'I realized that things had to change': Trimmed-down Cassella pitches in for Nashoba wrestling

Improve physical fitness. That New Year’s resolution for 2024 is ranked by national polls as most people’s No. 1 choice.

For Nashoba wrestler Taetum Cassella, though, that goal seems — well, so 2023.

A year ago, Cassella was 15 years old, a 5-foot-7 freshman weighing 195 pounds and clearly not in optimum physical shape for the intense action of wrestling matches.

“I realized that things had to change in order for me to get where I wanted to be in life,” said Cassella, who was determined to make a big lifestyle change.

Sticking with his New Year’s resolution, Cassella shed 40 pounds last year and is now a top competitor in the Nashoba lineup, wrestling in the 157-pound division. He recently notched a win in a match against Algonquin.

“Just a lot of hard work, lifting weights and eating right,” Cassella said. “I’m in the gym all the time, not home sitting on the couch playing video games. I also do a lot of shadow wrestling in my basement. And no more junk food. More fruits and vegetables now.”

His wrestling and football skills have remarkably improved from a year ago. A testament to his dedicated training and positive dietary changes, Cassella, who attends Clinton High, which co-ops with the Wolves in wrestling, went from a third-string running back and linebacker on the Gaels’ fine football team last fall to a valuable starter on both sides of the scrimmage line.

Asked what he would recommend to a young, aspiring athlete who is in similar physical shape as he was a year ago, Cassella said, “Once you get your mind to it, it’s not that hard, really. Don’t be snacking all the time, eat right and stay busy and active. And stay committed.”

“Taetum was overweight last year and not eating healthy at all,” said his father, Mike Cassella, who coaches the Wolves. “He wasn’t happy with the way he was performing and decided to make a huge lifestyle change. And that choice was entirely on his own. It’s been a great accomplishment for him.”

Now a role model for the benefits of healthy choices and dedicated training, Cassella is familiar with another fitness role model in his own family.

Cassella’s older brother, Brevin, who amassed over 200 wins in his wrestling career at Nashoba along with capturing the individual Division 2 state championship titles in 2019 and 2020, is currently ranked 16th in the nation as a senior wrestling at 160 pounds for the Binghamton University Bearcats in upstate New York.

In December, Nashoba opened with four straight wins, in matches against Reading, Lawrence and North Middlesex and also a victory in a tournament in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

Last week, the Wolves defeated Algonquin, 45-36, led by pivotal pins from Josh Phillips at 285 pounds and Ebhan Ambrose at 138, lifting Nashoba’s record to 6-3, 2-1 in Mid-Wach.

At a recent tournament in Framingham, Nashoba placed 12th, with two wrestlers reaching the finals, Alex Heim at 165 pounds and Connor Cox at 190. Both were runners-up. Dan De Almeida took a third place and Dillon Daukantus fifth.

De Almeida, a Hudson High junior with an extensive background in jiujitsu, was a gold medalist at the Marlborough tournament earlier in the season on his way to winning his first 12 matches. Heim also won gold at the Marlborough event, and another strong wrestler for the Wolves is 150-pound junior Brenden Downey.

In the girls’ division at the Framingham tournament, Nashoba had two participantsm with Rafa Sousa finishing as runner-up and Micah Guerra fifth.

With 27 wrestlers on his team, Mike Cassella is in his second season coaching at Nashoba after many years leading the Marlborough wrestling program.

Cassella, who wrestled at Wayland High and later at Bridgewater State University, is rightfully proud of his team’s improvement this winter from his first season. “Last year at this time, we were 0-8, with only two seniors on the team, so we’re making good progress,” he said.

Assisting Cassella in his coaching duties are former collegiate wrestlers Ross Hayden (Mercyhust) and Anthony Paoletta (WPI).

—Contact Jay Gearan at sports@telegram.com.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Trimmed-down Cassella pitches in for Nashoba wrestling