084: Orlando Cáceres
Note sull'episodio
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