SPORTS MEDICINE STAFF
NJIT sports medicine is moving forward with the growth of the Highlanders program. Head trainer Matt Koscs, MS/ATC, oversees the program, ably assisted by assistant trainers Paul Grayner, MEd/ATC; Catie Rose, ATC; Arianna De Lucia, ATC; and Jake Keegan ATC.
Matt Koscs, ATC, Head Athletic Trainer
Matt Koscs, who earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees from University of Delaware, has served NJIT as head trainer since July 2009, a year after he joined the staff as an assistant trainer.
As an undergraduate at Delaware, he was recipient of the Paris Delligatti Memorial Award for Excellence in Athletic Training. He earned his MS in Exercise Science from Delaware in 2008.
Prior to his arrival at NJIT, Matt served three years as the head athletic trainer at Hodgson Vocational Technical High School in Newark, DE, from 2005 to 2008.
In addition to his work at the high school level, he was head athletic trainer for the Delaware Dynasty semi-pro soccer team in Wilmington, as well as with the Kirkwood Soccer Club in New Castle in 2005 and 2006.
He was employed from 2005 to 2008 at Christiana Care Physical Therapy Plus, in Newark, DE, where he was an athletic trainer and was the Director of Athletic Training Services in a clinical setting.
He is a NATABOC certified athletic trainer, as well as holding additional certifications as a professional rescuer and in first aid.
He resides in Metuchen, NJ with his wife Kristin and daughters Eloise, Claire, Madeleine and Juliet.
Paul Grayner, ATC, Assistant Athletic Trainer
Paul Grayner, who joined the NJIT staff as an assistant athletic trainer late in the 2008 calendar year, has a diverse background in athletic training, having served at the college and professional levels, as well as in a fitness center setting.
A graduate of Saint Leo College in Florida and holder of a master’s degree from American University in Washington, DC, Grayner has served as both a head and assistant trainer in the past.
From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, he was a trainer in the minor league systems of the New York Yankees and New York Mets from 1977 to 1985 and in 1984 he was assistant trainer with the Mets. He later worked with the Long Island Knights professional basketball team.
At the collegiate level, he was head trainer at Division I Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ from 1989 to 1998 and he earlier worked as an assistant trainer at Hofstra (1982-85) and Adelphi (1985) on Long Island before joining FDU as an assistant (1986-89).
In addition to his work in athletic training, Grayner is a financial services representative and a life insurance sales representative. He resides in Dumont, NJ.
Catie Rose, ATC, Assistant Athletic Trainer
Catie Rose, who joined the NJIT staff as an assistant athletic trainer in the summer of 2016, earned her bachelor’s degree, majoring in Athletic Training and Exercise Science from Sacred Heart University in 2011.
She earned her master's of science in Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Science at University of Hawaii in August 2013.
Prior to her arrival at NJIT, she worked as the athletic trainer at Kalaheo High School in Kailua, Hawaii, providing treatment, rehabilitation and reconditioning of athletes injuries, in addition to offseason strength and conditioning workouts.
She has worked for the United State Tennis Association in Hawaii Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii, Pac5 Athletics in Honolulu, Hawaii and for the WNBA Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.
As a student assistant at Sacred Heart University, she provided treatment for NCAA Division I football, men’s basketball and men’s lacrosse teams.
She holds several profession-related certifications, including from the National Athletic Trainers Association.
Arianna De Lucia, ATC, Assistant Athletic Trainer
Arianna De Lucia, who joined the NJIT staff as an assistant athletic trainer in August 2019, earned her bachelor’s degree, majoring in Athletic Training from Sacred Heart University in 2012.
Prior to her arrival at NJIT, De Lucia spent four seasons (2015-2019) at St. Francis Brooklyn as an assistant athletic trainer, covering 21 Terrier Division I collegiate sports.
De Lucia worked at College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, serving as the Assistant Athletic Trainer/Assistant Athletic Director/SWA from 2012 to 2015.
She was responsible for oversight of all Division III programs and created emergency action plans, concussion protocols and injury tracking procedures for the Dolphins.
De Lucia is a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, the Women Leaders in College Sports and is American Red Cross/CPR/AED certified.
Carson O'Neill, ATC, Assistant Athletic Trainer
Carson O’Neill joined the NJIT Athletic Training staff as an assistant athletic trainer in the summer of 2021.
O’Neill earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training from Lock Haven University in 2017, while also spending two seasons as a member of the men’s soccer program. He completed his Master of Science degree in Sports Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in August 2020.
O’Neill served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for two seasons at Pitt (2018-20) before joining the Highlander staff. Prior to Pitt, O’Neill spent the 2017 season as a trainer in the Tampa Bay Rowdies professional soccer organization, serving as an intern athletic trainer for their First Team and an athletic trainer for their U23 squad.
O’Neill has been honored with the Pitt Academic Excellence award (2020), the Certificate of Heroism from the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (2019) and the Most Outstanding Student Athletic Trainer award from Lock Haven (2017).
O’Neill holds current memberships with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association (EATA), and the Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey (ATSNJ).
He also holds several profession-related certifications and is CPR/AED certified.
Morgan Bringoli, ATC, Assistant Athletic Trainer
Morgan Bringoli joined the NJIT Athletic Training staff as an assistant athletic trainer in the summer of 2022.
Bringoli earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Athletic Training and Minor in Health Studies from William Paterson University in 2021.
She served as an Athletic Training Student at William Paterson from January 2019 to May 2021 and Athletic Training Student at Montville Township High School from January 2020 to November 2020, working with all varsity sports.
Bringoli holds several profession-related certifications and is CPR/AED certified.
Louis Rizio, MD, Team Physician
Dr. Rizio is a board certified orthopedic surgeon and is fellowship trained in the field of sports medicine. He is a graduate of Rutgers and after earning his medical degree from the UMDNJ/New Jersey Medical School (recently reorganized and renamed Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences), Dr. Rizio completed his orthopaedic residency at Tufts University in Boston.
He then completed a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Miami. During his fellowship, he was assistant team physician of the Miami Dolphins, University of Miami Hurricanes, and the Florida Marlins.
Dr. Rizio, who specializes in sports-related injuries, practices at the Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center in Livingston, NJ. Prior to starting his own practice, Dr Rizio was the Chief of Sports Medicine at the NJ Medical School from 2000-2005. He currently is a professional, college, and high school team physician.
In 2013, Dr. Rizio was honored by the magazine
New Jersey Monthly on its “Jersey Choice Top Doctors” list.
