Four years ago, while in the eighth grade, Justin Colon watched his brother, Filberto, finish third in the state at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. It was at that point that Justin made it his goal to bring a state championship back to Belleville.
"I was hoping he would win it, but ever since that, I've been telling myself that I want to be a state champ, I want to be a state champ," Justin said. "My brother, I look up to him and I want to get my own name like my brother. "
This weekend, Justin will have his final chance to do just that, making his fourth trip to the state championships in Atlantic City, still in search of that elusive title. At this point, Justin has won three regional championships, three district championships and three county championships. The one accolade missing from his resume is a state medal.
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The last three seasons, Colon has fallen one match short of the medal round and in two of those seasons, that final bout went to overtime.
"I just want to place on that podium and it just depends on how bad I want it, how high I'm going to go," Justin said. "Right now, I'm looking for first. I'm looking for no one to stop me and right now, I'm feeling that."
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For years, Justin said that he was known mainly as "Filberto's brother." Justin had a tough act to follow in his older brother, who is one of seven four-time Essex County champions and, at the time of his graduation in 2008, Filberto's 156 wins was the most by any wrestler in Essex County history.
It's safe to say that Justin has moved out of his brother's shadow and can now stand on his own merits, especially considering that Justin's 160 wins is the third most in the state's history, trailing Andrew Campolattano's 175 and Frank Cagnina's 164. While he certainly won't pass Campolattano, Justin has a chance to pass Cagnina and become the second winningest wrestler in the state's history.
"Walking through Belleville, it was like 'oh you're Filberto's brother,' now it's like, wow you're Justin Colon, 160 wins. It feels great to be known out there," Colon said.
But while those accolades are nice and would certainly be appreciated by Colon, the senior Buccaneer wrestler has his mind on taking gold on Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in front of thousands of fans. As he and nearly every other wrestler in the state can attest to, it's hard enough just getting to Atlantic City, winning a state wrestling championship may be the most difficult state title to win of all the scholastic sports. After sorting through districts and then regions, every wrestler in Atlantic City is a quality wrestler - there are no automatic wins down south.
"He's got the experience now," said Belleville wrestling head coach Dr. Joseph Nisivoccia, who is a former state champion from North Edison High School. "I think he's going to go down there, he's going to feel comfortable. The fourth time down in Atlantic City, he's going to feel like he owns the place."
At 126 pounds, the road to the title won't be easy and will likely go through South Plainfield's Anthony Ashnault, who is not only an undefeated 40-0 this season, he is undefeated through nearly three years, at 126-0. Ashnault is a two-time defending state champion, and enters as the heavy favorite. Other contenders are Burlington Township's Kevin Devoy, Brian Hamann of Jackson and John Van Brill of Clearview.
While all of those wrestlers have had great seasons, Colon's 40-1 mark this winter should not be overlooked, nor should his level of focus and determination entering his last run through AC, nor the fact that he gets to practice against an NCAA wrestler in his house every now and again.
"In our room we'll be wrestling back and forth and you know what? It gets me prepared for this," Colon said. "He tells me that if I can beat him, then I can beat anyone in the state. I've actually put him to his back a couple of times."
Colon is strong on his feet, on top and from the down position and said that he doesn't really have a "go-to" move, and that he just does whatever the situation calls for. The one thing that is certain is that his style is very unpredictable in that he doesn't go for the same moves every match from the same positions.
"The thing about Justin that's his forte, if you want to say his move, is that he is very unorthodox," Nisivoccia said. "You don't know what he's going to do. He's almost like his brother Filberto in that they're very unorthodox wrestlers, they look like they're getting themselves in trouble and then all of the sudden they flip out of it and they end up on top. if you look at him, he doesn't do regular, clean basic moves. He does fancy, very unorthodox moves."
Regardless of what happens this weekend, Colon's wrestling career has already been a resounding success, as he is a living local legend around Essex County. A state championship on Sunday evening would be the cherry on top that he's looking for.
"It will probably be the best feeling in the world," Colon said of winning a state title. "My brother dreams of me doing that because he fell short of it. Belleville hasn't had a state champion in a while."
