** PLEASE BE ADVISED: Starting May 21, 2023 Ascend will be in a new location at 90 Alpha Plaza, Hicksville, NY 11801 **
Ascend is now accepting applications
Come register any time before practice.
HS (Grades 7-12) Practice Schedule: Tuesday & Thursday 7:30p - 9p. Sunday 11a - 1p for All Members.
Please call or text 917-449-6098 or email craig@ascendwrestling.com with any questions regarding pricing, etc..
Team rates available.
We accept cash & checks made out to Ascend Wrestling. NO CREDIT/DEBIT CARDS!
** FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE WE ARE NOW ALSO ACCEPTING PAYMENT VIA VENMO. PAYMENTS CAN BE MADE TO @Craig-Vitagliano **
Over the last 14 seasons Ascend has had 9 national finalists, 6 national champions, dozens of All-Americans, several state champions, countless sectional champions and state qualifiers, and above all have had dozens of wrestlers go on to wrestle at the D1, D2, & D3 college levels, including over 30 student-athletes to Ivy League institutions.
Wrestlers must have a valid USA Wrestling card.
You can apply for a USA Wrestling card here:
https://www.usawmembership.com/
See you then.
Craig
STAFF:
CRAIG VITAGLIANO
Craig is a 3x Nassau County Champion, New York State Champion, University National (U23) Freestyle Champion, and a 4x Empire State Games Gold Medalist. He was a 4 year starter at Harvard University.
In addition to his work with Ascend, Vitagliano – USA Wrestling’s 3x Developmental Coach of the Year for the Northeast Region – serves an assistant coach at Port Washington High School and was a member of the New York State National Freestyle coaching staff for 4 years.
 
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2018. Michael Zarif takes home Mount Sinai's first state title in 22 years and is only the 2nd state champion in his school's history!
Michael is currently a Freshman at Binghamton University.
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Announcing Ascend 2.0:
Wrestling’s Leadership Laboratory Triples in Size
HICKSVILLE, New York, January 25, 2014 – Sunday marks a major transition for Long Island’s Ascend Wrestling Club, as the region’s “takedown startup” moves into a new, more spacious headquarters in Hicksville under an initiative the club’s leadership hails as “Ascend 2.0.”
Covering 6,200 square feet, the new space will be about three times the size of Ascend’s former location, making it Long Island’s largest wrestling room and enabling the club to host one of the country’s most diverse collections of wrestlers in what Craig Vitagliano, Ascend’s Chief Wrestling Officer, calls “the leadership laboratory.”
“Since we began, we have a strong track record of putting guys on the podium,” said Vitagliano, who notes that Ascend already counts four, three-time high school All-American wrestlers among the program’s alumni. “But that’s just the beginning. Ascend’s mission is to help our guys succeed on the mat, in the classroom, or on the job.”
Since 2009, Vitagliano has worked to build Ascend Wrestling Club from a part-time hobby to a full-time venture. The 1991 graduate of Plainedge High School was a New York State Champion and a four-year starter at Harvard before winning a University National Freestyle title in 1997. In addition to his work with Ascend, Vitagliano – USA Wrestling’s Developmental Coach of the Year for the Northeast Region – serves an assistant coach at Port Washington High School and was recently named the head coach for the New York State Cadet Freestyle Team.
One of the program’s strengths has been the diversity found in the room, located at 32A East Carl Street in Hicksville. On any given night, practice includes wrestlers from all over Long Island, New York City, and White Plains. Together with wrestling consultant Justin Accordino – a recent Hofstra grad, NCAA Division I All-American, and Chaminade assistant wrestling coach – Vitagliano is looking to fill the super-sized wrestling space with as many grapplers who are interested in learning the sport as possible.
“In recent years, you’ve seen a lot of non-traditional powers come out of the woodwork at the county tournaments,” said Vitagliano. “It’s easy for everyone, regardless of background or home town, to understand that the values learned on the mat clearly apply to success in life.”
Ascend 2.0 comes at the perfect time as the wrestling community’s focus moves towards post-season tournaments and the state championships in Albany Feb. 28-Mar 1. An end-of-season celebration/grand opening event is planned for later in the spring.
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For more information on Ascend, visit www.ascendwrestling.com, Phone: 917-449-6098,
Email: craig@ascendwrestling.com
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Many of the best Ascend almumni were home for the holiday break and came down to train and also give back to the club by working with future champions. Thanks guys. It was awesome having you all home!
from left: Dan Fiorvanti (Coast Guard), Dan McDevitt (Penn), Simon Greebel (Oswego), Declan Gray (Hunter), Robert Person (Binghamton), Pat Skinner (Rider), Coach Craig, Chris Araoz (Columbia), McZiggy Richards (TC3), Pankil Chander (Wilkes), Chris Koo (Oklahoma State), Conor O'Hara (Air Force).
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