8 - Relief

The most interesting part of the 2007 NECCWA Championships occurred after the semifinals when I saw Gaeta in the locker room. We had never had a conversation before, and at that moment, no one else was around. I attempted to lighten the awkward moment with a joke. He acknowledged it with a faint smile and expressed his doubts about making it to nationals his final year. On Sunday morning, he had to wrestle a gauntlet of nationally-ranked wrestlers. If I had not worked so hard to get where I was, I would have felt bad for him.

I said, “We both know I’m going to be wrestling you tomorrow night in the finals.”

“Yeah, I don’t know,” he responded.

I countered with, “I do,” and walked away. I do not know if that brief conversation helped him, but I like to think that it did. Why I said that to a future opponent, I cannot say for sure, I guess I could feel his pain. Or maybe it was because Gaeta brought out the best wrestling in me. I owed him for that. Either way, if I was going to win, I wanted to beat the best at his best. Number one seeds are only that way because they beat the best when they were the underdog.

In the morning, I was to face Marsh. I had beaten him by twelve points a week before. Instead of being overconfident, I thought about Oliver Ruiz and how the score of our previous meetings meant nothing. Nobody rolled over at this level.

During our first finals match the following day, I quickly saw Marsh was on top of his game. I was having trouble securing takedowns, which came quickly the last time we met. In the end, I squeaked out a one-point win. The victory pretty much guaranteed my ticket to Iowa.

The winner of the first finals got to rest and wait to see whom they would wrestle in the second finals. I mentally prepared for Gaeta. No matter what happens during the season, the defending champions almost always are around in the end. Champions have that ability to perform when it counts most. I knew Gaeta had it, and I knew it would be him, despite the tough road he had to travel that morning.

At the conference championships, due to the urging of my teammate, Mike Martini, I took naps. There were over five hours between my matches. The naps reenergized me and kept my mind from overthinking what I had to do. My father always told me, “It takes a full two hours to wake up completely.” Whether true or not, I made sure I was awake at least two hours before my next scheduled match.

While I was resting, Gaeta beat Conklin, Lacroix, and Marsh to make it back to the finals for a fourth straight year. Only I was left standing in his way. My win in the semifinals gave me a distinct advantage; for him to be crowned the champ, he had to beat me twice. Lingering in my mind was the fact that he had done it the previous year to Lacroix.

When the final match came around, I was just as nervous as before every other match of my career. I rode a huge winning streak and made it to my first-ever conference finals. He had the experience, and I countered that with a hunger to be number one. The lights were dimmed, and a spotlight hung over the mat reminiscent of my high school wrestling days. All the seats in the small gym were filled with screaming fans.

The bout started with a takedown by me, followed by a quick escape from Gaeta. Then the previous encounters were flip-flopped to knot the match at three. We both scored a point from the bottom when we chose down. We found ourselves tied at four with a minute left. I took a shot on the edge of the mat and got behind him for a split second before we scrambled out of bounds. I hoped for the two points but was not awarded them. Many RIC fans booed while the side referee conferred with the head official. The call was reversed. Now it was the Springfield fans’ turn to go nuts. There were around thirty seconds left. Gaeta escaped to make it, 6-5, took a great shot, and got my left leg in the air. I momentarily thought, “not good,” but did not have time to think anything else. I was able to slip my leg out and hold on for the win.

In 2007, I was the 141-pound New England Champion.

It was as if the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. My teammate, Nick Logan (@nlogandwc), nailed it on the head when he said, “It was pure relief and not happiness I saw on your face after the match.” In truth, I was both relieved and happy, but definitely more relieved.

Gaeta, Marsh, and Lacroix were given three of the four New England wild card bids to nationals. Conklin was the odd man out, which was a shame. He had dominated a wrestler who would earn All-American honors two weeks later. The weight class was unpredictable, with the wrestler who took third in the country the previous season taking fourth in the conference championships.

The sense of accomplishment I felt when I was on top of the New England podium was a feeling I had never experienced before. I felt as if I had conquered the world when no one thought I could. When I look back on those pictures from that night, the smile on my face can still produce the same reaction today. For my efforts, I was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler for the only time in my career.

