Keanu Thompson of Grand Street Campus High School and Cheick Ndiaye of Brooklyn International High School both see the award-winning end to their high school careers as motivation to accomplish more in the years to come.
Both won for wrestling the Public School Athletic League’s Wingate award, given to the top senior in each sport. Thompson won for Division I and Ndiaye for Division II.
“This was a cap to my greatest year wrestling, because my bracket at the state tournament was stacked with talent,” Thompson said of winning the Wingate. “It means all the work that I’ve put into the last four years has paid off and there are greater things to come after this.”
With only four losses, this was a banner year for Thompson, who has wrestled at four different weight classes during his high school career. This season, at 126 pounds, he won a second league individual Division I title and his first Outstanding Wrestler Award. In the tournament he had three technical falls and a pin. In addition to his city titles, he added a second straight Mayor’s Cup crown. Thompson is headed to Lake Erie College, a Division II school in Ohio, where he plans to continue wrestling.
“Keanu has proved to himself and everyone around him that anything is possible if you work hard enough for it,” Grand Street Coach John Zarcone said.
For the second consecutive season, however, he failed to claim the ultimate prize. Thompson again fell just one win shy of claiming a New York State Federation title, losing to T.J. Fabian of Shoreham-Wading River in the final. Fabian went on to become the national champion. The unseeded Thompson, however, pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament when he beat in the semifinals No. 2 seed and returning state champion Dylan Realbuto of Somers.
Ndiaye has wrestled at three different weight classes over his career. This year, at 113 pounds, he won both the league’s Division II crown — to earn his third straight trip to the state tournament — and Mayor’s Cup crown. At the Division II state tournament, Ndiaye reached the semifinal of his weight class before falling to Nick Casella of Locust Valley. He finished his career with a record of 100–16 and wants to continue that success at the next level.
“I have to do the same thing in college, dominate,” Ndiaye said.
Ndiaye heads to Tompkins Cortland Community College for at least one year as he tries to earn a spot in Cornell University, so he can join their wrestling team.
Reach reporter Joseph Staszewski at jstaszewski@cnglocal.com. Follow him on twitter @cng_staszewski.
