Wrestling a family affair for Malvestuto brothers

by Eric Keppeler
Grand Island Dispatch, February 23, 2007

With three Malvestuto brothers competing in their lineup, it’s been thrice the fun for the Niagara-Wheatfield wrestling team – although it hasn’t been much fun for their opponents.

All three of them had great success during the regular season and into sectionals, helping the Falcons win the Niagara Frontier League and climb the state rankings as high as No. 9. But the really scary thing is that all three will be around for at least two more years, and they’re only going to get better.

Bobby, the elder statesman of the group, is a sophomore, while Angelo is a freshman and Joey is just an eighth grader. But don’t take them lightly because of their relative youth. They’ve been wrestling year-round and at a high level since kindergarten.

“We do a lot of summer wrestling. We go all around the country,” said Bobby, who wrestles at 145 pounds. “We go to off-season wrestling tournaments and we try to wrestle against the best guys that we can find. We might not win, but wrestling against them makes us better.”

All three of the brothers took up the sport because their father, Robert, also was a successful wrestler at Niagara-Wheatfield.

All three were wrestling varsity by seventh grade, and all three of them advanced as far as this year’s state qualifier. Angelo and Joey have moved on and will wrestle for a state title March 2 and 3 in Albany, along with Falcon teammates Zack Lange and Jake Koshinski.

“I know that what we do makes our dad proud – a lot of it is because of him,” said Angelo, who was the top-ranked wrestler this year in Section VI at 160 pounds “And it’s pretty special for all of us to be wrestling together and doing so well. I’m not surprised we’ve gotten as far as we have. We wrestle all year and we work hard.”

Joey was perhaps the biggest surprise at the state qualifier, winning at 96 pounds. But, he says, after growing up and grappling with his brothers for all of his life, not much is going to scare him.

“I’m not afraid to lose,” Joey said. “I know that it’s alright if I go out there and lose because the other guy might have more experience than me. I just go out there and go after him, and wrestle my match. If I get beat, I learn from it.”

Joey says he was a little surprised to be up on varsity at such a young age, but once he saw that he could more than hold his own against older competitors, he knew that he belonged.

That underlying confidence is a common thread among all three brothers, and they know it’s a big reason for their success.

“I’d say at least 85 percent of wrestling is mental,” said Bobby. “You’ve got to stay focused, or you might get too nervous and choke. You have to have control of yourself. You have to be confident.”