It would take a while to list every award that Trey Rogers has received in his five years at Hofstra University. As a star member of the wrestling team and a pre-medical biochemistry major, Rogers has shown ambition like no one else.
Rogers almost didn’t choose Hofstra – when he was in the recruitment process, he had everything colleges wanted: a good high school record and high grades. Along with his acceptance to Hofstra, he was accepted to multiple Ivy League schools and Stanford University. Knowing he wanted to go to medical school later, the Ivy League universities were out due to their tuition price, leaving just Stanford and Hofstra.
“[Rogers’] dad told me, ‘Dennis, we liked you the best,’” said Hofstra head coach Dennis Papadatos. “He said, ‘I want you to know that me and his mother told him he should go to Stanford, but he wants to go to Hofstra.’”
In his first year, Rogers planned to redshirt, but a spot at the 184-pound weight class opened, and he stepped up. He amassed an 18-20 overall record that first year, which is uncommon for a true freshman.
It was a tough learning curve, as some of the lowest points in Rogers’ career also happened in his first year. He vividly recalled one day when the team competed against American University and the United States Naval Academy and he lost both of his matches.
“I was cutting weight, and it was like, ‘What am I doing here? I’ve got a test tomorrow,’” Rogers said.
Balancing school and wrestling was a challenge Rogers faced every week, but finding time away from it all was the most valuable lesson he learned in his first year.
“My freshman year, I was way too locked into school and wrestling; it just wore me out too much,” Rogers said. “I remember a Friday night where I was in the library working on [chemistry]; I didn’t need to be there.”
Rogers moved up to 197 pounds for his next four years, amassing a career total of 78 wins and 48 losses. He qualified for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championships twice in his third and fifth year.
He called his first qualification “anticlimactic,” with his opponent at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association championships injury defaulting, qualifying Rogers automatically with his fifth place finish.
This year, Rogers found himself in the same place in the bracket, needing a fifth place win to qualify. In contrast to his junior year’s qualification, this year felt like he had the weight of Hofstra wrestling on his shoulders since his teammates failed to qualify.
“It was good; it was really fun,” Rogers said. “It was kind of tough because Zach [Knighton-Ward] was looking to have a good year and didn’t have the tournament he wanted, and right before my match, Jacob [Ferreira] lost the match to qualify, which was really upsetting. With that match – not to say Hofstra wrestling was on me, but I was Hofstra wrestling at that time.”
Besides qualifying for the championships twice, Rogers’ win against the University of Wisconsin Madison’s nationally-ranked No. 16 and 2021 Junior World Freestyle Wrestling Champion Braxton Amos was also a high point in his career.
Often tasked with combating Rogers’ overthinking and “analysis paralysis,” as the coach calls it, Papadatos knows Rogers well and believes he is leaving behind a strong legacy.
Rogers succeeded by keeping to a schedule. Sometimes Rogers’ classes and Rabinowitz Honors College commitments conflicted with practice. His coaches were flexible, though, knowing how much Rogers cared about his classwork.
Rogers credited his team and their culture with helping him from becoming overwhelmed. The team was also a big motivator for him in competition.
“I just love Hofstra,” Rogers said. “I was always excited when I saw the little lion head. It just kind of got me going for some reason. I was always excited when I put the singlet on. It was kind of special to be a part of the Hofstra wrestling team.”
Being a team captain was one of Rogers’ goals when he came to Hofstra, and the chance finally came in his last two years when he was chosen by his teammates. The title of captain was another motivator for Rogers.
“Whenever I want to cut corners, I remember that I don’t want that culture for our team, and being team captain, I kind of create that culture,” Rogers said.
That same love and dedication translates to his pre-med studies.
“I really like interacting with people, so being a doctor will allow me to chat with people and help people out,” Rogers said.
Rogers is once again choosing between universities, now for medical school, and is deciding between Hofstra and Dartmouth College. Whatever school he ultimately decides on, he says he has a lot of love and appreciation for Hofstra.
“Thank you to everyone,” Rogers said, “All the coaches I’ve had, Dennis, Jamie, Mauro. They were all very special. All my teammates really did a lot to push me and to make me better as a person, as a friend, as an athlete.”
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
