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Wrestling - The Perfect Ending: Steve Santos wins state title.
publication date: Mar 8, 2009
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author/source: Bob Badders
By Bob Badders - Senior Contributor
E-mail: bob.badders@gmail.com
ATLANTIC CITY -- Some wrestlers get nervous before a big match - and an NJSIAA state final certainly qualifies as a big match - but Brick Memorial senior Steve Santos was quite the opposite on Sunday at Boardwalk Hall.
Even with the amount of pressure he had on himself after finishing second in the state last season and beginning 2008 with only one goal, while also trying to end a 13-year state championship drought for the Mustangs, Santos was far from jittery.
 | Photo by Anthony Payne.
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"He was so excited to wrestle, he was telling me he wasn't sure if he was angry or anxious or excited," said Mustangs head coach Dan O'Cone. "But he said, 'Coach, I know I'm going out there and winning.'"
With an 8-4 victory over Sayreville's Ramon Santiago at 152 pounds, Santos finally got to live his dream as he capped one of the best careers a Brick Memorial wrestler has ever put together. His first state championship made him the fourth wrestler in school history to win a state title and the first since Nick Angen won at 125 pounds in 1996. Santos finished his career with a 149-14 record, which is the second highest win total in Shore Conference history.
"The feeling is indescribable," Santos said. "I've worked so hard all my life for this, especially since last year after being one win away. It feels great to finally reach my goal. There was a lot of pressure going out for my last match because after this I didn't have another chance. This is something I've wanted every since I was little. I had to do it."
"The last three days I've been telling him he's the best guy here and the toughest guy here, and I really believe that," O'Cone said.
Lately Santos has gotten into a pattern of being taken down earlier before storming back with a vengeance and dismantling his opponent. Against Santiago he was the first to score, securing a takedown in the first period to go up 2-0. Santiago escaped and then took Santos down to take a 3-2 lead. Off a restart with 12 seconds left in the first period, Santos hit a reversal to go up 4-3 and never looked back from there.
"I was feeling pretty comfortable because I knew I could come back," Santos said. "I didn't want to let him have the lead for too long and give him any confidence. My first move off the whistle I exploded out for the reversal, and with just 12 seconds left I don't think he expected that."
Santos chose defense in the second period and reversed Santiago again to take a 6-3 lead. Santiago escaped to make it 6-4 and then took neutral in the third period. Santos finished him off | Photo by Anthony Payne.
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with another takedown and rode him out to complete a long 365-day journey of redemption.
The way Santos got to end his career is special, and it could not have happened to a better individual. Santos is the kind of kid you root for even when you're not suppossed to be rooting. Not only is he an exceptional wrestler, he is also an exceptional student, a team leader and a symbol of hard work.
"He's the old cliche in that he did everything I ever asked him to do," O'Cone said. "To see it end for him the way it did, it shows that the system works."
For the four years Santos put on the Brick Memorial singlet he understood the history of the wrestlers that preceded him. There's a sign in the Mustangs' wrestling room that says, "Memorial is Wrestling," and Santos always thought about how he fit into that legacy. Now he knows he's a huge part of it.
"It's just great being a part of Memorial," he said. "With all those names on the wall, you wonder where you're going to fit in. To finally be up there with those guys is just awesome."
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