My parents, Robbie, and I went out to eat after the tournament. Strangely, I felt something was missing (besides my older brother Steve). To this day, I am not exactly sure what it was. They kept asking, “Why aren’t you happier?” I guess it was a letdown to be done after I had worked so hard to accomplish that goal.

In between this tournament and the NCAAs, Martini, Miele, and Ray worked out with me almost every day. It was probably not an ideal day for wrestlers whose seasons had just ended, and I greatly appreciated what the three of them did for me.

During the off weekend between the two tournaments, I decided to go home to New Jersey for the first time in over three months. I thought it would be a good mental break.

Coach Jones and I flew to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Wednesday before the competition. Then we made the one-hour drive to Dubuque, where the 2007 NCAA Division III championships were held. Prior to the flight, my girlfriend- Christina had advised me to watch some funny movies. “Laughter is good for you,” she had said. I agreed and practiced what she preached.

It was a magnificent feeling arriving at the workout facility in Dubuque and receiving the qualification gift -- an NCAA cooler on wheels. With the registration process complete, I stepped onto the mats and looked around. I knew then I had accomplished something and had made it to “the dance.” In one of my favorite songs, the band Bad Religion sings, “What good is skill if you don’t make it to the dance? Despite circumstance, you’ve got a chance.”

After a quick workout, we checked into our hotel. When I was unpacking, I looked down to see two coloring books among my belongings and smiled. Going back to this childhood activity calmed me down when I was nervous. The idiosyncrasy did not embarrass me, and everyone got a good laugh at a twenty-one-year-old New England champion who brought race car coloring books.

I was happy to get to nationals, but I was still not where I wanted to be. Winning a national title and leaving the sport on top was what I longed for.

Two wrestlers concerned me at nationals, and both were Division I transfers. Quincy Osborne from Augsburg College [Footnote 5: Augsburg University as of 2017.] and Ricky Laforge, now wrestling for Delaware Valley College. This was over two years after Laforge’s “senior night” at Hofstra University.

When the seeds came back after an uneventful Thursday, Laforge was on my side of the bracket. He was the two seed, with Osborne occupying the top spot. I got the sixth seed, and Gaeta was given the fourth.

In the seeding meeting, the New England representative was Springfield College, Gaeta’s coach. He told Coach Jones that Gaeta’s previous three All-American awards carried more weight than my New England title, and that was why he was given the higher seed. His main concern was that we did not have to wrestle each other in the quarterfinals. That made sense to me, and I liked my spot in the bracket. At nationals, all of New England became one team in some ways.

My opening round opponent was a bit of a surprise -- Zach McKray from Wartburg College upset Zach Chambers from the University of Wisconsin at Platteville. Chambers had over thirty wins coming into nationals, and McKray’s record was 12-8. I was 46-3, and we would meet in the pre-quarterfinals. McKray was an All-American the previous year and had a much more brutal schedule than the average Division III wrestler. Because of that, some people expected him to be victorious over me. The Iowa crowd seemed disappointed when I won, 5-0, to advance to the quarterfinals. I expected to meet the number three seed, Paul LeBlanc from Cortland University in New York.

Once again, that match-up was not meant to be. This time, LeBlanc was upset by Minga Batsukh from St. John’s College in Minnesota. Minga was only a freshman but was ranked third in the nation during the year. He is a Mongolian citizen and, coincidentally, was living with friends of mine in my hometown of Nutley, NJ, before the season. Despite who he was, first and foremost, he was my opponent in the NCAA quarterfinals. I had to beat him.

When the match began, Minga pounded on my head relentlessly. I handled the pressure poorly. Instead of making my opponent react to me, I reacted to Minga. Despite wrestling the match he wanted to, I took him down three times to win by a final of 8-6. [Footnote 6: Minga won three NCAA titles from 2009 to 2011.] The win assured me of All-American status.

Later on, while looking at the brackets posted in the arena hallway, Mike Gaeta’s father strolled over. I told him, “Mike and I are going to have another match, this time for a national title.” He was staring at our names and responded, “Wow, there you two are.” I could detect a sense of pride, which I imagine only a parent can have. Then he said, “I certainly hope so.” When I had defeated his son in the conference finals, Mr. Gaeta congratulated me and gained my respect.

