Nick Suriano

Suriano finished his true freshman season with a record of 16 wins and 3 losses. He was seeded number 3 at the NCAA Championships, however, he suffered a serious injury (broken ankle) in a dual match against Nick Piccininni and was unable to compete at the Big Ten Conference championships or the National Championships.[6]

After his injury, Suriano decided to transfer from PSU to Rutgers University for multiple reasons and started wrestling as a Scarlet Knight.[7]

Suriano had a successful run as a sophomore, ending the season with 25 wins and just one loss. At the Big Ten Conference, he won his first bout, however, he decided to medical forfeit his next matches and was eliminated of the tournament.[8] At the 2019 NCAA Championships, he made his way to the finals by beating 4 opponents, 3 of them being ranked in the Top 15 of the 125-pounds division. At the finals, he faced the heavily accomplished Spencer Lee, whom he ended up losing to, becoming the runner-up of the annual tournament.[9]

As a junior, he moved up a weight class, meaning he would wrestle at 133-pounds instead of 125-pounds unlike his previous college seasons.[10] He ended the season with a 26-3 record. At the Big Ten Conference, he defeated 4 opponents without suffering a loss to become the title holder at his division. At the 2019 NCAA Championships, he made his way to the finals downing 3 opponents, facing Daton Fix at the finals, in which he outscored him 4 points to 2 in the second sudden victory period of the bout to become the champion at 133-pounds, the first in the history of Rutgers.[11]

Suriano did not compete in college in this year as a result of taking an Olympic redshirt year to compete in freestyle wrestling and pursue his dream of competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[12] Suriano remains to have a year of eligibility to wrestle for the Rutgers.

In his first freestyle competition after arriving to Rutgers University, he faced 2019 Pan American Champion Joe Colon at the annual event Beat The Streets. He downed Colon 3 points to 1 in a big upset.[16]

At the prestigious Bill Farrell Memorial, Suriano downed two opponents by technical fall before losing to 2018 NCAA Champion Seth Gross. Suriano beat every opponent he faced at the consolation bracket, placing 3rd.[17]

Suriano participated in the 57-kilos weight class at the US Nationals and placed 4th. He lost in the quarterfinals but was able to win every wrestleback in the consolation bracket until the 3rd place match, in which he forfeited. Due to the result, he qualified for the 2020 Olympic Team Trials.[18]

Suriano was scheduled to wrestle at the 2020 US Olympic Team Trials Challenge Tournament on April 4–5 at State College, Pennsylvania.[19] However, the event was postponed along with the 2020 Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both competitions are now scheduled to take place in 2021.[20][21][22]