About three years ago, junior Blaine Woszczak had a tough decision to make. It was clear as a state championship qualifier in wrestling he was going to compete at the collegiate level. The only question was where.

He finally narrowed his decision between The College of New Jersey and Ithaca College because both were prominent wrestling programs at the Division III level.

Woszczak decided to flip a coin. Ithaca was heads and TCNJ was tails. Fortunately for Bomber Nation and the wrestling team, the coin landed heads up. Head Coach Marty Nichols said he is definitely happy about that.

“He’s one of those guys that makes coaching fun,” Nichols said.

At first, TCNJ seemed like the easy choice because it is near his home in Manasquan, N.J., and he knew many of the wrestlers and coaches on the team since he helped out at its summer camp during high school.

“I always wanted to get out of Jersey — just live somewhere else for a while and meet some new people,” he said.

At this point in his career, the business and finance major said he has no regrets about the choice he made. On top of loving the wrestling program and his teammates, Woszczak said he likes Ithaca’s ambiance.

“[Ithaca’s] a very different atmosphere than where I come from back home,” he said. “It was a very good change, and I feel like taking the two areas and combining them into one person made me pretty unique with how I am today.”

While growing as a person, Woszczak has had a sensational wrestling career as well. Woszczak has competed in nationals the past two seasons and finished fourth at 149 pounds last year to be named an All-American. This year, he’s currently ranked No. 1 in his weight class and has a career record of 92–29.

A fierce competitor, Woszczak likes to stay on his feet and go for the takedown. He sustains his success with an aggressive offensive approach.

“He’s a relentless kind of wrestler,” 125-pound senior tri-captain Jon Gregory said. “He just really pressures guys until he takes them down. He’s definitely a high-paced wrestler and a lot of his opponents really have trouble keeping up with him because he always has an answer for what you have.”

Though Woszczak has experienced success in his time with the South Hill squad, that doesn’t mean he stops working on his technique. Woszczak said he’s been working on his defense, which is something he feels has been his downfall.

“You’ve got to improve because someone out there is always doing something better than you,” Woszczak said. “There’s always someone running when you’re not. There’s always someone wrestling when you’re not.”

Assistant coaches Marc Israel, Dave Auble and Chris Davis provided tricks to Woszczak on his counters. Nichols said his staff is responsible for Woszczak’s improvement and he just oversees everything.

This year’s wrestling team, currently ranked No. 4 in the nation, is poised for winning a national title. Woszczak said he does not have his sights set on individual goals. All he wants to do is help the Bombers win their first national title since 1994.

“I’m all about the team this year,” he said. “As much as I want to win a national title for myself, I want to see more for the team. I want to see everything for the team.”