The moment Andrew Campolattano won the NJSIAA championship at 189 pounds as a freshman last year, the question immediately arose.
Can he do it?
People could not help but wonder if Campolattano could become New Jersey's first undefeated four-time state champion.
| Interviewing 189lb wrestler Andrew Campolattano of Bound Brook |
After Campolattano rallied off his back - twice - in the state final three weeks ago to pull out a 10-7 decision against a 2007 state champion, Mac Mancuso of Holy Spirit, the Bound Brook wrestler made it apparent to more than 11,000 people in attendance at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall that he could achieve whatever he wishes.
"He has great hips," Campolattano said of Mancuso, a senior at the Absecon school who was hurt and did not wrestle in the state tournament last year after winning the title at 189 two years ago. "He caught me off guard."
(((This is the first of five match highlight videos in this post. See end of story for more.)))
| Wrestling 189lb championship: Andrew Campolattano defeats Mac Mancuso |
But Campolattano, in those moments that seemed so dire, did not panic.
Mancuso hit a reversal and turned Campolattano to his back for two near-fall points and a 4-2 lead in the first period. Mancuso, quite a specimen himself, hit another reversal early in the second period and briefly had Campolattano's back exposed to the mat again.
"Andrew showed the brain of a champion right there," said Marty Gleason, a longtime Bound Brook assistant coach.
"I thought I could ride him out, but it worked the other way," Campolattano said. "I realized I should have worked more from my feet."
That realization -- fortuitous for Campolattano -- struck him not in the post-match analysis but in the third period. After tying the match at 6-6 with an escape in the third, Campolattano scored two lightning quick, low double-leg takedowns to wrest control and win his second straight state title at 189 pounds.
"Andrew didn't panic. He realized he could get in on Mancuso's legs and he went after them," Gleason said. "The biggest change we've seen in him the past couple years is his composure. He is amazing. It gives you a view into the mind of a champion."
The words used to describe Campolattano the past two seasons sound an awful lot like hyperbole. Then you see him wrestle and understand.
Still, Campolattano gave that big crowd in Atlantic City something more than it bargained for. It saw how a champion behaves when backed into a corner.
"You can see how tough Andrew is," said Brendan Ard of Watchung Hills in Warren, the state champion at 171 pounds the past two seasons. "Mancuso had him on his back and he got out of that pretty quickly."
Meanwhile, Mancuso, with a career record of 129-11, exposed a weakness in Campolattano no other opponent had been talented enough to exploit.
"I have to work on top," Campolattano said. "I definitely have to improve there."
Campolattano's journey to immortal status in New Jersey wrestling history moves to his junior campaign next fall as he chases two of the state's greats, Delbarton's Mike Grey and Jackson's Scott Winston.
Winston graduated in 2008 as a three-time champion and with a record of 137-0. He was the first wrestler in state history to conclude a career undefeated and with 100 or more victories. Grey became New Jersey's first four-time state champion in 2006 and boasts a career record of 158-2 at the Morris Township school. His 158 victories is No. 1 in New Jersey history.
Campolattano, at 89-0 and with two state titles in his first two years of high school, is positioned to combine the achievements of Winston and Grey and finish as the state's all-time winningest wrestler.
"I'm just going to work hard and keep a good mind about everything," Campolattano said. "My goal is to get better the next two years in preparation for the next level.
"Nothing changes. I have to take every match the same. If I don't respect every wrestler, my chances of winning aren't as great."
When Campolattano won his second title by beating Mancuso, who most viewed, at the very least, as his equal, the already rosy perception of the wrestler changed. He elevated himself.
"Andrew becomes an upperclassman," Gleason said. "He's on the other side of the (high school) slope. He has to be self-motivated. It becomes harder for him to improve himself."
Campolattano has gained many believers in that camp, too.
