Ken grew up in a wrestling family in Bayville, N.Y. on Long Island. All five boys in the DeStefanis family wrestled for Locust Valley High and were captains. Rob, Al and Carl were two-time New York state champions while Carl won a NCAA championship in 1984 with Penn State.

Ken wrestled at Central Connecticut State, twice being named All-New England and qualifying to wrestle in the NCAA Division II tournament.

After college, Ken spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Hand High in Madison, helping the Tigers win a state title. He was an assistant coach at Wesleyan (1 year) and Central Connecticut (2 years) before being named as the head coach at Central in December 1984.

At CCSU, he helped transform the program from a Division II contender to a Division I powerhouse that won three New England championships and an East Coast Conference title. Sixteen wrestlers that won New England Division I titles and 30 qualified for the NCAA Division I tournament. He was twice named New England coach of the year.

After Central Connecticut dropped the sport for financial reasons following the 1996 season, Ken continued to work in the sport. He founded the Competitive Edge wrestling camp. In 27 years, over 25,000 wrestlers from 21 states and seven countries participated with over 2,000 coaches attending camps and clinics. Ken provided over 500 scholarships to deserving elementary, junior high and high school wrestlers to attend the camp and clinics.

In 2013, Ken is an administrator in the Central Connecticut State athletic department and is a coach with the Southington Youth Wrestling program, working with Dave Kanute, a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Ken's high school coach Matt Sanzone is also a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Published by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, April 2013
Profile photo taken April 2013