Zotollo Continues Wrestling Career at TCNJ

Zach Zotollo has been wrestling since he was 5 years old.

“I love the one-on-one competition,” the Paramus resident said. “I played football, baseball and soccer when I was younger.”

But the idea of being solely in control of the outcome of a match has been a driving force for Zotollo, 18.

Zotollo, a 2010 graduate, went 22-6 in his first year of collegiate competition at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

He spent the season wrestling in two weight classes, 149 and 157.

“I liked the coaching staff a lot as well as the tradition of success the wrestling program has had,” Zotollo said of his decision to attend TCNJ. “My goal is to reach All-American status and win a national title. The school has produced many [Division III] All-Americans and national champions, so I figured it was a good fit for me.”

Zotollo is also there for the education, as he says “TCNJ’s academic standards rank among many Ivy league schools.”

So far, Zotollo has made a smooth adjustment from high school wrestler to student-athlete at the next level.

“Personally, I enjoy the college wrestling style better,” he said. “The style is more continuous. There’s more competitive action in matches.”

Zotollo said he benefits from the boundary rules, which are different on both levels.

“I score on the out-of-bounds line a lot and college has the ‘one foot in bounds rule’ where high school is two feet. So college gives an opportunity to continue wrestling on the line, which benefits me.”

Zotollo has been able to schedule his classes around practices and matches so he can complete his schoolwork.

Zotollo was an accomplished wrestler at PHS, finishing with a career record of 96-19 (53 pins). He wrestled at 103 his freshman and sophomore years, 119 his junior year, and 135 in his final varsity season.

In 2008, Zotollo placed fifth at the Bergen County Coaches Association (BCCA) tournament. The following season, he placed fourth in the Region 2 tournament, was the BCCA tourney runner up and won the District 5 championship.

In his final varsity season, he again won a District 5 championship, and was the Region 2 runner up. Because of his success in 2010, Zotollo picked up Paramus’ Most Outstanding Wrestler award.

Zotollo had a 2-2 record in the state tournament in Atlantic City, his highest finish as a quarterfinalist.

The 18-year-old’s fondest memory of his time at PHS is the bond he and his team shared.    

In a 2010 match with rival Bergen Catholic, the Spartans’ upper weights won three triple-overtime matches in a row.

“We were somewhat inexperienced in our upper weights and that was huge and showed a lot for our team that night,” Zotollo said.

And for the first time that season, no Paramus wrestler was pinned.

“This match showed a lot for our team as a whole and how close we were,” Zotollo said. “The friendships I made with that team are the biggest thing I took away from wrestling for Paramus.”

Zotollo attended the 2011 New Jersey high school state tournament to support his friend and former teammate Nick Alpher, who was the runner up at 145 and Paramus’ first wrestler to reach the finals since 1988.

“I wasn’t surprised he made it as far as he did,” Zotollo said. “Being Nick’s training partner for about four years, as well as a good friend of his, I knew his capabilities.”

Alpher was an underdog in the tournament, and many did not expect him to reach the finals in a strong weight class that featured nationally ranked wrestlers.

“Nick stood strong to his belief that March [the month the tournament takes place] is where it counts and that people could judge him when March is over,” Zotollo said. “March is over and people’s eyes are opened to how good of a wrestler Nick is.

“Overall I am very proud of Nick,” Zotollo added. “I hope he decides to continue his career into college because he can make a very successful college wrestler.”

Zotollo has always looked up to his father and brother, Dan, Sr. and Dan, Jr. His father coached him for more than 10 years, mostly at the recreation level, and his brother, a 2006 PHS graduate, was a standout wrestler as well.

“My father did whatever he had to do to help me get better as a wrestler,” Zotollo said.

After making his mark at the high school level, Zotollo is hoping to build on an already successful start to a collegiate career.