Avi Shah ’17: The Boys’ Athlete of the Month is wrestling standout and senior co-captain, AJ Cutrufello ‘15. Cutrufello has been a varsity wrestler since his first year at EA four years ago and has made significant contributions to the team ever since.
Wrestling from a young age, Cutufello said that his passion for the sport has always been with him. “I started wrestling when I was five years old. It has become a huge part of my life and has helped teach me many life lessons, like overcoming obstacles,” commented Cutrufello. “In Middle School, I went through tough times with the sport and wanted to quit. Once I got into high school, I became incredibly passionate about the sport and realized the harder I worked, the more successful I would become.”
Cutrufello, who plans to wrestle at Ursinus College next year, earned his 100th win earlier this season. “It was one of the most memorable moments of my career, and I knew that finally all my years and years of hard work and dedication to the sport had finally paid off.” His career win count stands at 126 wins, 94 of which were pins, and his season record stands at 36-6.
Photo Courtesy of Samantha Ciardi ’15
When asked about what his mindset is during a match, Cutrufello responded, “I think about a lot. It’s hard to keep my mind on solely the match before it. Once I step onto the mat, everything changes. It’s a mental sport and if I can defeat my opponent with my posture portrayed even when I am physically exhausted, I know that I have truly succeeded.” Cutrufello also credits much of his success to his teammates. “My teammates have been incredibly influential because seeing them grow has been motivational. As a young wrestler, the older guys were always so cool to me so I try to treat others the way they treated me.” Jonathon Lewis ’16 said, “AJ leads by example. He wrestles with great passion and is one of the hardest workers I have seen. Watching him wrestle has made me better and only motivated me to work harder. When I entered the program as a freshmen, AJ welcomed me with open arms, and has been a mentor ever since.”
Cutrufello said that his dad has had the most significant impact on his career. “My dad has by far had the biggest impact on my career as a whole. He was a great wrestler growing up and he started me very young. At a young age he would have me work out in anyway possible whether it was doing push-ups or doing wheel barrow walks on my hands around a track. At the age of five he would have me do twenty five push-ups each night before bed and then on each birthday I would add five more push-ups, around the age of 14 or so this stopped. Without my dad I would have never had the interest I have for the sport. I thank him for introducing me to the sport and always taking me to different practice rooms and competitions. I attribute most of my wrestling success to him.”