Wagner College Athletics

Longtime men's and women's cross country/track & field head coach Joe Stasi completed his 28th year at Wagner in 2023. 
 
Since 2019, Coach Stasi has led the men's program to six of the last seven NEC titles, which includes back-to-back indoor and outdoor crowns while winning the 2019 & 2020-21 cross country championship. 
 
During Stasi's illustrious tenure on Grymes Hill, he has guided the program to over 50 indoor and outdoor records while overseeing a two-time NCAA qualifier (Josh Russell, Shot Put [twice]), eight NCAA regional qualifiers. Additionally, he has mentored a track academic All-American (Zachary Spector).
 
In 2021-22, Stasi guided the men's indoor and outdoor track & field to their second straight Northeast Conference (NEC) titles. On February 1, 2022, Stasi was named the director of the women's triathlon program. In this role, he will oversee a program that most recently saw two student-athletes receive All-American Honorable Mention recognition in the fall (Clara Normand and Yasmin Rieger). They are the first two in the program's four-year history to receive this distinction. 
 
Coach Stasi has established himself as one of the most distinguished coaches on the East Coast, as he has now garnered NEC Coach of the Year honors six times. 
 
In all, Coach Stasi has overseen multiple accomplishments:
 
Men's Cross Country

• 23 All-Conference Selections
• 6 USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams (2020, 2019, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007)
• 4 Rookies of the Year (Derek Rammelkamp - 2007 | Liam Harris – 2016 | Trausti Thorsteins – 2018 | Anthony Bentivegna – 2020-21)
• 3 NEC Fall Scholar-Athletes of the Year (Trausti Thorsteins, Jonathan Besselink [2]) 
• 2 NEC Individual Champions (Trausti Thorsteins - 2018 & 2020-21)
• 2 Most Outstanding Performers (Trausti Thorsteins – 2018 &2020-21)
• 1 NCAA Qualifier (Trausti Thorsteins | 2020-21)

 
Women's Cross Country

• 17 All-Conference Selections 
• 1 Most Outstanding Performer (Karina Acevedo | 2001)
• 1 NEC Individual Champion (Karina Acevedo | 2001) 
• 1 USTFCCCA All-Academic Team (2002)

 
Track and Field

• 49 Indoor and Outdoor Men's School Records 
• 45 Indoor and Outdoor Women's School Records
• 12 NCAA Qualifiers
• 6 NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Tiffany Hanna | 2020-21), Jonathan Besselink (2), Matthew Kane (2014 | Outdoor Track & Field), Zachary Spector (2013 | Outdoor Track & Field), Brecken Drager (Women's Outdoor Track & Field | 2010) 
• 5 NEC Outstanding Performer - Outdoor (Aliana Alfano | 2009; Devon Jones | 2017; Tiffany Hanna | 2019 & 2021; Robert Guidicipietro | 2021) 
• 3 NEC Outstanding Rookie Performers - Indoor (Aliana Alfano | 2006; Bryan Pagliuca | 2004; Dylan Beard | 2017)
• 2 NCAA Championship Qualifier (Josh Russell | 2003 & 2003) 
• 2 NEC Student-Athlete of the Year recipients (Tiffany Hanna | 2020-21) (Jonathan Besselink | 2019-20) 
• 2 Most Valuable Performer - Outdoor (Alaina Alfano | 2009; Robert Guidicipietro | 2021)
• 1 Most Valuable Performer - Indoor (Alaina Alfano | 2008) 
• 1 NCAA Woman of the Year Nominee (Tiffany Hanna)

 
On April 20, 2017, the Staten Island Track Running and Community (SITRAC) recognized Coach Stasi and his entire coaching staff for their coaching accomplishments during the indoor campaign. 
 
A life-long Staten Island native, Stasi worked as an Adaptive Physical Education teacher in the New York City Public School System until his retirement in June of 2020.
 
Stasi graduated from Kean College in 1988 and obtained two Master’s Degrees. The first in Physical Education from Nova University in Naples, Florida (1991) and Special Education from Wagner College (1999).
 
He attended New Dorp High School and while attending Kean, he served as an assistant coach at Monsignor Farrell High School (1987-90).