Anthony Aniciete

Athlete of the Month
Anthony Aniciete
Pictures and Content courtesy of The Aniciete Family
Hi, My name is Anthony Aniciete; I am seventeen and I am a Junior at Slam Academy in Las Vegas, NV. I started wrestling at the very young age of four because of how much I looked up to my two brothers–Napoleon and Alex Aniciete. When I was younger I remembered going to my brothers’ tournaments when they were in Youth Wrestling and throughout High School, and I knew that I always wanted to step onto that mat to wrestle, and most importantly have fun. As I got to the age where my parents would finally let me wrestle and start going to actual practices, they signed me up with Team GV where I wrestled under Coach Jake Rollans. Coach Jake helped me improve so much with the basic fundamentals and taught me how to love the sport, even at such a young age. We had a lot of success together, and as the years passed I just kept getting better and better
 
After some time–at the age of 10, I decided to leave Team GV and go to a different club that my brothers were coaching, known as the JR Wildcats and the A-team. With a simple team change, there was a drastic change in my wrestling due to me not having many partners, and I was not big enough yet to go live with my brothers. I did not have the success I wanted. I started to doubt myself a lot, and I was not having fun. I started to lose the love I had for the sport that I once had in me, and it honestly broke me. My parents and I then decided to take some time off of wrestling, and I tried soccer. We tried soccer for a couple of months and it was really fun, but after those months I felt like I was missing something in my life, and the thing I was missing was wrestling!
 
When I was in Seventh Grade we enrolled into Slam Academy. We chose to go to SLAM because I found out that Coach Jake was going to be teaching, and coaching there for wrestling. As the practices started, I found out that Coach Jake was not the Coach for the Youth Team, and the Head Coach was Coach Rios. Coach Rios helped me with all of the little things that were required for success in the sport of wrestling. We went to a lot of road trips to different states in the country and big tournaments like Tulsa Nationals and Reno Worlds, but I still, for the next two years, was not finding the success I wanted.
 
My Freshman year at Slam Academy, we had a stacked Coaching Staff with Coach Jake, my two brothers Alex Aniciete and Napoleon Anciete, Nathan Garcia, Coach Jimmy May, and many more coaches, and I had a successful season with a record 28-6. I placed at many big tournaments such as La Costa Invitational, Five Counties, and Holiday Classic. Without the help from all of these coaches I would not have found my love for wrestling again. We unfortunately did not have a State Championship due to Slam being a new school, and therefore we were ineligible to wrestle. In the off season of that year I knew the work was not over, my brothers Nap and Alex started getting me ready for Freshman Nationals in Virginia Beach. I ended up losing my first match, and I had to wrestle back nine matches to get into the placing rounds. I ended up accomplishing my goal of being an All-American–taking 5th as a Freshman at 120lbs.
 
For my Sophomore Year at Slam, Coach Zach Hocker came onto the staff and became the Assistant Coach for the High School Team. I was also getting lots of training with my brothers’ club (ATC) while training at Slam. I once again had a great season and made it to the finals at Five Counties and took 2nd at the 120 lb weight class. The Following week, I decided to move up a weight at Rockwell Rumble and also made it to the finals, but I fell short again. Having a chip on my shoulder for taking Second Place at Five Counties and Rockwell Rumble, I finally won the last two tournaments of my Sophomore Year. I teched and pinned my way to a Regional Championship, and I won my very first State Championship at 126 lbs.
 
Sadly my Junior Year was cut-off due to COVID, and Nevada shut down wrestling my whole Junior Season. My brothers’ club found a safe way to train during the COVID season, and we luckily got started back to work training for many of the big tournaments. We wrestled in a tournament in Wisconsin where I defeated the #6 kid in the country at 138lbs, but I came up short and took Second at the tournament. Then we traveled to Virginia Beach for the NHSCA, where I placed Fifth at 126lbs. I am currently training with my brothers’ club; Aniciete Training Club with Napoleon and Alex Anciete, Valyen Rouser, and Antonio Jauregui.
 
I would like to say thank you to all of these people below:
● My four brothers (Nap, Alex, Val, and Big Ant), thank you for always pushing me in the wrestling room and always believing in me with whatever I am doing. Without your help I would not be the wrestler I am today, and I am excited to see what the future brings for all of us and the club.
● My parents Joey and Khaye Aniciete, thank you for always giving me the opportunity to wrestle every chance I can, and thank you for pushing me to be the best person I can be. Love you guys!
● Coach Jake and Coach Hocker, thank you for always being there during the season supporting me with every decision I make and for always having my back no matter the situation.
● All of my partners that I have ever wrestled with–thank you all for always pushing me during practices and for making this tough sport really fun.
● Coach Rios for helping me progress so much during my 7th and 8th grade years. Without your help banging with me in the wrestling room, I would not have grown up to be such a mature young wrestler.