Meet The Team

A native of the City of Garfield, New Jersey (a.k.a. The City of Champions), Damion Logan founded The Apex Wrestling School in 2001, opening its doors to the northern New Jersey wrestling community in a small, second-floor warehouse space in South Hackensack, New Jersey.  Since that time, Logan has grown and expanded the Apex Wrestling School brand to include three training centers, spanning the entire state of New Jersey.

​

​

Also a native of the City of Champions, Garfield, New Jersey, Dane Tabano has been with The Apex Wrestling School since its inception in South Hackensack, New Jersey in 2001.  As a lifelong friend and wrestling teammate of Damion Logan’s since toddlerhood, Tabano was an integral part of getting The Apex Wrestling School curriculum and program off the ground, as well as maintaining its integrity.

​

​

​

Cory Cooperman joined The Apex Wrestling School in the Spring of 2019, when he partnered to create the Apex North/Coop Trained facility in Mahwah, New Jersey.  Cory’s extensive coaching career prior to the Apex North/Coop Trained venture is highlighted by the time he spent as an assistant coach at Cornell University.  While at Cornell, Cory worked directly with multiple NCAA champions, World champions, and Olympians, and helped the Big Red crown 12 All-Americans and 14 first-team All-Ivy selections.

Derek Francavilla is an Ernie Monaco/Edge-trained student-athlete who decided to partner with The Apex Wrestling School’s central Jersey location to help continue the Apex tradition.  As a high school student-athlete, Francavilla was a two-time region, district, and county champion for Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in Union County, New Jersey.  Francavilla was a NJSIAA state finalist at 142 pounds his senior year, following up on a fourth-place finish in his junior year. He finished his high school career with a record of 118-18, and as a three-time state place winner and a three-time All-Union County selection.  Francavilla also helped Scotch Plains-Fanwood claim the 2004 Union County wrestling tournament team title and became the school's first wrestler to reach 100 victories. 

Alex Karnitski brings a highly-coveted wealth of International wrestling experience and perspective to The Apex Wrestling School program.  Hailing from Belarus, and known as “The Russian” amongst the Apex membership, Alex was a two-time University World Champion, a fifth-place finisher in the World Championships, a third-place finisher in the 2001 European Championships, and a two-time Yarygin Champion representing his home country of Belarus.  Alex was also a seven-time Belarus National Champion.

​

​

​

​

​

Jason Silverstein has been a part of The Apex Wrestling School coaching corps since its inception in 2001 (and he has the OG Apex gear to prove it!)  A New Jersey wrestling legend himself, Silverstein’s wrestling career in the Garden State, and then collegiate career in the Big Ten in the midwest paralleled Damion Logan and Dane Tabano’s wrestling career trajectory.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Matthew Rose is another Apex-trained student-athlete who has dedicated his time to invest in perpetuating The Apex Wrestling School system. 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Christian Barber is yet another Apex alum who has invested back into The Apex Wrestling School system as a coach.  

As a high school student-athlete wrestling for Westfield High School, Barber captured a 2011 NJSIAA State Title at 152 pounds.  Barber posted a 41-1 record as a senior, and was a two-time team captain.  Barber turned in a 112-21 record during his four-year high school career and was a perennial honor roll student.

​

​

​

If there were an Apex Wrestling Hall of Fame, Frank Cagnina would be a first-ballot inductee.  His high school wrestling career puts him very high on the list of greatest New Jersey wrestlers to ever step on a mat.  He was the first superstar athlete to have come through the Apex system.  His constant motion and footwork and sheer dominance in the lower weight categories made his matches spectacular performances to witness.  Frank Cagnina exemplified the Apex program, and was a model example for not only the wrestling principles we teach, but the character we encourage as well.

Foley Dowd became a close, lifelong friend of Apex founder Damion Logan and co-founder Dane Tabano during their time as wrestling teammates at The University of Michigan.  His awe-inspiring athleticism and unique creativity on the mat made him a true showcase whenever he donned a singlet, and he certainly has the wrestling resume to prove it.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

Joe Burke adds yet another layer of depth to The Apex Wrestling School staff.  Many members of our staff had athletic careers whose strength at the high school and collegiate levels were relatively similar.  Joe Burke bucks this trend, as he is a prototypical example of a “late bloomer”, as well as exemplifying why early career success is not necessarily a scripted predictor of future success.  While Burke was absolutely a star wrestling athlete on the mat for Buena Regional High School in Milmay, New Jersey, it was not until he began his collegiate career that his true prowess on the mat was realized.  

​

​

Erik Norgaard has been a part of The Apex Wrestling School’s staff since the mid-2000’s era.  He joined the Apex program after completing a storied New Jersey scholastic and collegiate wrestling career.  

​

As a high school student-athlete wrestling for Saint Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey, Norgaard was an NJSIAA state champion in 2000.  His title in 2000 followed a finals appearance and second-place finish in his junior year, and a fifth-place finish his sophomore year.  Norgaard was also a multiple time Bergen County, District, and Regional champion, Bergen Record Athlete of the Week, and top collegiate wrestling recruit his senior year.

Joe Cunningham became part of The Apex Wrestling School program after enrolling his two highly successful youth wrestling daughters, Brynn and Keira, at Apex South.  After having Brynn and Keira train at Apex South for a period of time, Cunningham began volunteering his time assisting in the youth wrestling classes.  He has since become an integral part of the success of Apex South’s youth training program.  

​

​

​

​

​

​

Ray Kenny joined The Apex Wrestling School staff when he enrolled his three nephews, Paul, Sean, and Eddie into the Apex system.  Now some of the most high profile wrestlers that represent Apex, Ray has made sure that the “Kenny Boys” uphold the integrity of the program in which they train. Ray also goes out of his way in the Apex training rooms and at competitions to assist the members who train with us in any way he can.  It is not uncommon to see Uncle Ray running from one mat to another at a competition to make sure that our Apex athletes have a coach in their corner to support them in their matches.

​

​

​

Greg Austin assists at Apex South with the novice/learner classes, rec, middle school, and high school classes. Greg is a local South Jersey wrestling icon, and an iductee into the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame. 

A 1999 graduate of Ocean City (NJ) High School, Austin captured three District 32 titles, one Region 8 title, and earned two trips to the NJSIAA State Tournament. In 1998, wrestling at 125 pounds, Austin won a 10-3 decision over Bill Heverly of Camden Catholic, before dropping a 3-0 decision to Jason Mercado of Pitman. This loss put Austin in the wrestlebacks, where he won by forfeit over Josh Tresslar of Belvidere.