William Santoro has been at the helm of Connetquot High School for 34 years, and he ranks first on the Suffolk County seniority list of varsity coaches running the same program for consecutive years.

Counting a seven-year stint as a junior high school coach, he has been a wrestling coach for 41 years.

Over the last several decades, Connetquot has earned a reputation of a first-class program that produces top-notch wrestlers. Connetquot produces an award-winning media guide each year and has received third-place honors in a national contest run by Wrestling USA magazine.

Over the past 33 years, Connetquot has 277 wins and 13 league titles while finishing in the Top 10 in the county tournament multiple times, including fourth-place finishes in 1985 and 2011.

The team's individual honors are even more impressive.

In the past 33 seasons, the T-Bird program has 75 all-county wrestlers, 14 county champions, 10 all-state wrestlers, a state champion and four high school All-Americans. Three Connetquot wrestlers have been named "Suffolk Wrestler of the Year" and 15 have amassed 100 or more victories.

However, if you ask Bill what he is most proud of, it is none of the above. He is pleased about the large number of graduates that are now coaching wrestling and giving back to the sport.

Currently, there are 17 former CHS wrestlers who are wrestling coaches, including four at the varsity level. Three of these are currently serving as assistant coaches for Connetquot - Anthony Melfi, Scott With and Bryan Meehan. Santoro has nothing but the highest praise for each of these men. In addition to coaching, With also produces the media guide and Meehan works with the organization's alumni association.

Back in 1971, Santoro, along with Rich Cestaro and Joe Grady, organized the Connetquot Kid Wrestling program, an organization that continues as a feeder program to this day. Two other longtime friends who have helped in the success of the Connetquot program are Dale McGar, who coached with Bill for 13 seasons, and Hall of Famer Pete Venier. In addition to coaching, Venier is an award-winning photographer who still covers T-Bird matches.

Santoro served as secretary for the Suffolk County Coaches Association association for four years and has been a league representative for the past 10 years.

Bill was an earth sciences teacher for 40 years at Oakdale Bohemia Junior High before retiring from the classroom in 2011. He had perfect attendance for 32 of his 40 years.

He has no immediate plans to retire from coaching, saying that “It will be difficult to walk away from the wrestling room when the time comes. However, when I do, it will be with a lot of great memories.”