'Everyone doubts us': Pueblo County's Tony Macaluso ready to prove the doubters wrong
Winning a state title can be difficult in most cases.
Pueblo County wrestler Tony Macaluso and his Hornets teammates have been knocking on the door of a team title since he joined the program. Now in his senior year, Macaluso is poised to try and lead his team to that elusive state title, all while trying to get to the top of the podium himself.
“My freshman year, we were runners-up. We should have won it that year,” Macaluso said. “Even last year we had four guys competing in the finals and took fourth place as a team. It means a lot to lead these guys because I know we could do it. We have the guys still. Everyone doubts us, but we still have the guys.”
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To be a leader, Macaluso has had to make some adjustments to the way he approaches practices now.
“Honestly, I feel like a lot of people look up to me in this program, so I just try to lead by example,” Macaluso said. “All the time, from the way I carry myself through practice, how I am always pushing myself. We have a saying at County where we say, ‘Take ourselves to deep waters’, so we just try to push that in every practice, and it's been paying off so far.”
Another big thing he has had to adjust to while being one of the leaders in the locker room is how he perceives himself.
“Another big thing is just being positive about everything,” Macaluso said. “I've learned that the hard way. I believe now we're at the point where it's just about focusing on the mental. Keeping these kids right in their heads helps them a lot. It took me 14 years to figure that out. So honestly, just focus on their mental.”
Macaluso went on to say that it took him a while to believe in himself, but once he did, his confidence rose and so did his level of talent on the mat, so much so that it allowed him to continue his wrestling career at the next level, committing to Arizona Christian in Glendale, AZ.
Despite all the success, Macaluso almost quit the sport after his sophomore year.
“I missed weight for an East dual, the week before regionals, and I said I was done,” Macaluso said. “I was just mentally done. But then CHSAA (Colorado High School Athletics Association) cleared me, the Monday before regionals, but I said I can't do it, I wasn't right in the head.
“I never thought I was going to step foot back on the mat again and then I met with some people, and started training and they got me back in the right headspace and that helped me get back to the finals.”
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His goal this year is to win an individual state championship in his weight class and help his team achieve the state team title. Something that Pueblo East has done for the past two years.
Macaluso is ranked as the no. 3 wrestler in Colorado for the 144 lbs. Division. He is 35-3 this year in his matches and has his Hornets team knocking on the door for a top-ten ranking as well.
Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @chowebacca. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo County's Tony Macaluso is focused on winning a title this year
