Rodriguez, Gomez and their teammates have been part of a growing resurgence in the pride that surrounds the Musketeer wrestling. Once a top tier program on Long Island, the team began to suffer in the '80s and '90s. The large minority population of Central Islip, 27% black and 44% Hispanic/Latino according to the most recent census, began to turn away from wrestling. Now their enthusiasm can be heard at meets both home and away.

Coach Brzozinski says, “The community over the last 10 or 12 years has rallied around wrestling, and that's because of something that's important to the community. There's more support in the bleachers when we have meets. More parents come out and support us, and we've got a pretty good reputation. The wrestling program has a nice reputation. Nice kids, well respected, hard working kids.”

The reputation comes from the atmosphere that is created by Brad Brzozinski and his fellow coaches, which include his brother Rick and coach Ato Thomas.

“Every day it is 2 1/2 hours of nonstop work,” says Coach Brzozinski. “There's downtime in baseball, and in football you're running plays and kids are standing around. Nobody is ever standing around for 2 1/2 hours. Constantly moving, constantly working. It is a grind. That's what wrestling is.”

The respect comes from the discipline required of all wrestlers, and confidence comes from the support only a state champion can bring.

“We really don't have to say much. People around see what we do and how it affects the matchups, and they just start to follow us,” says Byron Kesler, the team's third senior co-captain. “We know that Andy will come through in the end.”

The team has also seen a new enthusiasm for wrestling come from an unexpected source. The emerging popularity of mixed martial arts has bolstered the number of perspective student athletes.

“For years and years it was, after college, you went into coaching or you were done. Now, there's opportunity for some of these high school and college kids to go into MMA and the UFC and make a name for themselves and make a living,” says Coach Brzozinski.

When Andy Rodriguez won the state title he became the second wrestler in school history to do so. The first was Jose Viera, a 2002 graduate and newcomer to the MMA scene. Viera made his professional debut in 2009 in Atlantic City for the Ring of Combat promotion. He used his wrestling skills to win the match by first round submission.

But being “the next Ultimate Fighter” is not the future that Rodriguez sees when he closes his eyes. The child of El Salvadorian parents has set much loftier goals. The senior has drawn interest from the University of Maryland wrestling program, which is coached by Long Island wrestling prodigy and two-time Olympian Kerry McCoy

“I'm just going to try to head for the Olympics. I have 7 more years to train,” Rodriguez says. “I'm just going to try to wrestle all of my life.”