Amato's Resilience Carries Him to Title

Long after John Amato graduates from , the story of his championship match at the Region 8 Wrestling Tournament will be used as a teaching tool for young wrestlers.

It has to be.

Amato epitomized the never-give-up attitude that coaches all across the country preach day in and day out to their kids. Amato reminded fans who had accepted defeat for the Charger that a wrestler is never finished until his shoulders are pinned to the mat or the clock runs out.

He reminded everyone that sometimes the old adage of "where there's a will, there's a way" does really ring true.

To be clear, Amato’s story isn’t one of an underdog. He was a No. 2 seed at the 106-pound weight class and it was hardly unthinkable that he could upset Paulsboro’s top-seeded John Gentile. But when Gentile took Amato down to the mat in the second period and squeezed his shoulders ever-so-close to the mat, the result seemed determined.

Gentile kept applying pressure and Amato kept fighting it off. Amato continued to twist and turn, and ultimately found his way to his back, where the possibility of being pinned no longer existed. He also found himself trailing 7-1 as the second period came to a close.

Amato started the third period on the bottom, and quickly earned an escape to close within 7-2. Then, with just under one minute left, Amato took Gentile down to the mat, and with him, brought the crowd to its feet. Suddenly, it was Gentile fighting to avoid having his shoulder pressed the mat.

“It all happened so fast,” Amato said.

Then with one thunderous strike of the mat by the official, Amato had turned a 7-1 deficit into a pin at 5:29. The crowd noise reached its apex of the tournament, not that Amato noticed.

“I was in my own zone,” Amato said. “I was so happy. I was like shocked.”

Timber Creek teammate Brandon Keller—who went on to win his third Region 8 title—was in the far corner of the gym warming up and watching Amato’s match on a big television screen. When Amato made his comeback, the even-keel veteran exploded with emotion.

“Once he got him on his back and turned him over, I started jumping up and down screaming,” Keller said. “I saw the crowd get up because they all thought it was going to be a pin. Once (the ref’s) hand hit the mat I started freaking out in the back. It pumped me up and got my adrenaline up for my match.”

For his part, Amato remained humble about the win, saying that he just held on to the beliefs his coaches had instilled in him.

“I was down 7-1 and at one point I thought I was going to lose,” Amato said. “I picked my head up because my coaches tell me every practice, no matter if you are losing 14-2 or 1-0, you just have to keep fighting and go for the win. That’s what I did.”

No one was happier than Amato’s father who could be seen giving out hugs to fellow Timber Creek fans and making phone calls to friends and relatives who couldn’t make the trip. His son had clearly made him proud, and in doing so backed up the words he expressed to him early in the season.

“From the beginning of the year my dad asked what my goals were and I said to be a district and region champ and to go on and place in states,” Amato said. “So far, I have accomplished my goals.”