By:Elizabeth Sagarin
In a household with five kids, standing out might be hard to accomplish.
Mike Trotta of Oceanside squashed that theory when he wrestled his way to a fifth-place All-American spot at the National Junior College Wrestling Championships in Rochester, Minn.
While his proud parents looked on from the stands, the 133-pound Nassau Community College freshman defeated four national qualifiers over a two-day period the weekend of Feb. 17, reaching the semifinals and earning one of eight coveted All-American designations.
With six seconds left and tied 3-3 in his semifinal match with Ozzie Saxon of North Idaho Community College, Trotta was taken down and defeated, 5-3. It was a letdown, but the road to the semis was paved with triumphs for the 18-year-old Trotta, who struggled all season to pass 12 credits while adhering to a fitness regimen that included running six nights a week, regular practice five days a week and dieting (all of which began in August). It's a long season; towards the end I doubted if I wanted to continue. But, at the end it was all worth it, Trotta said.
His first triumph was in the quarterfinals. Trotta squeaked out a 2-1 overtime victory against Nick Richetti of Corning CC in upstate New York. In two encounters during the season, Richetti beat Trotta by scores of 4-3 and 5-4 in overtime.
Trotta's second triumph was placing at all. Freshmen rarely place, Nassau CC Coach Paul Schmidt said. Many of the athletes at the competition are sophomores.
The sweet victory over Richetti was slightly tempered when Billy Gibbs of Gloucester CC in New Jersey received first-place All-American. Trotta had beaten Gibbs to win the Mid-Atlantic Regional the weekend before, and at a dual meet earlier in the season. It was kind of tough for Mikey to see a guy he beat all season take number one, Schmidt said.
Trotta never had a chance to meet Gibbs at the national competition. The random manner in which the computer set up the draw didn't put them in the same bracket. There was no seeding done, because all of the wrestlers had finished first, second or third in nine regional competitions and were so evenly matched.
Trotta, however, was not bitter. I'm going to keep on practicing, get better, be the champ and wrestle at a Division I school when I graduate from Nassau, said the Oceanside graduate, who wrestled for the varsity since eighth grade.
That competitive spirit and work ethic apparently permeated throughout the Nassau team. This season alone, four of nine Lions earned All-American status. I only had six All-Americans over the past four years, Schmidt said enthusiastically.
Those individual accomplishments are why Nassau's team ranked third overall in this year's national competition and received an All-American trophy, given to the top three teams. Harper CC in Illinois and Gloucester CC finished first and second, respectively.
Coincidentally, Trotta ranks third in the five-child Trotta team and can attribute part of his can-do attitude to his supportive parents. Edward and Andrea coach the team by example. He always worked two or three jobs and we sacrificed certain things, but he was always there for the kids, Andrea said of Edward. Their strategy is to make sure their kids are committed to something that teaches them how to be responsible.
The rules by which the Trotta house plays are integral to the children's success. For Andrea and Edward, it's not about how many accolades their children receive, it's that they go out there and try. We would have been proud of him regardless
