Q: What was your “welcome to college” moment?
A: When I stepped out of my car the very first day and saw the giant sign reading, “Welcome to college.” Or when I got a C for the year in macro[economics]; that sucked.
Q: What is the greatest highlight of your sports career?
A: Winning the New Jersey state wrestling tournament my senior year of high school.
Q: Who is your quirkiest teammate, and why?
A: [Freshman 149-pounder] Bobby Shepherd. The kid knows a fun fact about everything. He tried telling me that Jadwin Gymnasium’s ceiling is rounded because it makes the athletes inside tired while competing, and since they are tired, they will never fight the opposing team. I called shenanigans immediately.
Q: Who gets the most girls on your team and why?
A: [Sophomore 149-pounder] Jason Ott. Every time I go out with him he reels in the cutest fish in the sea. If he would only settle down with a girl, I feel like every other guy would have a better chance.
Q: What is the best part about being a wrestler on campus?
A: The camaraderie, brotherhood, and eternal bonds we forge. All the dudes are really cool ... and they know how to “dougie.”
Q: What is the worst part about being a wrestler on campus?
A: People ask me for my autograph and follow me around in large herds. It’s nice to feel the love sometimes. But when I’m running late for class — or walking across a creaky old rope bridge over crocodile-infested waters — it just gets annoying.
Q: Which one of your teammates would make the best husband?
A: [Freshman 184-pounder] Dan Santoro. He has a handlebar mustache. [Editor’s note: Santoro is also a staff writer for The Daily Princetonian]
Q: If you were your coach for a day, what would you do?
A: I would set up cage fighting matches between the athletes on the team. Matches would only end if one person quits, taps out or gets knocked out. I think this would make us more aggressive during competition. I would take the guys to get ice cream afterwards, and we would all stand on the side of the road next to the ice cream shop and signal drivers passing by to honk their horns.
Q: Do you have any off-day rituals?
A: Before big competitions I like to get in a hard lift with [sophomore heavyweight] Bobby Grogan. [We do] squats, cleans, bench press and bicep curls, to name just a few exercises. We usually do 10 sets of each exercise, every one until failure, then follow up our workout with a one-mile swim. Once in a while we have a friendly competition to see who can hold their breath under water the longest. I think that helps my stamina when I wrestle.
Q: What’s your favorite thing to do outside of wrestling?
A: I thoroughly enjoy just chilling with the homies. Killing Nazi zombies [in “Call of Duty”], long walks on the beach and skydiving are other everyday favorites of mine. I’m currently nationally ranked sixth (or seventh depending on the website) in ping-pong so I enjoy smashing some Princeton kids every now and then.
Q: What type of music inspires you?
A: I love me some techno/house music most of the time. Mashups are also good, but some of my teammates ([like senior 174-pounder] Travis Erdman) never seem to get into them when I throw them on in the practice room. Vulgar rap is another beautiful thing.
Q: If you weren’t a wrestler, what would be your sport?
A: Probably bowling. It is fun and you can eat while competing. And you can probably make a decent amount of money betting drunk bums you meet in bowling alleys.
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