by Madison Hintze
“Everything I do is to become better, the best ever and I’m not going to stop.”
--Dolph Ziggler.
If you know Theo Ballantine, you would describe him as kind, supportive and funny. I had the privilege to interview him to learn just how truly special he is.
As of not too long ago, Theo was named one of the four team captains along with Kevin Aleci, Nick Valenzano and Tyler Reed. Officially named one of the four Cornwall Dragons Varsity Wrestling team captains, all eyes are on Theo to see how he will lead the team to victory. He found his love for wrestling back in eighth grade at the age of thirteen when his mom suggested he try a new sport after moving to Cornwall from Louisiana. One of his favorite memories of being a wrestler for the Cornwall Dragons was winning his first match in eighth grade at the age of thirteen against Valley Central. Theo believes he has changed a lot since freshman year. Since his first days of practice he claimed that “over these years I have gained skill, strength and leadership.” Theo’s skills have grown a lot due to the fact that during the off season of wrestling he practices his skills with a separate wrestling team known as Hudson Valley Wrestling Team so he can continue to succeed during the regular wrestling season. He also learned some of his skills by watching videos of his favorite professional wrestler David Taylor saying “I can learn a lot from his matches.” (David Taylor is a retired English professional wrestler who was known in the United States World Championship Wrestling world from 1995 to 2000).
Theo has a lot of respect for anyone who has the courage to try the sport. Not many people know what wrestlers put themselves through. Wrestling is not like other sports. It’s constant 24/7. You have to watch your weight, go to practices, and matches, for months on end. Several high school wrestlers stated “those are the challenges we face if we want to be successful once we’re staring at our opponent just before a match.” “It’s horrible how little you really get to eat and how much more tired you are. It really only affects the varsity guys who are going for a specific weight class and want to wrestle for that weight class,” stated fellow wrestler Kyle Grant. Wrestlers have to have the right mentality to not give up and basically starve themselves for months watching their weight ever so carefully. Theo is a member of the Cornwall Dragons wrestling team in the 145 weight class.
I also interviewed fellow team wrestler Kyle Grant who is in weight class 152. I asked Kyle how he would describe Theo as a wrestler. Kyle stated “he’s a great leader. Theo is extremely skilled and anyone would argue he's the best wrestler on the team.” Many say “Theo is a great wrestler because of his skill and speed.” Based on how fast he is makes it almost impossible to stop him and he is overall an extremely great partner. Kyle stated that “Theo has changed since the first time I saw him wrestle because not only has he gained more skill but he is stronger.”
Theo’s common match day rituals are doing his basic drills and takedowns with his teammates. When asked how he would describe himself with three words, he very quickly stated he believes he is ambitious, collected and calm. It became very apparent how close he genuinely is with his mom and siblings. He expressed his love for his mom by stating she not only changed his life, but she is his biggest supporter and he could turn to her in any situation and be greeted with open arms. He is beyond thankful for his mom for making him the man he is today and introducing him to the sport he loves. Theo is the oldest out of an otherwise sports-crazed family with the passion for wrestling. Savannah, his sister followed his lead of the love for sports with tennis, then Sally, his other sister followed with track and field, volleyball, and softball. Then David, his brother took part in the craze of sports by playing football.
When he has his opponent pinned to the mat, waiting for the referee to give the signal, the near starvation, the extreme amount of hours of hard work and balance of sports and school finally pay off. As David Taylor says, “success is not final and failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts. Win or lose, good or bad, wrestle hard, and be proud.” I just know Theo is going to lead his teammates to victory.
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