FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Two Fairfax High School alumni are taking their wrestling careers to the international stage after earning spots on Puerto Rico's team for the U23 Wrestling World Championships.
Brothers Mauro and Lorenzo Pellot are scheduled to compete at the championships in Las Vegas in October. Both earned silver medals earlier this year at the U23 Pan-American Championships in Lima, Peru.
The trip marks another milestone for two wrestlers whose careers began in Fairfax schools and local wrestling programs before taking them to college competition and, now, international events.
Lorenzo Pellot, a former Virginia High School League state champion at Fairfax High School, now wrestles at Roanoke College. He is a two-time NCAA national qualifier at 197 pounds and will represent Puerto Rico internationally at 92 kilograms.
"My wrestling journey started right in Fairfax, where grinding through local rooms, capturing a VHSL state title for Fairfax High, and battling on the national circuit laid the blueprint for everything I do," Lorenzo said.
He said reaching the U23 World Championships alongside his older brother has added significance.
"Making the leap together to the U23 World Championships is the realization of years of focused work and shared sacrifice," Lorenzo said. "Every time we step onto that mat, we carry the Fairfax wrestling community, our family, our culture and heritage with us."
Mauro Pellot's wrestling career began at Katherine Johnson Middle School, where he participated in an after-school wrestling camp led by Tanner Sewell, who was then the Fairfax High School wrestling coach.
At Fairfax High, Mauro became a two-time district champion, regional champion and two-time state placer. He later wrestled at Alvernia University, becoming a three-time NCAA qualifier and an All-American.
After college, Mauro moved into coaching and believed his competitive wrestling career was finished. Lorenzo encouraged him to pursue the chance to represent Puerto Rico at 97 kilograms in the U23 division.
"My younger brother Lorenzo encouraged me to pursue the opportunity to represent Puerto Rico as its 97 kg athlete in the U23 division," Mauro said.
His silver-medal performance at the Pan-American Championships helped secure his place at the world championships.
"Wrestling all over the City of Fairfax was the foundation that led me to competing internationally and helped shape me into the man I am today," Mauro said.
Fairfax High School wrestling coach Lio Quezada has coached both brothers since they were young and hopes to travel to Las Vegas to coach them again.
Quezada said Mauro was his first state placer and All-American, while Lorenzo became the Fairfax program's first state champion.
"They still represent the heart of our program and continue to train locally when they're home," Quezada said. "I want to keep showing up for them the same way I always have."
Quezada is raising money to cover expenses associated with traveling with the Puerto Rican team, including airfare, credentials, delegation fees, required gear and lodging.
A GoFundMe campaign has been established to help cover those costs.
For the Pellot brothers, competing at the world championships also provides an opportunity to show younger Fairfax wrestlers what can be possible beyond high school competition.
"Any kid from Fairfax can compete with the very best on the world stage," Lorenzo said.
More information about Quezada's fundraising effort is available through the "Help Lio Coach at U23 Worlds" GoFundMe campaign.
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