If the longest journey begins with a single step, then two young men from Marlton, ages 10 and 8, are well on their way to successful wrestling careers.
Cooper Pontelandolfo, 10, and Evan Brown, 8, both won South Jersey State Wrestling Championship titles this past Sunday. Cooper took first in the Midget (73 pound) weight class and Evan won the Bantam (60 pound) weight class in the competition held at Williamstown High School.
Both boys are members of the Marlton Recreation Council MRC Wrestling Team. In addition, Cooper trains with the WreckingCrew Wrestling Academy as well as Intensity Wrestling while Evan trains with the Spazz Wrestling Club.
Next up for the two champions is the USAW New Jersey Tournament being held in Union County, in March.
They qualified for the event by competing in a qualifying tournament at Buena High School Feb. 3.
It was an early start in Williamstown for both youngsters with a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call and weigh-ins at 6:30 a.m. The competition began at 8:30 a.m. and did not finish until 3:30 p.m.
Cooper wrestled three times in the competition, pinning each opponent he faced on his way to the 73-pound crown. It was his third-straight year winning a South Jersey State Wrestling title. He has, in past years, won the national Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Association Tournament in 2010 and finished second in 2012. He also won the USAW NJ State Tournament in 2011 and finished second in 2012.
“Wrestling requires a lot of hard work and dedication and Cooper loves every minute of it,” said his mother, Renee Pontelandolfo. “As a parent, this is a tough sport to watch but I realize it’s a great character builder. It’s made him very outgoing and confident.”
Evan, on the other hand, had a much more challenging journey to his 60-pound title.
After losing his first match of the day, he worked his way back to the top in the double-elimination tournament by winning his next six bouts. In his fourth match, he beat the competitor who gave him his opening loss. After his fifth bout, in which he beat the reigning South Jersey champion, Evan faced the 2012 Eastern national champion. Evan won 4–3 and, since it was the national champion’s first loss of the day, they wrestled again and Evan won, 5–3, for the Bantam crown.
“It was nerve-wracking to say the least,” said Evan’s father, Christopher J. Brown, “but he stuck to it, didn’t give up and went on to win his first title. Along the way, he not only beat the Eastern national champion twice but also the current South Jersey state champion.
“My wife Dee and I couldn’t be prouder of Evan,” Brown continued. “Winning the state championship pales in comparison to character he demonstrated by keeping his chin up and doing the best he can against all of the odds.”
“Watching Evan’s journey on Sunday had us on the same emotional roller coaster that his parents were on,” Renee Pontelandolfo said of the Brown family’s pins-and-needles day. “We are so proud of both boys and congratulate them on this achievement.”
