During TJ Allison’s senior year and Dominick Canali’s junior year, they achieved 100 career wins in their 2024-2025 wrestling season, as the boys’ wrestling team captains. They got there through perseverance, determination and dedication.
Allison recalls that his first win ever was at Canon-Mac at his first tournament. He started wrestling in kindergarten, 12 years ago. His motivation to win has been the fact that he does not like to lose, so his desire and drive to win help him succeed. In his 2023-2024 season, his junior year, he qualified for States.
Allison explained that outside of 100 career wins “My best moment was qualifying for States that year, that was big for me.”
He also feels that throughout the years of his wrestling career, his biggest supporter has been his coach, Ron Tarquinio.
Allison considers Tarquinio his biggest supporter because “He has always been there for me and always gotten me in the right direction.”
Achieving 100 career wins is a big achievement that younger wrestlers can look up to and hope to achieve one day. To Allison, achieving this goal brings a new level to his wrestling career and he hopes to become a national qualifier when he goes to college.
A goal like 100 career wins can mean different things to different people, but for Allison, he claims “It means a lot to me because I’ve been injured a couple of times, so reaching that goal just means a lot. It’s taught me a lot of life lessons and to be determined and never give up in anything.”
Canali started wrestling at the age of six. He hopes to continue his wrestling career in college, and his biggest motivation has been the coaches he has had over the years. He participated in club wrestling with coaches he looked up to. His current Trinity coaches are Tarquinio, Paul Reihner, Andy Migyanko, Zack Bowman and Tristan Buxton who have all helped him and pushed him to be his best. Another person who gave him motivation was his uncle.
To Canali, reaching 100 career wins “shows where I am at with other kids and shows that next year I could have a shot at beating the all-time record.”
Canali and Allison are also practice partners, and are happy that they could help each other meet the goal of 100 career wins.
Wrestling has shaped Canali as a person on and off the mat, he said, “It’s a really hard sport that teaches and requires a lot of dedication, time and effort.”
Young wrestlers get the opportunity to have people like Canali and Allison, who have reached admirable goals by pushing themselves and trying their best, to look up to. Reaching these goals puts them in a place where they get to inspire and motivate others to be their best.
Their coach, Migyanko, has been a big part in motivating them to reach their goals.
He believes “TJ and Dom are living proof that hard work pays off. Growing up in the wrestling world, both sought more wrestling outside of your typical practices. They would train in wrestling clubs, work out in the summer and push through on their worst days.”
They both had to learn how to balance wrestling with school without getting behind. They have to get the most of their school day, so focusing on completing work during the day and leaving the rest of the time for wrestling is what works best for them.
Canali suggests, “You just have to focus on two different things at two different times.”
After reaching 100 career wins, both still have more goals and achievements.
Migyanko advises them: “The ultimate goal is to reach your full potential and place as high as you can at the state tournament. Use this latest accomplishment and build on it moving forward.”
Canali and Allison are proud to have won 100 matches. With the encouragement of their family, friends and coaches, they hope to reach more wrestling goals in the future.
