Miles matter in DeCristofaro's college pick

By BRANT JAMES

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 17, 2001

SPRING HILL -- Iowa has certain things with which it is synonymous: there's corn, and wrestling, and corn.

But there are no beaches, and that doesn't do for a Florida boy originally from New Jersey, not even one who is as consumed with wrestling as Gerard DeCristofaro.

Factor in the 1,300 or so miles between the Heartland and Spring Hill and, oh, that desire to compete in NCAA Division I, and the former Springstead High state champion had an easy decision when it came to choosing a college.

When the family car cranks up in the driveway this morning, it'll be heading toward Buies Creek, N.C., and Campbell University.

"I'm a little bit nervous," DeCristofaro said of his entry into college life. "But basically, I'm just kind of excited."

DeCristofaro, the Times' co-wrestler of the year and a member of the All-Gulf Coast Athletic Conference academic team with a 3.30 grade-point average this year (2.75 overall), plans to enter a pre-medicine program.

Because DeCristofaro waited so late to choose a college -- deferring the decision until after the Junior Nationals in late July -- he will not go on scholarship until the spring semester, when he said his financial package will be "probably close enough to a full ride."

Springstead coach Bob Levija called DeCristofaro the best he has ever coached after DeCristofaro went 49-0 and won the Class A 140-pound state title this season.

"He wrestled at 140, and about 130 pounds of that was heart," Levija said.

The DeCristofaros' original plan was for Gerard and older brother Anthony, a 1999 Springstead grad, to attend school together. They discussed that idea with Division I Appalachian State and George Mason, and William Penn (NAIA) and Loras (NCAA Div. III) colleges in Iowa.

Nancy DeCristofaro, their mother, said Campbell coach Dave Auble expressed an interest in Anthony, but thinking his inclusion would halve Gerard's financial package, Anthony opted not to return query materials to the coach.

Anthony DeCristofaro has since opted to attend school at Pasco-Hernando Community College and quit wrestling.

"I was looking forward to him coming out there with me, but ..." Gerard said. "But at least Campbell's not as far as Iowa."

Gerard DeCristofaro hasn't actually seen the Campbell campus yet. He never saw the William Penn or Loras campuses, either, but took the advice of his father and Anthony, who passed through them driving back from the Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D.

"The entire state, as far as they were concerned, is a cornfield," said Nancy DeCristofaro, whose family moved to Spring Hill from Cherry Hill, N.J. "The distance was a problem. North Carolina seemed just right where we could grab (6-year-old daughter Suzanne) and jump in the car.

"Gerard not seeing the campus didn't matter. He's the type of kid that doesn't need to see it to know what it is offering."

Auble offers a lot. He was a two-time Olympian and in a 30-year coaching career he has won a national championship -- with UCLA in 1979 -- and a gold medal in the 1977 Pan American Games.

He had been interested in DeCristofaro for a while. Auble made initial contact when DeCristofaro was a junior, and offered a scholarship after he won the state championship in February.

Gerard decided not to make any decision until after the Junior Nationals, and the DeCristofaros left messages expressing their interest in Campbell on Auble's voice mail after returning from Fargo.

"He called from Europe and said it was wonderful Gerard was coming," Nancy DeCristofaro said. "He didn't think Gerard was considering them anymore." Auble plans for DeCristofaro to wrestle at 149, a major weak spot for a team that had its best season ever by finishing third in the Colonial Athletic Conference last year. The roster current contains six Floridians.

"I have a little bit of weight to put on, but I can do that," DeCristofaro said. "I've been running every day, keeping in shape."

- Staff writer Brant James can be reached at (800) 333-7505, ext. 1430. Send email to brant@sptimes.com.

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