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Recrosio excited, grateful for wrestling opportunity at Franklin & Marshall College

SIGNING DAY — Madonna’s Casey Recrosio signs a letter of intent to continue his academic and wrestling careers at Franklin & Marshall College on Thursday. Pictured are (front, from left) father Paul Recrosio, Casey Recrosio, mother Lisa Recrosio, sister Angelia Recrosio; (back) The Rev. Dennis Schelkens, grandfather Me. Recrosio, sister Karena Recrosio, principal/wrestling coach Jamie Lesho, sister Sophia Recrosio and athletic director Micheal Arlia. (Photo by Andrew Grimm)

WEIRTON — One of the Madonna’s wrestlers made a goal a reality on Thursday, as 145-pound senior wrestler Casey Recrosio officially signed to join the Division I wrestling program at Franklin & Marshall College.

“Having this opportunity is something I’m extremely grateful for and excited about,” he said. “The first thing that caught my eye was the academic prestige of the school. The coaching staff there is unbelievable. As soon as I stepped on campus the coaches there made me feel like I was a part of the team. The kids on the team all seem like great kids. It’s a hard working team and a great program, and I am excited.”

While Franklin & Marshall is not necessarily a household name in terms of college sports, Recrosio is quite familiar with it.

“I was watching the NCAA championships in I think 2012, and they had an All-American at 141 pounds in Richard Durso,” he said. “We also had a family friend that wrestled for Franklin & Marshall back in the 90’s.”

Once there, Recrosio believes he will stay close to his current weight class and perhaps wrestle in Durso’s division.

“Right now I am planning on wrestling at either 141 or 149,” he said. “That’s not necessarily set in stone. Wherever they tell me to be or wherever I fit best in the line up is where I am going to end up, but 141 is right in my wheelhouse, and that feels like a good weight class for me.”

It was a big moment for Recrosio after a knee injury last season made him wonder of wrestling at a DI school was still a possibility.

“It was a little disappointing last season having to miss the post season with a knee injury that required surgery,” he said. “When I first got injured one of my biggest concerns was the recruiting process missing the regional and state tournament.

“It’s very rewarding to get to go DI coming back from that. I’m very excited for what the next four years have in store.”

Among his achievements thus far in his career with the Blue Dons includes a career record of 110-22, a second place showing in the OVAC tournament at 113 pounds in 2016, a state runner-up finish that season and being named an AAU All-American in 2016.

Just recently Recrosio won the 145-pound division at the West Virginia Single A Challenge.

“I’ve had a pretty good career so far placing in the OVAC’s and the state,” Recrosio said. “I’ve definitely got some unfinished business though and still have some meat left on the bone with things I still I want to accomplish.”

He feels his time with Madonna and coach Jamie Lesho has prepared him to be a Diplomat, both on and off the mats.

“My time here at Madonna has prepared me extremely well for college,” Recrosio said. “Both academically and athletically the environment here is very conducive to helping you become the best you can be.”

Lesho said he could not have asked for a better individual to coach.

“He’s a top quality kid,” Lesho said. “He’s very dedicated, especially over the course of these last two years battling injuries. He persevered through all of that and still accomplished his goals. I wish I had a room full of kids just like him all the time.

“Coming back from surgery and all of that and getting to a DI program is a great accomplishment for him. It’s not an easy school to get into academically either so keeping his grades up and accomplishing that is good too.”

He also thinks it will be a good thing for his program going forward.

“It’s a shining star for our program,” Lesho said. “The last couple of years we’ve been building our program up. Even at a small school, if you work hard and set your goals right, you can obtain them and get there. He is a perfect example.”

“We’ve got a nice young crop coming back, so I imagine we will have more (DI wrestlers) coming through in the future, too.”

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