Co-captains heading to national championships

The NYU wrestling team capped off its season by earning two spots for junior co-captains Gregg Martino and Matt Magill at the Division III National Championships next month at Coe & Cornell colleges in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Martino and Magill both won their weight classes (141 and 157, respectively) at this past weekend's Metropolitan Conference Championships at the College of New Jersey, earning them a ticket to the big dance on March 4-6. It will be Martino's second trip to Iowa in as many years, though Magill is making his first trek to the tournament. The Violets also placed fifth out of nine teams at the Metropolitan Championships, and 197-pound Jamie Myers battled his way to a second-place finish in his weight class. Magill, who came into the tournament as the No. 4 seed, earned a big upset in the semifinals of his weight class — considered by many coaches and wrestlers to be the tournament's toughest — by defeating a returning All-American to whom Magill had previously lost earlier this year.

"I just decided I was going to open it up, try and stay on offense and I ended up beating him. It was very exciting," said Magill, who sealed the championship with a 5-4 decision over Taylor Green of King's College in the finals.

Martino went about his business in a methodical way, stressing offensive wrestling in his game plan, and it paid dividends as he defeated wrestlers from King's College and Hunter College before a grueling final match against the College of New Jersey.

"I knew it wasn't going to be a high-scoring match," Martino said. "He made one mistake, I was able to capitalize on it, get myself in the right position and hold on at the very end for the win."
Both captains had high praise for their teammates as well.

"I think the guys put in a solid effort," Magill said. "Jamie did really well."

"We're really young, and now the guys see what it's going to take to get to that next level," Martino said. "This is a stepping stone for years to come."

With the regular season behind him, however, Martino is focusing on his next goal.

"All-American. Plain and simple," Martino said, referring to the status bestowed on all placewinners at Nationals, a title that barely eluded him last year. "If I don't get that, I'll be very disappointed in myself."

Magill, for his part, is taking a few moments to savor the accomplishment.

"I'm still kind of in shock, I guess," he said, "But I'm going to Nationals."