Trotta takes second state title

It was his second straight title at the annual tournament."When I'm on the mat, I'm in my own little zone," Trotta said. "I just go out there and do what I gotta do." On the local level Trotta is nothing short of a legend at Oceanside High School, where he was a five-year varsity wrestler. He holds several records for the Sailors, including most wins in a career and most wins in a season, the latter came after a remarkable 34-2 senior season that culminated with a second place finish in the state's 125-pound weight class. After finishing second in high school, it was nice to add a state championship to his resume last year.The son of Edward and Andrea Trotta, Mike was a four-year captain of the Sailors squad. "Mike leads with his work ethic, always has," said OHS varsity wrestling coach Mike Janosko. "He really put his time into the sport.""Obviously it's something you're very proud of," said the modest Edward. "You see the effort behind making that happen. It's such a demanding sport."He was also named to the All-County squad four times, something that no other Oceanside wrestler has ever accomplished. "He definitely was the most decorated wrestler we ever had here," said Janosko, who added that Trotta is an example he shows to his current squad of what a winner is."It takes a lot of hard work to win," said Trotta. "So it feels good to see it pay off." Trotta, who started wrestling in sixth grade.After high school, Trotta wrestled for two years at Nassau Community College, earning Junior College All-American status both years. From there, he enrolled at Buffalo and made the leap to state champion."He does everything right," said Buffalo wrestling coach Jim Beichner, who regretted losing Trotta to graduation after only having the opportunity to coach him for two years. "He's somebody that you can't replace. He's somebody we're going to miss around here."Beichner said that on the mat, there's rarely somebody physically stronger than Trotta, which can be a huge advantage in the lower weight classes. "He's very strong, stronger than he looks," he said. Beichner added that Trotta's superior strength lends itself to every aspect of a match, from attacking to technique to defense. But even more impressive than his physical abilities is his mental approach and desire to win."He goes out there to win," said Beichner. "He's not happy to lose. And his heart is bigger than his technique." Trotta's heart came partly because of his older brother, Frank. The middle of five children, Trotta said that he would often go down to the high school's wrestling practices to watch his brother wrestle. "I kind of always wanted to do what my big brother did," Trotta said. "I guess that's the way it goes." In addition to watching his brother, Trotta saw the high school practices as motivation to work hard. Trotta said that watching his brother wrestle only made him want to become better.At the moment, Trotta is enjoying the college life and preparing for graduation after studying early childhood development and social work. He said he is unsure of what exactly he will be doing in the real world, but knows that helping others will be involved. "I like working with kids," he said.