Requited love affair with wrestling
Wrestling has had a hold on Samantha Romano since she was eight
Wrestling gradually took hold of Samantha Romano.
Today a Canadian national champion and an 18-year-old psychology major completing her first year at Brock University, she first started thinking about wrestling as a sport when she was eight.
She heard an announcement at her elementary school inviting students to come out for wrestling.
Though skeptical about getting involved in an activity for boys, Romano also was curious. In the end, curiosity won her over.
“I kind of thought it was weird at first, more something for boys, but my teacher at the time said, ‘Don’t knock it until you try it,’” she recalled. “So I went out and fell in love with it right away.”
Romano joined Team Impact Wrestling Club in the Ajax-Pickering area a year later, and has been competing — and falling more in love with the sport — ever since.
“It’s a lot of work sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” she said. “Wrestling has given me so many opportunities that I wouldn’t have had without it.
“It has really shaped me into the person that I am today.”
And who that person has become is an athlete who has just competed at the national championships for the sixth year in a row and is looking forward to the world championships later this year in Slovakia.
“At first, it was just a lot of fun, but it’s unique, it’s a sport that is different than everything else,” she said.
Another thing that appealed to Romano is that neither gender nor size are roadblocks to success in the sport.
“I really liked that with wrestling anybody can do it,” she said. “It doesn’t matter how big or how small you are.
‘‘ “Wrestling has given me so many opportunities that I wouldn’t have had
without it.” SAMANTHA ROMANO Brock University wrestler
“As long as you’re hardworking and dedicated, then you can do it.”
Freestyle wrestling, her specialty, isn’t the wrestling that high-profile promoters have made famous.
“It’s completely different,” she said with a laugh. “I do the Olympic-style wrestling, so it’s more grappling and takedowns rather than fancy throws.”
The sport has benefited her off the mat.
“Growing up I always liked that it built lots of character and heart, and taught lots of life skills like being disciplined and punctual.”
Wrestling played a big role in Romano’s decision on where to continue her education after graduating from Pickering High School in Ajax.
When the time came to make a decision, academics and athletics carried equal weight, though at the end of the day the scales tipped in favour of taking her wrestling career to the next level at Brock.
“I really liked the school,” she said. “I went there for a tour, and I liked the setup of it, that everything was in the same area.
“I also knew they had a really good psychology program, and the wrestling team is always one of the best in Canada.
She said her wrestling has improved “100 per cent” since being involved in the Brock program.
“There are a lot of wrestlers in the room that have won nationals themselves,” she said. “We have a lot of people that have been to the Olympics, we have a world champion.
“Wrestling with people who have had that exposure really helps my technique.”
Jessica MacDonald also competes in the 50-kilogram weight class, but as a junior Romano doesn’t compete with the world champion for a spot on the squad. She has learned a lot from training with MacDonald, as well as from all members of the closeknit team.
“Everybody on the Brock team is super-supportive of each other, so we’re always helping each other out to be the best that we can.”
The peak of Romano’s wrestling career so far was achieved last month at the Canadian na-
tional championships in Montreal. She went 3-0 in the women’s 50 kg to win gold for the Brock Wrestling Club.
At Montreal, Romano, who also competed on the university team in her first year at Brock, won her first two matches in 7-4 stop-time decisions after neither wrestler was ahead by 10 points after time elapsed in the two, three-minute rounds.
She was well on her way to pinning down the gold medal in her final match. A takedown gave her a 4-0 lead, but her opponent scored the next six points in a row.
“I almost got pinned myself, but I ended up wiggling out of that,” she said, recalling the match. “I just kind of slipped, I relaxed too much I guess.”
Romano was ahead 8-6 when she pinned her opponent with four seconds remaining in the first round for victory.
It was her sixth trip to nationals, but her first gold medal.
“It was a crazy feeling, I worked super hard for it,” said Romano, who won bronze for Team Impact as a ninth, 10th and 11th grader and silver when she was in Grade 12.
In her final year of high school, Romano fought up at the university level but did not place.
“I just tried it for the experience,” she said.
Romano’s matches aren’t over when she leaves the mat. Her father Anthony videotapes all of her matches, which she uses as a teaching tool.
“Sometimes, if I am watching a little early, it’s hard because I had just come off a loss, especially if it’s a big tournament,” she said. “But it’s something you have to do to improve yourself.”
On the flipside, she doesn’t let videos showing her excelling in a match get to her head.
“I think it’s really important to be humble,” she said. “There’s always that, ‘When you lose say little; when we win, say less,’”
“I feel if I let it get to my head than I would start underestimating all my opponents as well.”
Romano earned a silver at nationals and gold at provincials wrestling for the Badgers in her first year in university.
She also placed first at the Ontario junior championships this year.