This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
04/16/2020 12:00 AMMat DiVito watched a lot of wrestling on TV with his older brothers Alec and Tanner while growing up and knew that he wanted to step into the squared circle one day. Now, Mat is getting that opportunity as a member of the East Haven wrestling team, where he’s competed alongside his brothers, while seeing a tremendous level of success.
This year, Mat finished in second place for the 126-pound weight class at both the SCC Championship and the Class M State Championship. The junior also qualified to compete at the State Open for the first time on his way to a 40-win campaign.
“I think I had a pretty good season. I went 40-9,” says Mat. “I would have liked to finish first in both those tournaments, but it’s motivation to get better and keep working.”
Mat went up against Connor Devenga from Norwich Free Academy in the consolation bracket of the State Open. Mat won the bout via a 13-9 decision to notch the 100th victory of his high school career. He’s 36 wins away from breaking the Yellowjackets’ school record.
“I knew right away it was 100,” Mat says. “I came into the year with 60 and no one thought I could do it, but I knew I could, so I just kept my head straight and achieved it.”
Mat is the youngest of the three DiVito boys who’s competed for East Haven. Alec and Tanner claimed state titles in the 132- and 138-pound divisions, respectively, during the winter season. Mat says that being on the same team with his brothers pushes him to wrestle his best in every matchup.
“Competing with them is great. It makes me want to try harder,” says Mat. “It’s always a competition. Competing with them, you always want to get better. They’re always so supportive of me. They’re in my corner every match. It’s great having them for support.”
With Alec and Tanner both graduating, Mat will be the only DiVito on next year’s team. While he doesn’t feel any pressure, Mat wants to achieve what his brothers did in their senior seasons by winning a state championship.
Head Coach Mark Tolla has seen the progression of all three DiVito brothers throughout their careers. Tolla says that Mat is a master of using the excellence of execution in order to rack up victories.
“Mat understands situational wrestling probably even better than his brothers do. Even though he’s younger, he has wrestled more than they have. He’s really an excellent technician,” says Tolla. “Mat is a great athlete—physical, strong—but he wins a lot of close matches because he understands the sport so well. If Mat has a one- to two-point lead on people, very few instances has he lost matches. He understands how to finish. He understands what it takes.”
Prior to high school, Mat competed at Joseph Melillo Middle School and also with the Team Tugman Wrestling Club in Branford during the offseason. From there, he learned his go-to move: the ankle pick. No matter where he’s wrestling, Mat’s favorite aspect of the sport is the intensity of competition.
“Wrestling teaches you a lot about life. There’s really no other sport like it. It’s such a mental challenge,” Mat says. “[U.S. Olympic gold medalist] Dan Gable once said, ‘After wrestling, everything comes easy.’ It’s so evident after competing in this sport. Everything in life comes easy after wrestling.”
While Mat loves the competition, the bonds that he’s formed with his fellow Easties make the experience that much more enjoyable. Mat says that all of his teammates and coaches are supportive of him and that there’s no group of people he’d rather work with.
As Mat starts thinking about his senior season, he’s looking forward to helping out the Yellowjackets’ underclassmen. While he wants to win as many bouts as possible, Mat also wants to make sure that everyone else on the squad continues improving, too.
“There’s a few freshmen on the team I help out in practices. One of them is Oliver Kabel. I’ve been helping him out since the first day,” says Mat. “Watching him get so much better has been great. He’s the main person I took under my wing. Watching all the freshman improve makes me feel good about myself, because I know I can help these kids get better.”
Mat has come a long way since he first started watching wrestling as a kid. Mat realized that he could succeed in the sport and took it seriously. As time has gone by, Mat’s love for wrestling has grown in tandem with his talent.
“It wasn’t easy to fall in love with it at first as I would get destroyed in practices. But I just stuck with it from there, and I started getting better and better, and my love for the sport kind of just came,” Mat says. “I thought, ‘Wow, this could be something I’m really good at,’ and it has just stuck from there.”