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EXETER TOWNSHIP — Wrestling six minutes nowadays would seem like a stroll down easy street for Mike Baccaro.
While in sixth grade, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes; three years later, he fell and separated his shoulder, chipped his clavicle, and broke his humerus; and a year after that, he lost 26 matches as a 152-pound sophomore in Methacton’s lineup.
To say he’s endured his share of adversity would be an understatement.
But Baccaro has recovered from the incident that nearly shattered his shoulder; has worked relentlessly in and out of the weight room to add strength and bulk; labored long in the practice room to improve and refine his wrestling repertoire; and each and every day, injects himself with insulin three times a day to control the diabetes.
And after a perfect 5-for-5 — or five pins in five bouts — during Saturday’s grueling Blue and White Duals at Exeter High School, 195-pound Beccaro has firmly established himself as one of the premier upperweights in the Pioneer Athletic Conference and, perhaps, throughout District 1.
“Mike’s had to go through a lot,” Methacton head coach A.J. Maida said. “I remember seeing him for the first time (when Bacarro was in seventh grade), and he had goofy feet. He looked real awkward.
“Believe me, he can look awful at times now, too. But no one realizes what he goes through, except for his mom and dad and some of our kids. He’s battled (the diabetes), and it seems the last couple of years he’s been able to keep it under control.”
At first Baccaro may not have understood the seriousness of diabetes, but he sure understood the injections.
“I was scared to death of needles,” he recalled. “I asked if I had to take (the insulin) every day, and when they told I did, well, I didn’t like that at all.”
Baccaro overcame that fear, much like he’s overcome many of the challenges that await him on the mats.
Just 5-foot-4 and 115 pounds in seventh grade, Baccaro began to grow. He hit a growth spurt following his sophomore year at Methacton.
“That’s when I started hitting the weight room,” he explained. “I felt I had the technique, but I really needed the strength to go with it. So ever since I’ve been lifting in the morning with (Maida), and then again at night with my dad (at a local fitness club).”
The turnaround was noticeable last winter, when Baccaro qualified for districts and finished up 25-11.
But even that wasn’t anywhere near good enough for him.
“I just choked,” he said. “I really expected to get to regionals, and when I saw how many of the kids I beat during the year ended up at regionals ... I was really mad about that. I wanted to get back into it right after regionals because not being there, and seeing all those other kids there, was ridiculous.
“I knew my strength helped me become 10 times better than the year before, but I had to get back to lifting to improve my strength even more. And I wanted to work on my conditioning, too. I was confident with what I had moves-wise, but I needed to work on everything.”
No one could question his offseason work ethic ... and few have been able to question his wrestling thus far.
Baccaro was second in last week’s season-opening Nazareth Invitational. Saturday, no one managed to take him into the third period. He’s 7-1, and determined to improve that mark significantly and wrestle well into the postseason ... or into February and March.
“Mike has put in a ton of time,” Maida said. “He wanted to start back with everything right after (regionals) last year, especially in the weight room. He didn’t want to wait around. We put in a ton of stuff for him and the kids to do, and he wanted it all.
“But the big thing now with Mike is his leadership. He understands why we ask high school kids to do what we want them to do. He agrees with our methods, and he’s extremely vocal. He does a great job connecting with the kids.”
And it really showed Saturday, when Baccaro helped the Warriors defeat Annville-Cleona, Berwick, Daniel Boone and Donegal before dropping their finale to host Exeter by a 34-33 — the exact same score as a year ago when the Warriors won by the one-point margin.
“That last (loss) is on all of us, especially me,” Maida said. “I could’ve done some different things with our lineup.
“But our kids still have to work on closing matches, work on staying off their backs. We could’ve been 5-0, but maybe (the loss) will help. You always need some adversity to work through.”
Just ask Baccaro.
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Methacton also got a 5-0 day from Joe Staley (four pins and a major) at 132 pounds and from Tracey Green (285). Teammates Eric Straup (120), Colin Peters (126) and Devin Bradley (170) were all 4-1, while Tahar Ferradji (220) was 3-1. ... Daniel Boone (3-9), capping a busy week that earlier included a split with Berks Conference rivals Muhlenberg and Exeter, went 1-4 on the day — falling to Annville-Cleona, Methacton, Red Lion and Warwick, while defeating Donegal. Head coach Matt Shutt got a perfect day from Jordan LaHaise (152), while Nick Limone (160) and Shayne Buckwalter (182) were both 4-1. Owen Powell (106). Tyler Richard (138), Christian Fernandez (145) and Dalton Kerr (195) each contributed three wins for the Blazers.
