084: Orlando Cáceres

Orlando Cáceres didn't grow up expecting to become an Olympian.

Born in Puerto Rico to an Air Force family, Orlando eventually landed in Pemberton, New Jersey and started wrestling in seventh grade.

He considers himself an average young wrestler.

Then he got tired of losing.

What followed became one of the great — and often overlooked — stories in New Jersey wrestling history.

Orlando became:

🏆 2X New Jersey State Champion

🐝 Pemberton wrestling legend

🎓 Trenton State wrestler

🇵🇷 Puerto Rican National Team member

🔥 1984 Olympian

🥉 Two points away from an Olympic bronze medal

In this New Jersey Mat Chat Legends episode, Orlando takes us back to a completely different era of wrestling.

🤼 Orlando Cáceres

🏫 Pemberton High School

🏆 2X NJ State Champion

🎓 Trenton State

🇵🇷 1984 Puerto Rican Olympic Team

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00:00 The Godfather of MMA

01:06 Meet NJ Legend Orlando Cáceres

01:52 From Puerto Rico to Pemberton

02:48 How Orlando Started Wrestling

03:06 Why His Parents Wouldn’t Let Him Wrestle Varsity

04:35 Going From Average to Obsessed

05:17 Running Two Miles Before Practice

06:08 Wrestling in the 1970s

06:21 “Go Wrestle Every Bearded Man You See”

07:05 The Pemberton Wrestling Powerhouse

07:42 Becoming a Dark Horse NJ State Champion

08:32 State Final vs. Dale Mills

09:59 The Jump From Junior to Senior Year

10:14 Wrestling Grown Men in Open Tournaments

10:37 Training at Fort Dix With NJ Champions

11:13 Darryl Burley’s Influence

11:39 The 1980 State Final vs. Joe Duca

12:46 The Weight Cutting Mistake

13:09 Getting Recruited by Wrestling Powers

15:14 Becoming Pemberton’s First 2X State Champion

15:51 Why He Backed Out of Iowa

17:09 Choosing Arizona

17:30 Arizona Drops Its Wrestling Program

17:42 Coming Home to Trenton State

18:42 Struggling at Arizona

19:46 Why He Hated Collegiate Wrestling

20:18 Falling in Love With Freestyle

21:25 Coach Milt Schisler’s “Computer Match”

22:44 Why Wrestling Kept Him in College

23:04 Chasing Team USA & Puerto Rico

23:33 Missing the Plane to the USA Trials

24:23 Going Toe-to-Toe With Barry Davis

25:05 Wrestling in the 1984 Olympics

25:48 Orlando’s Olympic Run

26:34 Facing a World Champion From Japan

26:52 Two Points From an Olympic Bronze Medal

27:53 Life After the Olympics

28:36 The NJ Legends Orlando Helped Develop

29:09 Coaching Pat Lynch

29:46 Coaching at Peddie

31:39 Walking Away From Wrestling

32:28 Does an Olympian Have an Obligation to Give Back?

33:03 Gary Remembers Wrestling Orlando

34:07 Why Orlando Stepped Away From Coaching

35:20 Would He Have Made His Son Wrestle?

36:21 Greatest NJ High School Wrestler Ever?

37:38 New Jersey Mat Chat Outro