High school Piccininni was born and raised in
East Setauket, New York, and went on to attend
Ward Melville High School. He made the
varsity team in
wrestling when he was in the
eighth grade, year in which he placed third at the state championships. He won the state title in every year of
high school, making him a four–time
NYSPHSAA champion at four different weight classes (106, 113, 120 & 126 respectively). He also competed at FloNationals, tournament in which he was the
runner-up on 2013 and the champion on 2014. He graduated with a record of 226–3 and was awarded the 2015
Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award. After
graduation, Piccininni committed to the
Oklahoma State University to wrestle for the
Cowboys.
College After compiling a 16–4 record in open tournaments, claiming the OCU Open and the Bob Smith Open titles as a
redshirting athlete, Piccininni went 27–8 during his
freshman season (2016–2017) competing at 125 pounds, and went on to claim his first
Big 12 Conference title before the
NCAAs. At the National tournament, he went 5–2 with both losses coming from
returning NCAA runner–up from
Iowa Thomas Gilman, to place fourth and earn
All–American honors. As a
sophomore (2017–2018), Piccininni claimed his second Big 12 title in a row,
pinning Zeke Moisey from
West Virginia in the finals. After two wins, Piccininni was pinned by freshman phenom and
three–time age–group World Champion from Iowa
Spencer Lee (eventual winner of the championship) at the
NCAAs, and went on to be eliminated by Ethan Lizak from
Minnesota after losing by
technical fall, compiling an overall record of 24–5 and not placing at the tournament despite his sixth seed. Piccininni showed major improvements as a
junior (2018–2019), building his record up to an undefeated 31–0 record before the
NCAAs, notably avenging his loss to the now
returning NCAA champion from Iowa
Spencer Lee and claiming his third Big 12 Conference title. At the National tournament, Piccininni racked up three wins before once again losing to Lee and getting thrown to consolations, where after being downed by 2016 Cadet World Championship runner–up from
Cornell Vito Arujau, he got a win over Pat Glory to place fifth and secure his second
All–American mention. In his
senior year (2019–2020) he captured 26 wins and 2 losses, became the ninth
Cowboy to win four conference titles when he defeated Alex Mackall from
Iowa State in the finals of the Big 12 Conference championships. Piccininni was the third–seeded wrestler for the 2020 NCAA Championships, however, the event was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, rendering him and all the qualifiers unable to compete. Piccininni earned first–team NWCA All–American honors after the season. Piccininni graduated from the
Oklahoma State University with a 112–17 record, four
Big 12 Conference titles and three All–American honors. In June 2018, he competed at the US U23 Nationals, where after a four–match win streak he was quickly downed by
Vito Arujau, placing sixth. A year later, he competed at the 2019 US Open in April, going 3–2. He made another brief appearance at the 2019 Beat the Streets of May, where he was
tech'd by Jack Mueller.
Coaching In April 2020, it was announced that Piccininni had joined the coaching staff of the
wrestling team at
Gilroy High School in
Gilroy, California, along with notable athletes from
AKA such as
Daniel Cormier and
Deron Winn. == Mixed martial arts career ==