There are a few names that stand out in the history of Valley Central wrestling.

Satriano is now one of those names.

Last weekend at MVP Arena in Albany, Valley Central junior Luke Satriano won his second straight NYSPHSAA wrestling title, coming in first place in the Division 1 124-pound bracket.

In order to reach the top of the podium, Satriano had to go through two-time defending state champion Matt Marlow, of Northport.

Although it was a matchup of two previous state champs, it didn’t exactly feel that way.

After a scoreless first period, Satriano picked up some momentum in the second when he got a reversal. He then turned that into three straight nearfalls as the period wound to a close. The Viking junior secured 10 points in the period, taking a commanding 10-0 lead.

“Once I score, I just keep building my momentum,” Satriano said.

“That’s how I weather the storm and shut the other guy down.”

Satriano was able to hold Marlow off in the third, securing the 10-0 major decision to win his second state title.

“Everytime is like the first time,” Satriano said. “It just feels so great knowing that my hard work is paying off. Now I’ll keep driving for next year.”

Satriano, who finished the year with a record of 40-6, began his state tournament on Friday, Feb. 23 with a pin in his first match, followed by a 3-0 decision in the quarterfinals.

He then won a 11-2 decision over Wantagh’s Anthony Clem in the semifinals on Saturday, advancing to the championship.

“I knew that if I kept pushing myself every day at practice, I’d eventually get what I wanted and reach my goals. It was really just about having a constant hunger in practice and driving to push myself harder everyday.”

Once the championship win was secured, Satriano ran over to his Valley Central coach – who is also his cousin – Robert Satriano.

“He wrestled before me. I grew up watching him,” Luke Satriano said of Robert. “We grew up like 10 feet from each other. We’re like brothers.”

“We’ve been saying it since I was little, that maybe one day he could be my coach and he did. He worked his butt off in college and got everything done. It’s awesome having him as my coach, and it’s really special to do this with him here.”

His 10-0 major decision is certainly a change of pace from Satriano’s state title last season in 2023, which he won 2-1 in a tiebreaker in the 110-pound bracket.

With one year left to go, Satriano is pushing to new territory.

Next season, he will have the opportunity to become the first Valley Central wrestler since Lou Ruggirello in 2006 to win three state titles.

“That’s definitely the goal,” Satriano said. “Satriano is hopefully going to be the next name [to the Ruggirello’s].”

Valley Central was also represented in Albany by 101-pound eighth-grader EJ Vass, who had quite an introduction to the state tournament.

Vass made it all the way to the Division 1 101-pound championship match, ultimately dropping an 11-0 major decision to Newburgh’s William Soto, earning the No. 2 spot in the state.

“It’s awesome watching EJ have so much success at such a young age,” Satriano said of his Viking teammate. “He’s only in eighth grade and he’s already a state finalist.”

To reach the state final, Vass picked up a pair of pins in his first two matches, then won a 9-6 decision in the semifinals to go up against the top-seeded Soto.

Wallkill’s Marco Futia was able to get on the NYSPHSAA podium, coming in fourth place in the Division 1 108-pound bracket. Viktor Banda went 2-2 as a 124-pounder, while Anthony Annacone went 2-2 at 170 pounds.

Pine Bush’s Logan Pennell went 1-2 in the tournament in the 152-pound bracket.