Mateo Vinciguerra, Woodstown’s blonde brawler

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

WOODSTOWN – The last time we saw Woodstown’s Mateo Vinciguerra on the mat he had a headful of dark hair and was wrestling in the 215 weight class.

But it’s a new year and a new look for the Wolverines’ junior. Now, the hair is dyed blonde in a measure of solidarity and he’s wrestling full time in the heavyweight division.

But as much as things are changing, some things remain the same. He remains committed to winning a state championship for himself and his Wolverines team. After coming close last year, he’s looking to complete the job.

Vinciguerra, the Region 8 champion at 215 last year, spent some time with Riverview Sports News after a recent practice to talk about, among other things, the changes, his goals and the irony of his name. He hits the mat for the first time this season Saturday.

ROUND ONE: The Changes

RIVERVIEW SPORTS NEWS: Okay, what’s the story with the hair?

MATEO VINCIGUERRA: Me and a couple other friends on the wrestling team (175 Grayson Hyland, 120 Carson Bradway and 190 Paul Banff) did it just for the fun it, to have fun in the season.

I’ve seen other teams do it before. It’s just a fun thing to do. Just maybe get some team chemistry; we all go dye our hair somewhere and have fun. Just have fun for the season.

RSN: Shaving it was out of the question, right?

MV: I usually have a buzz cut, but I’m not going to shave it like all the way.

RSN: Let’s talk about the move to heavyweight. You opened last year there (going 14-1) before dropping down to 215 for the rest of the year (going 18-3), winning the region and placing fourth at states). What’s this all about?

MV: I did it at the beginning and realized I was too small. I went into it barely 230 and I realized I was just too small for a heavyweight, so I went down. I knew since last year I would be a heavyweight this year.

RSN: So what are you now?

MV: Around 245.

RSN: Will the competition be different now and what will being a lighter heavy help you to do?

MV: Being on the lighter side of heavyweight really helps me with my speed and my overall technique. I wrestle a kid in here, he’s pretty big, he’s about 30 pounds (heavier), and I feel like my speed just capitalizes more often than his weight.

RSN: Does Maryland want you to wrestle as a heavyweight?

MV: Yes. I’ll be redshirting by freshman year at Maryland, but I want to be around 270 probably by the time I get to Maryland.

RSN: Did you have to wrestle with the idea of being a heavyweight because I’m sure there are some nuances associated with the two weight classes?

MV: Heavyweight is more of a dogfight match. The guys are a lot heavier than me so I’m going to have to work a little harder, get them tired, but I just have to capitalize having a better gas tank than them. I knew it was going to be a little harder to move the big guys, but I knew once I get into the late periods I could definitely capitalize on that.

ROUND TWO: Love of the Sport

RSN: You’ve wrestling since like you were 7. What is it about wrestling that appeals to you above all others, because it’s all you do?

MV: It really shapes you as a person, not just in wrestling, but in life. It makes you have that hard work ethic, that dedication. It really just teaches you not just principles of wrestling, but principles of life – just be a hard worker and have that mental toughness not really all the other sports teach you; you just have to be more mentally tough than every other sport.

RSN: What’s your earliest best memory in the sport that nailed it for you that this was the thing?

MV: Probably back in fifth grade when I won youth states. It was just an exciting moment with my dad. I knew that was my sport because that feeling of winning that big tournament just felt so good. I knew I wanted to win more like it.

RSN: Has it come easy for you or did you have to work at it?

MV: I kind of developed it at a young age, I picked it up real quick, but throughout middle school I drifted away from it, but once I got into high school I realized if I wanted to be really, really good I have to actually dedicate time to the sport and that’s when I really started to pick it up.

RSN: Did the success as a region champion last year surprise you, doing it as a sophomore?

MV: Not really. My expectations were to be a region champ, but I didn’t really meet my expectations last year placing in the states. After losing the districts it was a real heartbreaker, it really messed me up mentally, but after a couple days I talked to my coach and he really got my mindset right and ready for states.

RSN: What did the regional win do for you and your drive going forward?

MV: That win got me a little momentum going into states, even though state wasn’t the best. Even after state into the postseason, I realized winning that region I could really do something special and that’s what really helped me get that big push in the offseason.

RSN: Your brother (John, now wrestling at Penn) won the region title the year before. What’s it mean to have two of those things in the house?

MV: It was really cool having us both have the same weight and winning the same weight. It was cool to see both of our names up there on that board, both being 215. Seeing him do that really inspired me because I look up to my big brother a lot. He really keeps me pushing a lot. Whenever I need something I text him. It really pushed me to want to follow his footsteps and be a region champion just like him.

