed (Oneonta-4), 4-4, in a dual meet.

* Randy Payne (Sidney-4) - (107-1) - lost to Steve Weiss (Lindenhurst-11), 8-6, in the 1967 

NYS semifinals.

* Jeff Prescott (Olean-6) - (162-1) - lost to JP Epifano (Whitehall-2), 9-8, in the preliminaries of the NYS Championships in 1984.

                             - A look at many of the other Empire State standouts -

* Carl Adams- (Brentwood-11) - (68-3) - Iowa State - two-time NCAA champion.

* Clar Anderson - (Olean-6) - (154-7-1) - Oklahoma State - two-time All-American and NCAA champion

*  Ed and Lou Banach (Port Jervis-9) - Ed (97-8) and Lou (90-14-2) won NCAA titles at Iowa. Ed - three-time NCAA champ and Lou- two-time NCAA champ. They were the first American twins to win Olympic gold medals at the same time in the 1984 Olympics. 

* Troy Bouzakis - (Pine Bush-9) - (175-2) - Clemson - neck injury ended his career.

* Bob Bury - (Calhoun-8) - (115-3) - Penn State - NCAA qualifier.

* Wayne Catan - (Bellport-11) - (58-14) - Syracuse -three-time All-American and two-time finalist.

* Mitch Clark - (Canton-10) - (172-6) - Ohio State - NCAA champion.

* Kyle Dake (Lansing-4) - (224-14) - Cornell- four-time NCAA champion in four different weight classes.

* Carl DeStefanis - (Locust Valley-8) - (86-2) - Penn State - NCAA champion.

* Yianni Diakomihalis - (Hilton-5) - (243-3) - Cornell- four-time NCAA champion.

* Chris Edmond - (Freeport-8) - (58-14) - Tennessee - two-time All- American and NCAA champion.

* Nick Gallo - (Deer Park-11) - (31-8-10 - Hofstra - two-time All-American and NCAA champion and MOW in 1977.

 * Nick Gwiazdowski - (Duanesburg-2) - (199-24) - NC State - three-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion.

* Steve Hunte - (Bellmore-Kennedy-8) - (101-4-1) - Iowa - two-time Big Ten champion.

* Jesse Jantzen - (Shoreham-Wading River-11) - (221-3) - Harvard - three-time All-American and NCAA champion and MOW in 2004.

* Pete Galea - (Brentwood-11) - (72-8) - Iowa State - four-time Big 8 champion - two-time All-American and NCAA runner-up

* Gregor Gillespie - (Webster-Schroeder-5) - (238-11) - Edinboro - four-time All-American and NCAA champion.

* Noel Loban (Copiague-11) - (56-8) - Farmingdale State - NJCAA champion and Clemson - NCAA champion.

* Dan Mayo (Sachem-11) - (90-3) - Penn State - two-time All-American and NCAA runner-up.

* Kerry McCoy - (Longwood-11) - (89-7) - Penn State -two-time NCAA champion - won Dan Hodge Trophy in 1997 - two-time Olympian.

* Ken Melchoir - (Lindenhurst-11) - (95-4) - three-time NAIA champ and NCAA champion.

* Troy Nickerson - (Chenango Forks-4) - (217-6) - Cornell -four time All-American and NCAA champion.

* JP O'Connor - (Oxford Academy-4) - (238-12) -Harvard -three-time All-American and NCAA champion.

* Al Palacio (Long Beach-8) - (133-4-1) - North Carolina - two-time All-American and NCAA runner-up.

* Nick Piccininni - (Ward Melville-11) - (226-3) - Oklahoma State - four-time Big 12 champion and three-time All-American.

* Keith Stearns - (Pioneeer-6) - (108-11) - Oklahoma -two-time All-American and NCAA champion.

* Jacori Teemer - (Long Beach-8) - (210-5) - Arizona State - three-time All-American and NCAA runner-up.

* Jeff Thomas - (Huntington-11) - (123-5-3) - Michigan State - Big Ten champion and All-American.

* Peter Yozzo - (100-14) - (Sayville-11) - Lehigh - three-time All-American and NCAA champion.

In NCAA competition:

* Vito Arujau (Cornell) - two-time NCAA champion, four-time All-American.

* Frank DeAngelis (Oklahoma) - NCAA runner-up 1973.

* PJ Duke (Penn State) - 3rd place at the 2026 NCAA Championships, only a freshman.

* Mark Iacovelli (Syracuse) - EIWA bronze medalist in 1981, lost to Darryl Burley (Lehigh), 12-6, in the semifinals.

*Randy Payne (Pittsburgh) - NCAA runner-up in 1970 NCAA finals, lost to Dwayne Keller (Oklahoma State) and was the first freshman to reach the NCAA finals.

* Jeff Prescott (Penn State) - three-time All-American, two-time NCAA champion and won the MOW at the 1991 NCAA meet.