MILLBURN, NJ - Zach Tanelli admits that he was "a miserable man" last year. The source of the Millburn resident’s misery was the extent to which he went to make weight – in his case, 133 pounds – in order to wrestle for the University of Wisconsin.

To the casual observer, Tanelli might have looked on top of his game; after all, he qualified for both the NCAAs and Big Tens, had a 28-12 overall record and earned a Big Ten Wrestler of the Week award. Nobody ever cited "Know thyself" as the wrestler’s credo, but that’s what it all boiled down to for Tanelli, who resolved to not cut as much weight for the 2008-09 season, regardless of where that got him.

And where did it get him?

Wrestling at 141 pounds, he accomplished more than he did at the lower weight. Tanelli finished the 2008-09 season with an overall record of 31 victories and six losses. He went 12-3 against ranked opponents and had a stretch of 18 consecutive victories. He took second place at the Big Ten meet and finished fourth at the NCAA Championships, where he was 6-2. The highlight of the campaign was his victory in the prestigious Midlands Tournament, where he defeated then-No. 1 Alex Tsirtsis for the title. That resulted in his winning the "Champion of the Champions" trophy at Midlands and being named Big Ten Wrestler of the Week.

Tanelli, a fifth-year senior who graduated from Millburn High School, recently took some time to discuss the ups and downs of his career with The Alternative Press. One of six children of Scott and Sharon Tanelli, Zach didn’t so much embark on a wrestling career as use the sport as an outlet for emulating his older brother. "It was really the individualism of the sport that appealed to me," said Tanelli. It’s nobody else’s responsibility for how well you do."

Millburn’s Recreational program offered wrestling as an activity and Tanelli, as well as his twin brother Evan, got involved when they were in the sixth grade. Success didn’t arrive overnight, however.

BUMPS IN THE ROAD

"Evan was a little tougher [than I was]," Tanelli said. "There were a lot of bumps in the road. The learning curve was pretty tough. I didn’t make the state tournament and Evan did, which was pretty tough for me, but I think that was a motivating factor for me to get better."

Credit for Tanelli’s initial success goes to Chris and Mark Lombardi. "Both had college experience and helped me avoid a lot of bad habits," Tanelli said. Tanelli blossomed into a top-caliber wrestler as he entered high school. "I started wrestling at The Edge School of Wrestling in Martinsville," Tanelli said. "There I formed a close bond with a coach named Ernie Monaco. That’s where I really honed my skills. Ernie developed me into a college-caliber wrestler."

Tanelli reached the finals of the state tournament twice during his four years at Millburn High, first in his sophomore year at 112 pounds, which is when he first had to cut weight. He then moved up to 135 pounds and again made the state finals as a senior. On both occasions he was defeated and settled for second place.

The choice of which college to attend was relatively easy for Tanelli. "Donny Pritzlaff, a two-time national champion at Wisconsin, was an Edge guy," Tanelli said. "I’d always looked up to him and wanted to be like him, even without knowing him." That gave Wisconsin a fast track toward landing Tanelli. The deal became even sweeter for Tanelli when Pritzlaff, a native of Lyndhurst in Bergen County, returned to Madison as an assistant coach in 2007. But Tanelli found himself in deep waters when he arrived for his freshman season at Wisconsin.

ANOTHER MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB

"The learning curve is so tough," said Tanelli, who redshirted his freshman year. "You could be a stud coming out of high school and a poor college wrestler could beat up on you. It’s rough and very humbling to be put in your place."

Certain aspects of Tanelli’s technique needed honing in order for him to become competitive in the tough Big Ten environment. He cited hand fighting as one example. "Especially in the Big Ten, there’s a knockdown, dragout type of mentality," Tanelli said. "You have to get in there nose to nose and beat them up. Wrestling on the bottom was also a great adjustment."

Tanelli doesn’t believe he has an advantage in either the physical or mental aspects of the sport. He feels that his physical preparation and mental toughness serve him equally well. "I’ve prided myself on how hard I’ve worked," Tanelli said. "I hang it on the line out there. If you’re not mentally tough, you’ll crack like an egg out there. Just the daily grind of practice is tough."

Overcoming a size disadvantage and imposing your will on a larger opponent is an experience that Tanelli especially cherishes. "You try to break them mentally and you can feel it when a man’s spirit is broken and you know you’re in his head," Tanelli said. Conversely, he doesn’t believe he has been so victimized in his career. "Never," he said emphatically. "I’ve lost to kids more than once and felt I’d made a mental mistake. If you want to be successful, you have to truly believe in yourself, that no one has your number."

That self-confidence enabled Tanelli to make the move up to 141 pounds this season without a second thought. "I was cutting too much weight the first three years here," Tanelli said. "I didn’t really think it was right, but I bought into it. [Last year,] I’d hit a wall and that was it. I didn’t have it in my legs. I knew I was the best wrestler at my weight, but would come up short because cutting too much weight was preventing me from having the success I should have had."

With his body starving for nutrients, Tanelli would go on eating binges between matches and then have to work his way back down. "When I was making 133, I’d be up to 155 between dual meets," Tanelli said. "This year, I never got above 146."

Without pointing a finger at any particular individual, Tanelli admits to feeling a "little bitter" that he didn’t move up in weight sooner. He realizes that nothing is guaranteed, however, and realizes that the vagaries of the sport are as much to reckon with in his inability to win a national championship. "It’s a fickle thing," Tanelli said. "It comes down to one weekend. I don’t take anything away from the guys who finished ahead of me, but I feel I’m better than them."

Looking back, his win at the Midlands stands out as a signature moment. "I’d never won a tournament," Tanelli said. "I’d been second in states twice and third once. But I’d never actually won a tournament of merit. The satisfaction from winning that was, well, looking into Donny’s eyes . . .." Tanelli left the sentence unfinished, as he couldn’t quite characterize the look that Pritzlaff’s eyes bestowed on him after his arm was raised.

TIME TO MOVE ON

So, now what? Does a career that took root in Millburn’s Recreation program suddenly flame out? Hardly. Despite a residual sadness from the end of his collegiate career and the uncertainty of wondering what’s next, he’s not about to shy away from moving on. "I’m trying to stay involved by getting an assistant’s position in the game and give back," Tanelli said. "If I can help out at Wisconsin, I’d like to be back. I have an attachment with the kids on that team. But if not there, I’d like to be back in the northeast – New Jersey, Pennsylvania, D.C. But if not there, then anywhere."

As far as feeding his own competitive juices, Tanelli has a game plan in mind. "The next level is the world level and Olympian," Tanelli said. "I thought about it and right now I need a break. In a year or two, I’ll assess things and if the timing’s right, I’ll make a run at it."

As someone who has been in the position of cutting weight to continue competing in a sport he loves, Tanelli offered this advice to young grapplers. "The biggest turnaround in my career was not cutting weight," Tanelli said. "I try to get across to younger kids that it’s not life or death. If you’re technically correct, that can overcome all the rest. My opinion is that if you’re good enough technically, it doesn’t matter what weight the other guy is. It’s easier to put muscle on than technique."