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03/05/2020 11:00 PMEnzo Bunce didn’t know what to expect when he signed up to compete for the East Haven wrestling team as a freshman. After spending four years with the Yellowjackets, Enzo has not only fallen in love the sport, he’s also come to understand that wrestling is just as much about family as it is takedowns and pins.
Enzo was encouraged to join East Haven’s wrestling team by a few friends who were veterans on the squad. He started out by learning the basics before advancing further with each season. Now a senior, Enzo leaves the Easties having never missed a single practice.
“It has been one hell of a journey, coming from my freshman year and never winning a match to senior year, winning 30,” Enzo says. “I remember freshman year coming on the mat and not knowing what I was doing, wrestling with some of the older guys. After I started learning some of the moves, I started getting better.”
Enzo posted a record of 30-16 and finished in third place for the 195-pound weight class at the SCC Championship in his senior season. Head Coach Mark Tolla has worked with Enzo during this entire journey and seen him grow immensely as both an athlete and a person.
“Enzo’s hard work and all the time and effort he put in—it’s amazing to see. Of all the kids I’ve coached in my 35 years, he’ll be one of the five kids or so at the end of this that I’ll really appreciate what wrestling was able to do for him,” says Tolla. “Enzo didn’t have a niche to fit in, and wrestling gave him a family of friends. You’d see a kid that walked down the hallway with very little confidence turn into a young man who was very confident. It was life-changing for him, and he ended up being a damn good wrestler.”
As Enzo was continuing to progress as a wrestler, his life took an unexpected turn in his sophomore year. While preparing for a meet with Team Tugman Wrestling in upstate New York, Enzo’s mother Maria started going into cardiac arrest. As his father Ralph called 911, Enzo began to do compressions. Enzo helped save his mom’s life, and Maria made a full recovery. For his heroics, Enzo became the youngest person in Connecticut to receive a state unit citation.
Maria was transported to the hospital one hour before Enzo’s meet began. She had Ralph text Enzo to tell him that she still wanted him to compete and not to worry. In his last match of the event, Enzo pinned his opponent for the victory and then started to cry as his coach pulled him aside. Enzo’s sister Bella had been facetiming with Maria the entire time. After everything that happened, Maria got to watch her son win.
“It’s hard to put it into words,” Enzo says. “I’m happy she was able to see my journey and see my growth of being a wrestler.”
Maria feels proud of Enzo for how much he’s grown throughout his career. She appreciates that wrestling has helped her son become the person he is today.
“Enzo had low self-esteem and never wanted to do anything. As soon as he joined the wrestling team, every year he became a stronger person,” Maria says. “The coaches and the kids on the team, they all helped each other. They became one big family, and it was great seeing his smile get bigger and bigger every year. He had the biggest support team at home. We were his biggest fans and never missed a tournament. We loved to watch him wrestle.”
After graduation, Enzo plans on enrolling in EMT school to become a paramedic and ultimately join a fire department. Enzo has been a member of the Explorer Club with the East Haven Fire Department for two years and will also be joining a program called Code One through the American Heart Association.
Enzo loves helping other people and, in turn, his teammates and coaches have been a huge help to him. In addition to learning a ton about the sport, Enzo made friendships and memories that will last a lifetime as a result of wrestling at East Haven.
“Wrestling has been my life for the past four years. I don’t want the season to end,” says Enzo. “I’ve met so many great people in the sport. I told Coach Tolla that I’m coming back next year to be a coach, even if he says no.”
Enzo says that his experience with the Yellowjackets went beyond what happened on the mat. In the end, Enzo found a family as a member of the East Haven wrestling team.
“Wrestling isn’t just a sport, it’s a lifestyle. You have to be fully committed,” Enzo says. “We’re all a giant family on the team. We are all brothers and sisters. Being able to be a part of something is what wrestling means to me.”