When Frank Molinaro attempts to qualify his weight for the Summer Olympics at a last-chance qualifier in Turkey on Sunday morning, he won’t have too many bigger supporters than the man he beat in a state final 11 years ago.
Molinaro, a Southern Regional High School graduate, was the surprising winner of the U.S. Olympic Trials in the 65 kg freestyle weight class in April as the No. 9 seed, but he must finish in the top two in his weight class Sunday to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Molinaro lost to the eventual third-place finisher in his previous chance to qualify the weight in Mongolia. This will be the last opportunity to qualify the weight.
The other five men’s freestyle weights have been qualified, including at 74 kg where Winslow graduate Jordan Burroughs will go to Rio this summer with a chance to defend his Olympic gold medal from 2012 in London.
BURROUGHS, MOLINARO: Through the years
Asked about being an Olympic teammate with Molinaro, who beat Burroughs in a tiebreaker in the 2005 125-pound state final, the former Winslow Township star smiled.
“That’s crazy. Isn’t that crazy? ” said Burroughs at a recent appearance at his high school alma mater. “It’s so wild, man. I’m very proud of him. He had the toughest route (at the Trials) of any wrestler who made the team this year. That’s just a testament to his Jersey roots. If you come from Jersey, you’re tough. You’ve been through the grind. It’s only one class in the state wrestling championships.
“You have to be an amazing athlete to get where he’s been. He’s been successful at every level. National champion, three-time state champion. We’re (hopefully) going to sharpen each other this summer and hopefully we’ll both come home with golds.”
For that to happen, Molinaro must reach the final this weekend.
While the loss to Molinaro might have been the most difficult of his career, seeing his former state finalist on a regular basis doesn’t bring back any bad memories. Burroughs won his state title the next year, went on to become a two-time national champion at Nebraska and won Olympic gold in 2012 as one of a multitude of international accomplishments.
“I’ve done a couple things since (that loss),” said Burroughs. “It’s been great (having him as a teammate). He’s a good person to be around, a family man, a husband and father now.”
There would be nothing Burroughs would like more this weekend than for his fellow Jersey wrestler to punch his own ticket to Rio and continue the amazing path both athletes have been on since 2005.
Bill Evans can be reached at bevans@njadvancemedia.com or by leaving a note in the comments below. Follow him on Twitter @BEvansSports. Find and like the NJ.com High School Wrestling page on Facebook.
