Sam Cali, Rutgers wrestler who had just completed his freshman season for the Scarlet Knights, was killed in a one-car accident off I-287 near Mahwah, New Jersey.
Also killed was Cali's good friend and fellow former Don Bosco Prep athlete Leo Vagias, who was a kicker at the University of Rhode Island.
A state Department of Transportation employee discovered a blue Lexus in the woods off I-287 about 9 a.m. Monday. Cali and Vagias, both 19 years old, apparently were ejected from the car which had left the highway's southbound lanes about four miles south of the New York border. The cause of the accident, which may have occurred overnight Sunday, is still under investigation.
Both Samuel Cali and Leonardo Vagias were eulogized by their former school.
"The entire Don Bosco Prep community is saddened by the tragic news we received this afternoon," said Don Bosco Prep Athletic Director Brian McAleer said of the two 2015 graduates from the college preparatory school. "Both of our young men were taken from us way too soon. Don Bosco Prep sends its deepest condolences to the Cali and Vagias families. May they rest in peace."
Don Bosco Prep Principal John Stanczak released a statement on the school's website Monday.
"We are heartbroken by the tragic death of our former students, Sam Cali and Leo Vagias. Both young men represented the heart and soul of Don Bosco Prep -- men of character and joy, kindness and goodness. They were gifted student athletes, whose great promise was yet unrealized. Each had a passion for making the community around them better, and did so with love and happiness.
"While the loss of any life is tragic, the loss of young lives is even more so. Our community has been changed because of their presence in it, and will be changed because of their absence from it. This is a profoundly sad day for Don Bosco Prep. We offer our deepest condolences and prayers to their families and friends. The school community and the Salesian community will offer whatever solace we can to our entire family throughout this tragedy," said Stanczak.
The loss of Samuel Cali was felt deeply at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
"We are extremely saddened by the unexpected passing of Sam Cali," said Rutgers Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Patrick Hobbs in a prepared statement. "This terrible tragedy will be deeply felt by the Rutgers community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and classmates of both Sam and Leo Vagias at this very difficult time."
"Sam was a great young man who everyone on the team truly loved being around," said head wrestling coach Scott Goodale. "He loved wrestling and being part of our Rutgers family. Anytime you lose a teammate it hurts, and this hurts really bad. We send our prayers to the families and will keep Sam a part of everything that we do."
Prior to arriving at Rutgers last fall, Sam Cali crafted a successful wrestling career at Don Bosco Prep. Cali compiled an 89-28 overall record, where he was a two-time district champ. He concluded his prep career by placing third in the state in the 132-pound weight class at the 2015 NJSIAA (New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association) wrestling championships in Atlantic City last spring.
As a freshman at Rutgers, Cali competed at the National Collegiate Open, the 83rd Annual Wilkes University Open and the Nittany Lion Open at Penn State University.
Vagias, a placekicker at University of Rhode Island, did not play football as a redshirt during his freshman year of college. He was voted New Jersey's best high school kicker in 2014 and was an all-state and all-Bergen County selection as a senior at Don Bosco, according to the URI football website. He was ranked among the nation's top 50 kickers coming out of high school, where he made all 37 extra points he attempted, and once kicked a 49-yard field goal.
Zach Chakonis, Northwestern University wrestler who knew both Cali and Vagias as a wrestler and football player at Don Bosco, paid tribute to his former teammates.
"They were great competitors," Chakonis told the Bergen Record. "They were even better people. They always had your back." Chakonis went on to say that Cali had a way of smiling and telling jokes that put his teammates at ease during even the most stressful wrestling matches.
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