Wrestler Nick Franco represented Brockport at the NCAA Division III Championships held in Providence, RI on March 14. Franco received a bye in the first round before falling to Luther College’s Walter West in the second round.
Coming into this season, Franco didn’t know what to expect, but new head coach Troy Seymour gave him the confidence to succeed.
“He did a great job,” Franco said. “He made the season special for me at least, and I couldn’t have been happier to go out the way I did with him by my side and in my corner.”
Franco gave a lot of credit for his improvement this season to his head coach, not just with physicality and technique, but also with mentality. He knew how to get Franco and the rest of the team ready for every aspect of wrestling.
“Mentally he just knows how to prepare his guys,” Franco said. “He got us ready for war and that’s the biggest thing in wrestling, the mental aspect. Then physically he would call it hard hand fighting along with hard drills and good technique, he really hit every aspect of wrestling.”
Franco emphasized the fact that the people who supported him were what really helped him to improve this season.
“I was confident thanks to Troy [Seymour] and [Brockport assistant coach] Chuck Partridge; all of them believed in me. When I have my corner believing in me it really just makes it that much easier for me to step on the mat and go to war for them so mentally it got me to the point where I was believing in myself and was very confident,” Franco said.
Franco will continue his academic career at Brockport, but this was his final year of eligibilty to compete in athletics.
“Wrestling is a very unforgiving sport so I’m always going to say that I’m unsatisfied, but I think it was an honor just to represent Brockport one last time,” Franco said. “I have no regrets. I’m glad I got to go to the NCAA tournament. I’m glad I was there wrestling and representing Brockport one last time.”
Franco finished the year with a 23-7 record and made his second consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championships. He finished second at the NYS Collegiate Championship and was awarded Empire 8 Wrestler of the Week three times over the course of the season.
