2008 Woodie Awards
Wrestler joins distinguished group
By Travis Pickens
Rocket Contributor
Issue date: 2/17/06 Section: Sports
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On Saturday morning, Jason Cardillo made it nine.
The senior 165-pounder joined the club in grand fashion with his 11-6 win against Bloomsburg's Frank Beasley. Cardillo stepped onto the mat with the Rock trailing the Huskies, 17-15. On the strength of an 8-3 first round, Cardillo cruised to the milestone and gave his team the win.
The last Rock wrestler to win 100 matches was Tony Abbate, who finished with 107 wins in a career that spanned from 1997-2001.
Abbate was an assistant coach during Cardillo's freshman year. The head coach at the time, Chris Elliot, said it didn't come as a shock when he heard Cardillo vaulted into the record book. Elliot, who earned 106 career wins at SRU from 1995-2000, is currently the head coach at Mercyhurst North East Junior College.
"That's a pretty big deal," Elliot said of Cardillo joining the club. "Everything plays into getting 100 wins. There are a lot of outside factors that people don't see."
Elliot said the biggest problems faced by wrestlers are maintaining weight and dealing with the grueling schedule. From the time practice opens during the second week of school, some seasons can last as long as seven months, ending with the national tournament in March.
"There's no collegiate sport that has the full depth of athleticism behind it like wrestling," Elliot said.
Current SRU head coach Derek DelPorto, who finished with 116 wins in his career at SRU from 1996-99, said Cardillo earned each win he got.
"I said it once and I'll say it again, Jason Cardillo is the best conditioned athlete on this campus," DelPorto said. "(He's also) one of the best conditioned athletes I have ever coached or wrestled with."
Abbate said he knew by Cardillo's dedication as a freshman that he could be something special.
"He had the potential at the time," Abbate said. "He had a good work ethic and that's what it depends on, your work ethic."
Cardillo echoed those statements, saying his commitment paved the way to 100 wins.
"Definitely, you have to be consistent and work hard everyday," Cardillo said.
Despite being a well-conditioned athlete, DelPorto said Cardillo didn't realize he was close to the milestone.
"He could have cared less about that 100th win," DelPorto said. "As a matter of fact, I went digging for the information without him asking me to. He would have gotten his 100th win and not have known it."
Cardillo's humble personality can be traced back to his freshman year when he competed at 157 pounds, despite being a 149-pounder. Thanks to the switch in weight classes, Cardillo said he usually had three extra matches during tournaments, which also contributed to his 55 career losses, most on the 100-win list.
Through it all, Cardillo said he made that move for the team and also said that wrestling at a higher weight class helped him get to where he is today.
"I was young then," Cardillo said. "I wrestled older and bigger kids. I picked up a lot from them and learned a lot."
