Anthony Giglio was Steinert’s starting quarterback the past two years and is headed for Kean University’s football program next year.
There is no doubt as to his main sport, but the senior still loves his secondary sport despite the fact it is probably the most punishing when it comes to keeping in shape. That would be wrestling, a sport in which lifting weights coincides with cutting weight along with all the other physical anguish that goes into it.
Giglio craves it all.
“I love the energy about it and just everything about the sport,” he said. “I think wrestling is the greatest sport. It’s individual, you learn from it, learn from mistakes. You just grow upon it. I think that’s the best thing about it.
“Playing football helps with your mindset and determination. But wrestling practice is way harder than football so it makes football way easier. It’s definitely like a grind with wrestling.”
Giglio was grinding his way to a stellar season by mid-January. Through Jan. 20, one week prior to the Colonial Valley Conference meet, Giglio was 17-5 with 13 pins, one technical fall and two major decisions. He had eight first-period pins and six sub-minute falls.
He reached the 190-pound finals of three early-season tournaments — the Blue Devil Classic, TCNJ Pride, and Rumble in the Pines — but lost each one. Those setbacks were to some tough opponents, however, including Brick Memorial’s two-time state champ, Harvey Ludington.
“You learn from that, you learn from your mistakes,” Giglio said. “You’re watching videos, showing the coaches, asking them what you can do better.”
Spartans coach Joe Panfili can see Giglio doing a lot of things better since his freshman year.
“He’s been clutch,” Panfili said. “He started to turn the corner last year, really having some big wins for us. He was emerging for us. He was almost a region qualifier. He’s been working hard. This year he’s really taken the helm as a leader and I’m real happy with this progress. He’s been wrestling tough.”
Giglio began wrestling at age 7 in the Hamilton PAL, then went to Northern Burlington to wrestle with his cousins before coming back to PAL for one more year.
“My dad recommended it, I stuck with it and I loved it,” Giglio said.
His love, however, did not show up in his work ethic for his first two years. He was 6-14 in ninth grade and 10-15 in 10th wrestling between 157 and 165.
“Freshman and sophomore year I didn’t really take it seriously,” Giglio said. “It wasn’t fun at the moment. I was bouncing through weight classes. I didn’t know what I wanted in the future. My junior year I decided to take it seriously. It’s probably the best thing I did. It helped me improve as a person too.
“I started working on technique, did more research about wrestling. It definitely improves you on the mat.”
Panfili, who coached Giglio in freshman football, sympathized with his early struggles.
“He came to me with some wrestling experience but the problem is, your freshman year you’re 14 and you’re going against older guys,” the coach said. “He was in a tough weight division at 157 and he still did a lot for us. If we needed him to bump he was always willing to do that.”
But the wrestler’s dismay was apparent.
“I’m not gonna lie to you, it got a little tough for him,” Panfili said. “We had a lot of long talks, he got a little discouraged. It’s hard when you put in all that hard work and go out there and lose a lot, it’s a very humbling experience. To his credit, he came through, he persevered. Every year he got better, did what he had to do and now it’s starting to pay off.”
Giglio’s dedication began to pay off last season. Wrestling mainly at 165, he went 21-8 and finished fourth in districts and fourth in the county tournament. In the off-season he hit the weights like a man possessed and jumped a weight class to 190.
“We lifted a lot for football and I put on 25 pounds,” Giglio said. “People are definitely stronger (at 190) for sure. I think I get them with my speed. When I take a shot and I’m on top I just work from there.”
Both Panfili and Giglio feel the grappler is strongest on his feet.
“A takedown is worth three points now and you can also get up to four backpoints, that’s definitely helpful to a guy like Anthony,” Panfili said. “He’s tough to take down, he’s just a tough kid. He’s a strong kid. He’s got big hands; quarterback hands. When he grabs you, you know he’s grabbing you. He’s really tough on his feet.”
Giglio agreed, saying “I think so, becauseI I set it up. I always have a step for the step. When I set it up I do some stuff and see how he reacts and then go from there and take a shot.”
Like any good wrestler, Giglio has a motor that won’t stop. He comes out at a high level and just accelerates from there.
“Anthony’s real strength is energy,” Panfili said. “He goes out there like a ball of energy. He’s always going. He’s a grinder. He’s looking to get bonus points for us when he can. He’s really improved his game in all facets. He’s pinning people, he’s putting people on their back. He goes out there 110 miles an hour.”
Panfili has enjoyed watching Giglio’s progress as the two have formed a strong bond over four years.
“He was my freshman quarterback, I built a good relationship with him right off the bat,” the coach said. “Anthony just goes out there, he doesn’t let the pressure get to him. He’s one of those guys who knows what he has to do. A lot of the time if he loses or gets caught he has a pretty good attitude about it. Like ‘Ahh, I got caught, I’m gonna keep grinding, put in the work and get better.”
Like most quarterbacks, Giglio is used to getting attention.
“He’s a true leader, he likes the spotlight, which is a good thing to have in football because he always likes the ball in his hands,” Panfili said. “In wrestling he likes to be in that position to win the match for you, so I think him being a quarterback has definitely helped him on the mat.”
Building upon the strong foundation he formed last season, Giglio set goals this year to get over 20 wins, do well in the counties, qualify for regions and, if things break right, reach the states. But his biggest aim is success for the program, as he and fellow four-year wrestlers Elliot Morris and Alex Hart have formed a strong nucleus for the Spartans.
“I’ll do anything for the team,” he said. “Whatever it takes to win and do better for our team, I’ll do. We have a lot of goals to accomplish at Steinert. We want to make some noise in New Jersey. With a full, healthy lineup I think we can, for sure.”
Having Giglio now wrestling at this full potential certainly doesn’t hurt the cause.
Four-year Steinert wrestlers Anthony Giglio, Elliot Morris and Alex Hart. (Photo by Amanda Ruch.),
