Wrestling: Fox Lane's Matt Grippi commits to North Carolina State

At this rate, North Carolina State may soon be known as “New York South.”

The Wolfpack have emerged as one of the top wrestling programs in the country, finishing as the eighth-ranked team for the 2016-17 season. And their roster is littered with ties to the Empire State.

That New York connection has been bolstered significantly this week. Fox Lane’s Matt Grippi, a two-time state finalist who will be a senior this fall, has announced his verbal commitment to wrestle at NC State for the 2018-19 season.

“We know (NC State coach Pat Popolizio), and even though it’s North Carolina, there is a New York flavor to it,” Fox Lane coach Anthony Rodrigues said. “I’m confident he’s going to have a great career there. He can definitely be an All-American; he just has to be in the right place. I think it’s a perfect place for him to go.”

He’ll be joined in that freshmen class by Tyler Barnes, a 2017 state champ from Ballston Spa, and Jakob Camacho, a Danbury, Connecticut, resident who trains with Grippi at Iowa Style Wrestling Club in Somers. All three are ranked as top 100 recruits for the Class of 2018 by Intermatwrestle.com.

Grippi made his decision to commit while on a recruiting visit to NC State over the weekend.

“This trip sealed the deal,” he said on Tuesday. “I've been considering NC State for a while now, and I was able to watch the team practice and go on a tour. With the combination of intensity and competitiveness at practice, and how nice the school was, I felt like I belonged here.”

STATES: Three local wrestlers reached the state finals

COLUMN: Grippi, Brewster's Grant Cuomo could be 2018 state champs

He'll be following in the footsteps of another Fox Lane product, Sam Speno, who wrapped up his collegiate career this past season as a two-time NCAA qualifier. The current Wolfpack roster features four wrestlers from New York, including Mohegan Lake resident Sam Melikian.

That familiarity surely factored into Grippi’s decision.

“I’ve been telling him for the last three years that this is where he needs to go,” Rodrigues said. “They get the most out of the guys that they bring in. Just look at their track record.”

Grippi has been one of the faces of Section 1 wrestling since he burst onto the scene as a seventh-grader. He was a state finalist by the time he was a sophomore, but he’s come up short of his ultimate prize each of the past two seasons, including a 7-3 loss in last year’s state final to Plainview’s Peter Pappas.

The youngest of four brothers who all wrestled for the Foxes, Grippi has accumulated a career record of 189-27. He’ll have the opportunity to join his brother Tom in the 200-win club and could become Fox Lane’s all-time wins leader if he passes Steven Rodrigues’ high-water mark of 218.

His main focus, of course, is to cement his legacy by going out with a state title.  

“It is kind of surreal to be committed to such a prestigious program, but thankfully I'm surrounded by support to help me through the process,” he said. “The weirdest thing, though, is me being a senior. My whole life, I've always been the smaller and younger opponent.”

Twitter: @vzmercogliano