Ricky Stamm is a New York native and a senior on the wrestling team, currently completing his sixth year of eligibility. He comes from Levittown, where he wrestled at Division Avenue High School for four years and ran cross country for two. In 2015, at the New York State High School Championships, Stamm finished fifth at 138 pounds but placed second at 160 pounds. Stamm was also a three-time league and county champion, and an All-New York and All-American selection in both his junior and senior years. In addition, he received praise for being a three-time Most Outstanding Wrestler award winner, a three-year leader in wins and pins for the Blue Dragons and a two-time team captain.  

Stamm reflected on his high school days which, to him, feel like forever ago.

“In high school wrestling, one of the major differences is if you’re a little athletic or a little strong, you’re going to beat 90% of the people in high school,” Stamm said. “When you get to college, you know everyone. You know who was the better wrestler in their county or state. So, when you get to college, you kind of figure out how to be much more well-rounded.”

He compared aspects of college wrestling to a puzzle.

“It’s having to have all the puzzle pieces as opposed to in high school wrestling, [where] you kind of just needed to have one or two that most people wouldn’t have had,” Stamm said. 

In his first year for the Pride, Stamm red-shirted and wrestled unattached at 157 pounds, recording a 29-11 record. Stamm placed numerous times at various opens and championships. As a redshirt freshman in his second year, the 2017-18 season, he started at 157 and 165 pounds. Stamm then made it to the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships, where he went 1-2 and was honored with the EIWA Academic Achievement Award. In the 2018-2019 season, he received Hofstra’s Most Valuable Wrestler award. 

In Stamm’s fourth and fifth years for the Pride, which were the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 wrestling seasons, he received Hofstra’s Steve Molello Coaches Award while also qualifying twice for the NCAA tournament at 165 pounds.

“It’s interesting because I qualified in 2020 – we’re training, excited to go, and then it got canceled. So then having qualified for 2021 was cool,” Stamm said. “It was one of those kinds of moments in life where, you’re like, wow, this is something that I grew up watching, and now I get to be a part of it. I’m excited to get back there and, you know, actually do well this year.” 

Stamm said that qualifying for the NCAA tournament was one of his best memories for the Pride but credits his teammates for helping him get there.  

“We were a team that, when I first got here, struggled a lot,” Stamm said. “In three seasons, we sent one person to the NCAA tournament and then, two years later, we sent seven people in one year, so that that was really cool to see kind of the progress of the team.”

“In the same year, we had really good dual meet results and won the last seven in a row,” he added. “So, kind of seeing the program built back up to what it is now is cool to be a part of.”

Stamm also mentioned that the number of matches he’s wrestled in was a significant accomplishment.

“I don’t know if I excelled at it, I don’t even know if you can excel at it, but I’m proud of the sheer number of matches that I’ve wrestled,” Stamm said. “I’m closing in on 160 college wrestling matches or something, and I think a lot of that has a lot to do with the success that I have had. Every time you get out there, you can look back and figure out what you did right what you did wrong. So, I’m proud that I have so many college wrestling matches under my belt.”

In reference to the 2021-22 season, Stamm revealed how he truly felt about his performance.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that we’ve underperformed,” he said. “I’ve underperformed myself, and our record is not where we expected it to be. But, you know, the kind of blessing and curse about wrestling is that it doesn’t matter too much. We still think we have five, six guys, who can make the national tournament, and that’s what we’re planning on doing; I think there’s a lot to look back on and a lot to learn from, and I still think the expectation is as high as it was at the beginning of the season.”

Stamm has learned many lessons in wrestling that can be applied to life.

“I think this has a lot to do with the wrestling, but I assume this has a lot to do with life: there’s going to be times where you’re not doing too well, and things get rough,” Stamm said. “So, much of college wrestling is just putting your head down and, when it gets tough, just grinding through it.”

Stamm also said persistence is key to not letting negative results affect you and your mental state. It is essential to keep grinding, let things play out and never lower your expectations. His mindset has been crucial to the success he has had during his six years with the Pride.

Stamm hopes to become a high school history teacher and wrestling coach upon graduating.

Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics