Superintendent’s Spotlight: Alex Greco
To earn your 100th career wrestling win before the end of your junior year season is an impressive feat, and WVHS junior Alex Greco did just that during the first week of January. At the same time, Alex achieved Cum Laude Honor Roll status for the first marking period of the school year.
“Alex works hard on and off the mat,” said Warwick Valley Director of Athletics Greg Sirico. “He maintains a high average in his classes, and , for all his successes, he is also known as a very humble young man.”
Alex made Cum Laude Honor Roll in all four marking periods last school year, and has also been recognized as a Scholar-Athlete in both his freshman and sophomore years by the New York State Public High School Athletics Association. The NYSPHSAA awards that designation to students who maintain an average over 90 during their competitive seasons. Alex is well on his way to attaining those levels of athletic and academic excellence again this year.
Alex’s interest in wrestling began before middle school, but it was in fifth grade that he really began to focus on his training and set goals for himself. That’s when he joined the Olympic Wrestling Club team.
“I really got into wrestling when I was in fifth, and that’s when I joined my club team, which is in Wykoff, New Jersey,” said Alex. “That’s where I still train, five days a week.”
The Wildcats already practice every day of the week – including Saturdays, but not Sundays. Alex travels the 45 minutes to Wykoff just about every day after school for additional workouts with his Olympic teammates. It’s all about work ethic for Alex, who said he has applied lessons learned from wrestling to his studies.
“It is all about mentality, definitely,” he said. “Sometimes, when things might not be going your way in a match, or say you’ve got to lose a few pounds in a day to make weight, you’ve just gotta do what it takes. In class, taking tests, you’ve got to study – study hard, make sure you get your homework done.”
Off the mat, Alex’s favorite areas of study are science and history.
“Right now, I’m really into the advanced biology class that I’m taking, called Human Body Systems,” he said, adding that he plans to pursue science when he heads off to college. He hopes that will eventually lead to medical school.
“I just always wanted to do something that helps people, so I want to go to medical school,” said Alex.
He has already started to get in contact with colleges and their wrestling coaches. “I’m hoping to get into a top school, and I’m going to need my grades and the athletics to do it.”
As his collegiate plans begin to take shape, much of Alex’s attention at the moment is on the remainder of the Wildcats current season, which has been outstanding.
“We’re at 12-2 or 14-2 as a team right now,” he said. “We’ve been going over a lot of stuff, and we keep getting better. I’m ready to see what we can do at Sections.”
The Section IX tournament is coming up in early February, and Alex has already made the cut to compete. He said he thinks the Wildcats also stand an excellent chance of making it to States this year and hopes to advance through Sections for a shot at a State title himself.
“You have to take first or second at Sections, then you qualify to go to states,” he explained. “My goal is to become a Section IX champ, then place in the top three, or even be champion, at States.”