High school wrestling: Riverside's Collin Fairbanks, Antonio Bottiggi take football momentum to wrestling mat
Dec. 9—As two of the defensive leaders on the Riverside football team, Collin Fairbanks and Antonio Bottiggi usually made quick work of those across from them on the football field.
Now that wrestling season has started, things haven't changed much.
Fairbanks (176 pounds) and Bottiggi (heavyweight) admitted they're not in tip-top wrestling condition yet. After all, the Riverside football season extended through the regional championship weekend of Nov. 11. But even though they're not in the physical condition they want or need to be for wrestling season, that didn't stop them from rag-dolling the competition who lined up across from them on Day 1 of the 20-team Riverside Rumble on Dec. 9.
Both Fairbanks (27-17 last year) and Bottiggi (29-8 last year) went undefeated on Day 1, and did so impressively.
Fairbanks pinned GlenOak's Isaac Summers in 1:35 first, stuck Lakeside's Bobby Shinault in 2:45, then pinned Jefferson's Matt Webster in 1:59. Bottigi flattened Brush's Michael Gill in 1:10, then decked Jackson-Milton's Cole Capelli in 34 seconds. The stellar performance on Day 1 of the tournament sets them up for a possible tournament championship when Day 2 runs its course on Dec. 10.
Antonio Bottiggi of @RiversideWrest1 putting on a clinic at the Riverside Rumble. pic.twitter.com/HouDILgP4w
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) December 10, 2022
"Just getting better and perfecting everything," Bottiggi said.
Nodding his head in affirmation, Fairbanks said he hopes the momentum for football season spills over to the wrestling mat.
"Instead of just making it to districts (like last year), I hope to get to state and get on the podium."
Fairbanks should have oodles of confidence after the football season he just completed, a season in which he had 92 tackles, 36 tackles for loss and 10 sacks as the Beavers' nose tackle on the football field. That productivity made him a first-team Division II All-Ohioan.
Collin Fairbanks and Antonio Bottiggi of @Riverside_athl are coming off a long football season. They are back on the wrestling mat already and making quick work of their opponents at the Riverside rumble pic.twitter.com/eVKa8aOL7v
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) December 9, 2022
As a fellow defensive lineman, Bottiggi had 36 tackles, 13 TFLs and four sacks, along with two fumble recoveries.
But when football season ended, they were both in the wrestling room within a week getting in wrestling shape — which both said differs greatly from football shape.
For Fairbanks, that meant cutting from the 205 pounds at which he played in football to the 176 pounds at which he weighed in for the Rumble.
"Terrible. It was terrible," Fairbanks said of his self-imposed cut from 205. "I went from three meals a day to one, plus a granola bar. Maybe another granola bar before bed. They told me during my hydration test the lowest I can go is 167, but no, I'm not doing that."
Said Bottiggi, "It'll take some time to get where we want to be (conditioning-wise)."
A year ago, Bottiggi defaulted two matches at the Division I district tournament with an esophageal issue. But he said that breathing problem is a thing of the past.
"That was pretty frustrating," he said. "I'm pretty much 100 percent now."
Coach Justin Toth noted how pleased he is with the early results from Fairbanks and Bottiggi. He said while Fairbanks will stay at 176, Bottiggi will likely be cutting down to 215 in the coming weeks.
"They're doing a great job," Toth said.
