NEW YORK — Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli has hired Nick Gravina as an assistant coach for the 2022-23 season. Gravina, a former four-year standout at Rutgers University, spent the past two seasons on New Jersey City University's staff.
 
"Nick is a perfect compliment to our existing staff," Tanelli said. "He truly epitomized what it meant to be a student-athlete while thriving in wrestling's premier conference. He has tremendous passion, focus and attention to detail. Coupled with his psychology background, he is exactly what we need to take another big step forward with our program."
 
Gravina joined NJCU before its inaugural season in 2020-21 and coached Jeff Johnson, who became the program's first NCAA Qualifier last season.
 
The native of Allendale, New Jersey, was a four-time national qualifier for the Scarlet Knights from 2016-19 and the first four-time Academic All-Big Ten student-athlete in Rutgers history, graduating as a five-time Academic All-Big Ten recipient. Just the sixth four-time national qualifier in program history, Gravina collected 77 varsity victories during his collegiate career. He began his career in the 165-pound weight class before finishing at 184 pounds. Along the way, he earned an appearance in the 2017 NCAA' Round of 12' and was a two-time Big Ten Championships place-winner, placing fourth in 2016 and sixth in 2019.
 
Gravina was a three-time Midlands Championships place-winner (sixth - 2017, sixth - 2016, eighth - 2015) and claimed the 2016 East Stroudsburg Open Championship. He had a final collegiate mark of 77-35.
 
His career culminated with being honored by the Big Ten Conference as Rutgers University's Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winner. Two Outstanding Sportsmanship Award winners are selected annually from each institution among student-athletes who distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior.
 
Off the mat, he was a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representative of the men's wrestling program for five years (2014-19). He completed a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2017 with an impressive 3.73 grade point average and completed his eligibility while earning a Masters of Education in Counseling Psychology.
 
Columbia opens up the 2022-23 season on Saturday, November 5 for the Southeast Open, hosted by Virginia Tech. The first matches are slated for 10 a.m.
 
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