Two Rivers' Angie Bianchi continuing family's wrestling legacy, looking to add 9th title

TWO RIVERS — As the youngest of six children and the only girl in the Bianchi household, sophomore Angie Bianchi wanted to forge her own path.

All five of her brothers wrestled for the Two Rivers Raiders at one point or another with three of them — Joey, Matty and Paul Bianchi — winning a combined eight state titles between 2014-21.

The Bianchi’s mother and Two Rivers girls wrestling coach, Neysa Bianchi, never expected Angie to join her brothers in the wrestling room.

Neysa is also the Wisconsin wrestling federation women’s director and has been coaching the past four years herself.

“She never did want to wrestle when she was younger,” Neysa said of Angie. “People would always ask if she would wrestle too and she’d say ‘I'm not wrestling’.”

What changed was girls wrestling beginning to take off in Wisconsin and Angie joining a girls-only program run by Wrightstown wrestling coach Matt Verbeten and his wife when the youngest Bianchi was in fifth grade.

“We let her start and kind of dabbled in it for a few years and I didn’t think it was going to go anywhere because she enjoyed dance,” Neysa said. “Then she started getting better and got on some dual teams and that’s when it took off.”

If she had to wrestle boys, Angie says she wouldn’t be competing in the sport.

“If I didn’t have the opportunity to wrestle girls I don’t think I’d ever have joined wrestling,” Angie said. “What made me join wrestling was my brothers but seeing other girls doing it is what inspired me to do it.”

Last year was the second-ever girls state tournament, and the first held during the boys state tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Having visited Madison and seeing her brothers compete so often, Angie was thrilled for the opportunity to do so herself last season.

Even though she lost the championship match at 114 pounds it was the experience of a lifetime.

“It was so cool to see everyone watching and being at the Kohl Center as a girl, it was the first time it ever happened and I was super excited,” Angie said.

It was also special for Neysa who instead of being confined to the stands as a parent she was on the floor as a coach too.

“WIAA did an amazing job, they thought of almost everything to make it a special event for the girls,” Neysa said. “It was cool to be down on the floor for the first time, little more nerve-wracking than sitting in the stands for sure. But it was cool to see the effect the event had on the girls, all the smiles.”

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Angie isn’t short on advice from her brothers, with Joey, Matty and Paul earning NCAA Division I scholarships for wrestling and Sam Bianchi having run cross country for Army.

Tommy Bianchi also reached the state tournament for Two Rivers.

“Always put in the work, you can always do more,” Angie said of what they tell her. “They are always there to support me.”

She also has become a combination of her brothers best skills Neysa said.

“Her mindset is a mix between Matthew and Joey, her persistence is like Paul,” Neysa said. “She’s funny like Tommy and her endurance is like Sam. She has the benefit of seeing what they did and knowing that things are possible.”

Added Angie: “I honestly think it's a mix of them because I work with all of them,” Angie says of who she takes after. “People have told me I look like Matthew when I wrestle. Matthew, our stances are similar and Joey has shown me his under hooks and set ups. Paul’s fakes is a lot where I get that from and Matthew’s aggressiveness.”

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And if there’s any pressure following in her brother’s footsteps, Angie doesn’t mind one bit.

“I actually really like it,” Angie said of the family legacy. “It gives me a lot to look forwards to and push towards. It’s not something that scares me.”

Neysa is also getting a kick out of her brothers understanding what she went through all those years watching them compete.

“They made her tough enough but I think they get nervous,” Neysa said. “When they were younger they’d always ask why I was so nervous but now they know. Its fun to see them experience that nervousness and the hope they have.”

As girls wrestling continues to grow in Wisconsin, Angie is hoping to add a few more state titles to the Bianchi family tally while earning a college scholarship of her own.

“It’s really cool seeing all the legacy and accomplishments that I have to work towards,” Angie said. “That’s definitely my goal to wrestle in college.”

For at least a few more years, the Bianchi’s are once again united in the wrestling room.

“It brings everyone back together,” Neysa said. “(Angie) was off doing her own thing but now they’re all together and they support each other, make fun of each other. Sometimes they’ll yell at me for stuff she did but be nice to her.”

With one silver medal to her credit already in Angie’s career her mother hopes to add a few more state charts to the families inspiration room in the basement.

“(Angie) doesn’t want to be the one who wasn’t good and she puts that pressure on herself,” Neysa said. “I don’t think she has much to worry about though anymore.”

Contact Tom Dombeck at 920-686-2965 or tdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Tom_Dombeck.

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Angie Bianchi continuing family tradition of Two Rivers wrestling