Welcome Nick to the Wrestle MATNESS team!

Hey everyone! My name is Nick Montalbano and I’m the newest member of the Wrestle MATNESS team. I look forward to adding my wrestling knowledge and hot-takes to the blog and hope to hear everyone else’s takes too!

I wrestled for 14 years by way of Seneca Valley High School and competed in college at American University and Washington & Jefferson. I competed nationally starting when I was 10 years old and posted a 4th place finish at NHSCA Nationals in 2016 as a freshman.

The reason I wanted to write about wrestling is because it’s always been a part of me and shaped me into who I am today. Growing up with my dad as my coach, and him being someone who shares the same passion for the sport as I do, I loved following along with results and the latest news in wrestling. I’ve been going to every PIAA state tournament to watch since I was 9 and I’d watch with a bracket in my hand following along - and I still do it to this day!

Having been in the sport for so long, both competing and as a spectator, it’s fun seeing events like the NCAA tournament unfold – even more so now because some of the qualifiers are people I’ve either competed against, trained with, or went to school with. For example, Kizhan Clarke, the 2022 NCAA Runner-Up from UNC, was one of my practice partners at American. Dylan Chappell, a 2x NCAA Qualifier from Bucknell, and I grew up together. I could name so many others too, so having a personal stake in being a fan makes it even that much more enjoyable!

And to make things even better, my birth announcement was in a singlet. I was quite LITERALLY born to be a wrestler!

As we approach the launch of GOAT MATNESS, I look forward to previewing the matchups and filling out brackets of my own! Hope you all have fun with it - I know I will!

#embracetheMATNESS

-N. Montalbano