The Peru Gazette

POTSDAM, NY (07/14/2011)Kregg Bruno used the unique combination of a successful high school career and a taste of the NCAA Division I level to create a standout three-year career as a wrestler at SUNY Potsdam.

Bruno, a member of the Bears wrestling team from 1981-84 and a 2011 Bears Hall of Fame inductee as of this Saturday, received an athletic scholarship from Syracuse University after becoming the first-ever New York State champion from Section VII at Peru Central School (He was inducted into that school’s Hall of Fame last October).

Following one semester of wrestling at SU, Bruno decided he needed a change. After finishing out the academic year, the Peru, N.Y., native met with Potsdam coach Neil Johnson and transferred to the College in 1981.

“Division I was too intense for me,” Bruno said. “I still enjoyed wrestling, but we practiced three times per day. I had a brother in St. Lawrence County, so I decided to attend Potsdam.”

The decision turned out to be the right one for Bruno, who became an All-American at 142 pounds at the 1981 NCAA Division III Championships. He would go on to earn All-State University of New York Athletic Conference honors twice, and was a SUNYAC champion in 1982-83.

Bruno proved himself against top wrestlers from all college divisions around the state that season, earning All-New York State accolades following a fourth-place finish at the New York State Tournament. He credits his success to facing quality competition not only in the conference, but on the mat each day in team practice.

“We had a great team,” Bruno said. “If you look back at the 1970s, there were a lot of All-Americans … we had four All-Americans on our teams. The SUNYAC was also one of the strongest Division III conferences in the nation.”

Former teammate Richard McAllister ’83, who wrestled with Bruno for two seasons and will present Bruno at this Saturday’s banquet at SUNY Potsdam, said the team belonged to Bruno almost immediately upon his arrival.

“Kregg took over the wrestling aspect … it was really his team,” McAllister said. “Pound for pound, he was one of the toughest guys I’ve ever met. He had big, strong hands and a phenomenal grip, which gave him the ability to control an opponent’s hands.”

Bruno’s success can also be attributed to growing up with three brothers, who all wrestled, and his father, Bob, who drove Bruno and his brothers “thousands of miles” during the summers for wrestling. Bruno says his father, who passed away last year, was a “huge influence” on his life.

He also mentions Johnson, Potsdam’s wrestling coach from 1963-87 and a Bears Hall of Fame member, as a key mentor during his career. “Coach Johnson wasn’t the most technical coach, but he got us in good shape and kept us motivated,” Bruno said. “He also got us involved all over campus … I can remember cooking hamburgers for a 5K race and doing things of that nature.”

A close-knit SUNY Potsdam community also served as a comfort to Bruno, who said the wrestling team was close with the men’s hockey and men’s basketball teams, who were in season around the same time.

“Potsdam is a nice, small, compact campus, especially compared to Syracuse,” Bruno said. “It was an easy flow, and everyone was so nice. We went to a lot of other athletic events … it was a tight community of academics and athletics.”

Bruno said he still keeps in touch with several members of the old team, including McAllister, who wrestled at 126 pounds and who Bruno referred to as both “a ball of fire” and a “pain in the butt” on the mat.

Currently, Bruno, 50, is a councilman for the Town of Peru and the owner of Bruno’s Painting Plus, which he has run since 2002. He resides in Peru with his wife, Bonnie, and daughter Katie (18), who will be attending the University of Albany in the fall. His son Christopher (21) attends SUNY Cortland. Bruno has also served as an assistant wresting coach at Peru Central School, his alma mater, since 2005.

“Kregg is a friend for life and a leader,” said McAllister, who currently owns Hartford (Conn.) Toyota. “He’s taken wrestling beyond college and into coaching, helping kids in his hometown.”

Bruno earned an associate’s degree in applied science from Clinton Community College in 1987. He hopes to earn a four-year degree at some point in his life. While he never graduated from Potsdam, Bruno still keeps many lessons learned as a student-athlete with him to this day. “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else is easy,” Bruno said. “With the preparation, the one-on-one nature of the sport and the mental and physical aspects … nothing seems out of reach. I’m committed to a better diet and to a better life.”