Who's the all-time best lohud wrestler, presented by White Plains Hospital

Who is the best high school wrestler from the Lower Hudson Valley?

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, USA TODAY Sports will celebrate the 250 greatest American sports figures of all time. Alongside that national recognition, the USA TODAY Network will spotlight the roots of the country’s sports culture: the high school athletes and sports figures who shaped communities and defined their states.

Our list includes players who first had an impact at the scholastic level. It also includes multiple-time sectional champions, NCAA champions, All-Americans and all-time greats.

Here are our selections for the top 11 wrestlers of all-time, in alphabetical order, from Westchester, Rockland and Putnam. The poll of who is the best is presented by White Plains Hospital. There’s also a write-in space for a candidate of your choosing.

Voting ends at 3 p.m. on Friday, July 31.

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Collins won the 167-pound state title in 1990, when the state tournament was contested under one division. He won a pair of Section 1 titles, also winning the 155-pound title in 1989. Collins was a Div. I NCAA All-American at Michigan State in 1994 and 1995. He was inducted into the Section 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2000.

Cooper won the New York State championship in 1988 at 126 pounds and was a two-time all state wrestler, also placing fifth in 1986 at 98 pounds. Competed in tournaments while in the Armed Forces – in the Marines and Army, at 152 and 145. Was a two-time senior national champion in Greco-Roman in 2001 and 2006. Placed third in the Olympic Trials in 2000 and 2004. Won gold in the Pan-American Games in 2001 in Santo Domingo. Cooper was inducted into the Section 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2001.

Although Duke only won a single Div. I state title representing Carmel – as a 99-pound seventh-grader in 2000 – Duke is one of the top scholastic wrestlers in New York State history and remains a rising star in the NCAA at Penn State, as well as internationally. Duke won three additional Div. I state titles after transferring to Minisink Valley (138 in 2022, 160 in 2024, 170 in 2025). In his freshman year at Duke, he was All-American as he placed third in the NCAA tournament. He’s also won gold at the U20 Worlds and bronze at the U23 Worlds.

A three-time Section champion in the lightweights during the one division era, Garcia won the state championship at 112 pounds in 1990 and at 119 in 1991. In 1989, he was the Section 1 champion at 105 pounds. Garcia was inducted into the Section 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2000.

Hirsch won the Section 1 championship at 105 pounds in 1990, back in the single-division era. Hirsch won a Div. I NCAA championship at 126 pounds, wrestling for Cornell in 1994, defeating Penn State’s Sanshiro Abe, a future Olympian, in the final. He is a member of the Clarkstown South athletics, Rockland County Sports, Section 1 Wrestling (1999) and Cornell University halls of fame.

Logan won state championships in 2018 and 2019 at 182 pounds and placed fourth at 170 in 2017. He won three Section 1 Div. I titles in 2016 (160), 2018 and 2019. Went on to wrestle for Lehigh, where he qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2024.

Mazzurco won the 152-pound state title in 2000 and was state runner-up at the same weight class in 2001. Mazzurco won Section 1 titles in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Mazzurco was a two-time All-American at Cornell and was inducted into the Section 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2009.

Powell is a four-time all-state wrestler, winning the 138-pound state title in 1996 and the 152-pound title in 1997. He was state runner-up at 132 in 1995 and placed fourth in the state at 119 in 1994. He also won four consecutive Section 1 titles in the era where there was only one division. Was an All-American at Illinois in 2002. Inducted into the Section 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2004.

Realbuto won state championships in 2012 (152), 2011 (135) and 2009 (103), the only three-time state champion in Section 1. He was also a three-time All-American at Cornell, including placing second in the tournament in 2015. He was inducted into the Section 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

Rodrigues won the state championship at 130 pounds in 2011 and placed second at 112 in 2009. He won Section 1 titles in 2008 (103), 2009 (112), 2010 (125), 2011 (130). Rodrigues was an All-American at Illinois in 2016.

Smith was the state runner-up in 1976 at 155 pounds. He went on to Div. II Morgan State, where he was a four-time All-American and the NCAA Div. II champion in 1980. In those days, champions and runners-up in Div. II earned berths in the NCAA Div. I tournament, where Smith was runner-up in 1980 at 158 pounds. He was inducted into the Section 1 Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2008.

Phil Strum is local sports editor for The Journal News/lohud.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Who’s the all-time best lohud wrestler, presented by White Plains Hospital