There are many reasons why Fox Lane senior grappler Steven Rodrigues recently won a state championship at 130 pounds and finished the year 41-0. The biggest reason of all though may simply be the time he puts into the sport.
“It was years and years of hard work, dedication and sacrifice to the sport that I have loved for so long,” said Rodrigues, who has aspirations of being an Olympian. “I felt I wanted it more than my opponents did."
For Rodrigues, this year capped off what has been a storied high-school wrestling career at Fox Lane—each season, he has qualified for the state tournament. In his freshman year, he wrestled at 103 pounds and was 2-2 at the states; in his sophomore year at 112 he placed second; in his junior year at 125 he took third, before winning it this year.
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“It was definitely a good feeling to win a state title,” Rodrigues said. “It was something I worked for, for a long time. The work I put in paid off with a title. I would’ve liked to won more but it is what it is.”
Rodrigues’ love for wrestling started back when he was a young child.
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“I started wrestling when I was 5-years old,” Rodrigues said. “I started in tournaments and competing in them when I was seven years old. Then going to varsity tournaments and watching them inspired me to be one the great ones of the sport. It’s been a great run up to this point.”
Rodrigues says he just loves the competitive aspect and the battle that is the sport of wrestling. He says he loves the fact that in wrestling your are in control of your own destiny.
“You don’t have to worry about your fielders behind you, your linemen blocking for you,” Rodrigues said. “You can be as great as you want to be with hard work and dedication.”
Rodrigues, who was a Con Ed Award winner, showed just how much he is dedicated to the sport when he went to tournaments in North Dakota and North Carolina last summer.
“Those tournaments are where the best of the best are going to be, especially Fargo [ND],” Rodrigues said. “It’s the Fargo Dome, it holds 25 mats, kids from all 50 states. It was an unbelievable experience. The competition is what gets you better. The experience there is one of the reasons why I was so successful.”
That success has earned Rodrigues the right to wrestle at the next level as next year he will be wrestling for the University of Rutgers.
“Rutgers is an up and coming program,” Rodrigues said. “I’m going to try to do great things down there. They beat Virginia Tech who was the third-ranked team. They are a top 10 program. They are in New Jersey where wrestling is big. There are only good things to come.”
Fox Lane coach Joe Amuso said the Foxes will miss Rodrigues’ talent and leadership.
“We are going to miss his hard work and dedication in the room,” Amuso said. “He was a great example for the rest of the team to follow.”
Rodrigues said that he enjoyed his time wrestling for the Foxes but now is looking forward to the next chapter in his life.
“I’m going to miss the camaraderie of it, being with your teammates,” Rodrigues said. “I was a well known wrestler in the section and even New York State. I am definitely going to miss that part. The part I am probably going to miss the most is the state tournament. It was a great atmosphere but now I am looking forward to bigger and better things at Rutgers.”
