Frank Cagnina
Apex North and Central Instructor​
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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.
Cagnina’s high school resume features three NJSIAA state titles, and four consecutive Bergen county, district, and regional titles. He finished his high school career with a 164-4 record, setting the NJ state record at the time for victories, and closing his career with an 83-match winning streak.
Cagnina signed to attend Lehigh University out of high school, where he became an NCAA Division I qualifier in his freshman year. He then moved to the Division II realm, winning 2 NCAA Division II titles for the University of Central Missouri. He finished his total combined college career with a 94-9 record.
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As a coach, Cagnina worked as an assistant at Pascack Valley High School from 2015-2020, and was just recently hired as the Head Wrestling Coach at DePaul Catholic High School.
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Frank currently lives in Haskell, NJ with his wife, Deanna.
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Cagnina’s proudest moment as a wrestling coach: “In 2018, I was on staff at Pascack Valley High School when we defeated Sparta to earn the first ever State Sectional wrestling title in the school’s history”