Working out that night was such a great feeling knowing only one match stood between me and the national finals. The 141-pound NCAA semifinals were Gaeta vs. the top-seeded and number one ranked Quincy Osborne, and me vs. the second-seeded and ranked Ricky Laforge.

While relaxing in my hotel room after the workout, I answered a phone call from my teammate, Martini. He had wrestled with Laforge for a year at Hofstra. It was not a call about strategy or advice. I wanted Martini’s encouragement. It was a warning that my confidence level was not where it needed to be in hindsight.

As soon as the semis began the following day, it was clear the Gaeta vs. Bonora national finals would not happen. Within ten seconds, Gaeta was on his back, fighting for his wrestling life. The final tally ended up 15-3 in favor of Osborne. The score was not an indication of how good a wrestler Gaeta was. I think his nerves got the best of him on that grand stage. Nerves can cause a loss just as easily as a lack of skill or poor training.

The national semis was the grandest stage I had ever wrestled on. It was simultaneously an exciting and nerve-racking experience. I wanted to get off to a quick start. Most wrestlers squander time during matches, especially at the beginning and end of periods. The beginning of the first is almost always wasted “feeling each other out.” In addition, many wrestlers tend to relax on the edge of the mat slightly, and it is easier to score. In the national semis against Laforge, I tried to take advantage of both of those bits of knowledge.

A minute into the match and not right away as I had planned, I shot my favorite shot, the low single. Once I captured his ankle, I made a huge mistake. Instead of bringing the leg instantly into the air, I stayed down on the mat. The blunder allowed Laforge to counter effectively and score two points. It would have been a crucial takedown and one that I felt I needed due to my lack of confidence. The majority of matches are won by the wrestler who scores the first takedown.

I reversed Laforge to tie the match at two. As the first period concluded, he escaped due to my subpar riding ability, giving him a one-point lead. I chose bottom in the second and escaped again to tie the match. I did not attempt as many takedowns as I should have once we were on our feet. Laforge shot a fireman’s carry that I saw coming. I sprawled my legs back and tried to wrap him in a front headlock. He was stronger than me and was able to suck my leg up and finish another takedown.

Then so quickly, it was over. I ended up losing to the national runner-up, 7-4. Laforge had pinned his first two opponents in less than one minute and thirty seconds combined. In the back of my mind, I did not fully think I was better than him. Laforge was a name that I had heard my whole wrestling career, and his reputation and prominence got the best of me. In retrospect, I could have won that match. All I had to do was wrestle with no fear. I should have done just that since there was nothing for me to lose. The pressure was actually on him; he was supposed to beat me. After the loss, I did not have much time to rebound as I was wrestling again within the hour.

As it happened, the wrestler Gaeta pinned in the quarterfinals, Jared Creason, was going to be my opponent. He had won a match the night before, after his loss. Then another one, while I was scrapping with Laforge. Not to take anything away from Creason, but it is hard to bounce back like that. He had already come to grips that the best he could do was take third, while I had only one hour to accept my situation. I was not mentally into the match from the start. I wrestled uninspired, while Creason, a senior from Coe College, was my polar opposite. The final score was 10-5, in his favor.

I regret the way I performed in that match. Who knows, perhaps I would have won if I had wrestled with my heart in it. Of course, I cannot say that with any certainty. I can say that I would not have been as disappointed with the outcome.

Gaeta also lost his wrestleback semifinals, setting up our third match in two weeks. Not for a national title, but for fifth place. It was not the way either of us had envisioned it the night before. Now, one of us would lose three consecutive matches in one day.

With the match only moments away, I overcame my disappointment and set out to win. The fifth-place bout turned out exactly like its predecessors; two takedowns for the winner and a final score of 6-5. This time it was Gaeta who came out on top. I thought I had a takedown at the end of the second period, but the referee did not give it to me. We had two controversial calls overall, and one went each way. All in all, I was proud because I knew I wrestled well. We embraced after the match, and I congratulated Gaeta on a fantastic career.

What You Can Take Away from Chapter 8:

1. Find ways to calm yourself down.

2. Make your opponent react to you, not the other way around.

3. A wrestling match is very short, do not waste any time.

4. Only do things that move you closer to your goal.