Observer-Reporter Athlete of the Week
Name: Camden Fontenot
School: Canon-McMillan
Sport: Wrestling
Year: Sophomore
Fontenot’s week: Fontenot entered the Tri-County Athletic Directors Association unseeded in the 126-pound weight class. That didn’t stop him from winning the title.
Fontenot opened with a 15-6 major decision over Austin Riffle of Burgettstown and followed with a 7-4 decision over No. 2 seed Logan Henderson of Waynesburg. Fontenot then handled Ty Gross of Seneca Valley, 20-9, in the semifinals and finished with a 5-1 win over top-seeded Hunter Neely of Bentworth.
Fontenot said the seeding motivated him.
“It made me mad,” he said. “I have wrestled Neely before and he beat me before. It doesn’t matter. If you come out and wrestle hard, you can beat any seeded wrestler.”
Neely decisioned Fontenot, 9-3, last year in the fight for third place at 106 pounds in this event. Neely also beat Fontenot in the Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling tournament.
Finding the right sport: Fontenot came to Canonsburg when his father got a job here. He previously lived in Houston, Texas and played a different sport.
“I played basketball first,” he said. “Wrestling is so big here. A friend of mine got me into it and I love it. Now, he doesn’t wrestle anymore.”
Camden Fontenot has a twin brother, Cameron, who plays on the junior varsity basketball team at Canon-McMillan. They are both talented with the only difference being Cameron doesn’t have to make weight to play in a basketball game.
“He started wrestling when he was in seventh or eight grade and he’s in 10th grade now. He’s following it now, so he’s starting to catch up,” said Jason Cardillo, Canon-McMillan’s head coach.
Good work ethic: Fontenot credits his workout partners, and in particular Matt Oblock, for his progression. Fontenot and Oblock, a 120-pounder last season, combined for a 51-22 record. Fontenot was 19-11 and Oblock 32-11.
“I’ve been wrestling for five years, but this is the first time I was really serious about it,” said Fontenot. “Matt pushes me. In practice, he broke me. I couldn’t go any more, and I didn’t want to wrestle at all. I needed that.”
Compiled by Joe Tuscano