RSN: Part of that “offseason” included a nice showing in Fargo. Wrestling folks know what Fargo means, but help the non-wrestling folks understand what a big deal finishing third at 285 in freestyle there meant.

MV: I was a very big difference from Boardwalk Hall (where the NJSIAA states are held). The arena’s much bigger, there’s a lot more people. It’s a lot more nerve-wracking because you’re in that arena full of around 10,000 people. Competing in front of all them was a little stressful, but once I got the momentum going and I won my quarterfinals match I knew I could really do something special there, so it really got me a lot of momentum.

I think that tournament was kind of my breakout tournament and made me jump multiple levels. It really shaped me. I really saw what my potential was. I went into that tournament and the one I went into last year without much expectations, but once I realized I could compete with the nationally ranked guys and I was beating top 20 in the nation guys, it made me realize how good I could be and if I really went out there and let it fly I can win so many more matches.

RSN: Does it make you change your approach to matches now?

MV: It kind of makes me more relaxed going into my matches. I used to be a little too much in my head before matches, which I think was a big problem at my districts match, but after there it just made me realize just go out there and wrestle your best and if you win you win, if you lose you lose. Obviously, you want to win. Obviously, you want to have that gritty mentality. But I feel like just let it fly.

RSN: What are you looking forward to Saturday at Delaware Valley and what are the overall expectations for the season?

MV: Saturday I think of it as any other tournament, just a fun moment bonding with my team, all of us wrestling together. I feel like tournaments really bond you together as a team. When you get off that mat everyone’s high-fiving, it just helps you and the team. And moving forward it’s just gaining momentum.

We’re definitely expecting to win a state title. Our team is really, really solid this year and I think we can do one of the best seasons we’ve had ever and I think we can go super far.

I think it’s way more exciting to win as a team, having that excitement of everyone winning their matches, coming off, slapping hands, having those big wins. I think winning a team title is a lot more exciting than winning an individual title just because you’re with that team and get to celebrate it with each other.

ROUND THREE: Putting it away

RSN: What’s your signature move?

MV: The underhook. There’s so much to do from the underhook, there are so many options, it’s really infinite. You can get any kind of shot, you can get a throw there, you’re really controlling the whole side of the body you have the underhook on. You really can capitalize on everything there.

RSN: To what end do you see wrestling taking you? I know a wrestler in another state, a college wrestler now, interested in taking it to MMA. There are, of course, pro wrestlers who were college stars. There are guys in the movies (John Cena, Dwayne Johnson, Dave Bautista). Where is it leading you?

MV: I really love wrestling. I’m definitely going to wrestle all through college, really focus on wrestling as one of my main things in college, but I have a lot bigger life goal than wrestling, so I don’t really see much after college.

My dad’s a veterinarian and owns his own business, so after college I really just want to be a veterinarian. I really know that’s the thing I want to do now. Ever since I was little kid I loved animals.

RSN: You’ve already committed to Maryland. What was that experience like? With two years of high school still to go, how solid is that commitment?

MV: I really loved Maryland. I’m definitely going to stay loyal to them. I’ll never go anywhere else. I don’t think there’s anywhere else that would better suit me than Maryland. They were just all-around great people. They made me feel like I was one of them there. Maryland is definitely the place I’m going to be.

I visited a couple other schools and had a couple others lined up, but after I visited Maryland I knew there’d be no school other than them.

RSN: Weight management is probably the biggest challenge in your sport. Is there something you wish you could eat; what’s your guilty pleasure? I knew a really successful lighter weight wrestler in Alabama who loved Oreos. He could never eat them during the season, but once he won his state championship match he tore them up by the case. Do you have anything like that and have you ever cheated?

MV: During the season I usually eat very, very clean, no snacks or anything. I love ice cream cake, that’d be the first thing I’d eat. But I love cookies, too, any type of cookies. After regions I went to Applebee’s and had a big chocolate cake. I knew I’d feel a little crappy the next day.

RSN: You probably remember the story we did late in the season about your last name, loosely translated to “winner of the war”? Considering you excel at a combat sport, how ironic do you find that?

MV: I feel very ironic that translates to my name. Wrestling is that sport where you’ve just got to be a dog despite a dogfight sometimes. Technique does trump everything, but sometimes wrestling just comes down to being who’s tougher and I do feel it is ironic my last name does mean win the war.