Marchetti’s Rise Built on Work, Belief and Tough Rooms

WAVERLY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Alex Marchetti has a Fargo national championship, an Outstanding Wrestler award and a growing reputation as one of Pennsylvania’s rising young wrestlers. But the Wyoming Seminary standout does not define himself through medals, rankings or attention. Instead, Marchetti talks about practice rooms, difficult losses, early-morning lifts and the people who pushed him long before he became a Fargo champion.

That foundation carried Marchetti to one of the biggest accomplishments in youth wrestling this summer: the 16U Freestyle national championship at 132 pounds in Fargo, North Dakota. He defeated fellow Pennsylvania wrestler and Mat Assassins training partner C.J. Caines, 5-1, in the championship final. The matchup was especially significant because the two wrestlers had already pushed each other through practices in the Mat Assassins room.

“I wrestled CJ in the room the week before Fargo, and I kind of figured out how to wrestle him,” Marchetti said. “I started getting my offense going, and that kind of put belief in me that I could go and be a Fargo champ this year.”

Marchetti completed the tournament as a national champion and was also named the event’s Outstanding Wrestler. He did not expect the honor and was not even in the building when it was announced. “I actually wasn’t expecting to get that OW,” Marchetti said. “I wasn’t even in the building when they announced that I was the OW. I was outside at the black market trying to trade singlets.” Coach Kyle Martin called him and told him to return to the wrestling area, but Marchetti said he had no idea why. “They didn’t even tell me I was getting the OW until they gave me the trophy,” he said. “It was a big shock for me. I didn’t think that I got it. I thought there were other guys that deserved it over there, but I was really happy they gave me that.”

The Fargo title is a major accomplishment, but Marchetti does not view it as the finish line. Freestyle is the style he is most drawn to, and he has bigger goals ahead. “I really like freestyle,” Marchetti said. “I want to make a World Team next year. That’s my goal. But this was just another step to get to that World Team and hopefully a world championship.”

Fargo is a demanding tournament that tests a wrestler far beyond the mat. Competitors manage weight, recovery, long days, early workouts and the pressure of repeated matches against elite opponents. Marchetti said one of the toughest parts of the week was simply getting enough rest. “Honestly, the dorms probably,” he said. “Trying to get good sleep in those dorms. We were waking up early mornings, going to work out, trying to get my weight good, and then we didn’t get back to the dorms until 10 o’clock some nights.” The hot dorm rooms and late nights made recovery difficult, and Marchetti said he felt sick during a couple of matches. Still, he found a way to perform, a reflection of the mentality he developed in the wrestling rooms that helped shape him.

Marchetti began his wrestling journey at Keystone Kids under Coach Steve Mytych, where he started developing a deeper appreciation for the sport. His move to Mat Assassins Wrestling Club exposed him to higher-level training, skilled practice partners and coaches who pushed him beyond his natural toughness. “I owe that club a lot,” Marchetti said. “That club made me who I am today. It got me to where I am.”

When Marchetti first arrived at Mat Assassins, he said he was energetic and aggressive but lacked technical skill. “I came in there and I barely knew how to wrestle,” he said. “I was just a kid who was really aggressive and just kind of tough. I had no technique. I barely knew how to wrestle. My stance was terrible. My shots were terrible.” Coach Van Dobish had a memorable way of describing Marchetti’s early footwork. “You can ask Van—he would always tell me I had two left feet,” Marchetti said.

The criticism became part of a larger development process. Marchetti said the Mat Assassins room gave him the technique, strength and conditioning needed to turn toughness into results. “They took that broken kid and gave him some technique, put some strength behind him, some conditioning, and got me to where I am,” he said.

Dobish remains one of the most important people in Marchetti’s wrestling career. Marchetti described him as a demanding coach who keeps wrestlers accountable, but also as someone who is heavily invested in helping young athletes find opportunities. “Van is a really hard coach. He was a really tough coach, but he is also one of the nicest guys I know,” Marchetti said. “Not many people know it, but Van has taken me to so many tournaments. He’s paid for so many of my meals, my travel, just trying to get me to wrestle everywhere, trying to get me the best opportunity that I can.” Dobish’s influence, Marchetti said, is not just about the next match. “He’s always giving me advice and trying to help me understand the sport rather than just compete in that thing,” Marchetti said.

The Mat Assassins room is demanding by design. Marchetti said it has taught him that wrestlers cannot wait for perfect circumstances before expecting themselves to compete at a high level. “It’s just a tough, no-excuses room,” he said. “Coach Van doesn’t really care if you’re hurt, doesn’t care if you’re tired, if you got homework, if you didn’t sleep good last night.” He explained the lesson simply: “How are you going to feel at a tournament if you didn’t sleep the night before? You got to be mentally prepared, mentally strong and go out and be able to compete.”

At Wyoming Seminary, Marchetti has found another daily challenge. The nationally respected prep-school program requires athletes to balance academics, travel, recovery, strength work and high-level training. He said the schedule can be demanding, but it has made him more disciplined and open-minded. “It gets pretty demanding sometimes,” Marchetti said. “But at the end of the day, the reward in wrestling isn’t about the result. It’s about how you got there, how much time you put in, and how that affects you as a person.”

He credited Wyoming Seminary coaches Will Weber, Pat Heck and Darrien Roberts, as well as training partners Dale Corbin, Marcus Heck, Wyatt Spencer and Jake Schiavone, for helping him improve. He has also learned to use disappointment as motivation. Marchetti recalled losing to Jack Baron of Germantown Academy in the Powerade quarterfinals, a result that initially left him discouraged. “I remember after that match, I was all down. I was sad that I just lost,” Marchetti said. “Coach Weber came over to me and said that I wrestled a great match, and that all I had to do was focus on a few things to defend certain moves that Baron did.”

Weber turned the loss into a plan. “For the next probably three or four weeks, all Weber did was help me defend those moves and actually think about what I was doing instead of just trying to go out and be physical and tough,” Marchetti said. His folkstyle goals reflect that drive to grow. He wants to become an Ironman All-American after a performance last season that he believes did not show his best wrestling. “This year, I definitely want to be an Ironman All-American,” he said. “Last year, I had a really bad performance at Ironman. I want to redeem myself for it this year.”

Before big matches, Marchetti does not turn to music. He prefers to quiet himself, visualize what he wants to do and settle his nerves before he steps onto the mat. “I don’t listen to any music before my matches,” he said. “I kind of just like to be in my own headspace. I like to think about what I’m going to do.” He said he often sits down before competing and allows the tension to leave his body. “Just try to let all the nerves get out of my legs and my arms and just kind of chill out before my match,” he said.

Marchetti believes fans often see only the final score, placement or medal. They do not see the training that creates those results. “Everybody, they all see the results,” he said. “They see the matches, they see where you placed or how you did against another guy. But they don’t see the 5:30 a.m. lifts.” They do not see the injuries, recovery, schoolwork, long practices or mental fatigue. “They don’t see the work that gets put in,” he said.

He knows what it feels like to be far from a national champion. Marchetti remembers winning a state title in sixth grade as a turning point because he was still developing and had been losing often. “I wasn’t good yet. I was still a pretty bad wrestler, but winning that state bracket kind of gave me the confidence that I needed to help me get better and keep grinding,” he said. There was a time when he considered walking away from wrestling. “There was a time in wrestling where I wasn’t very good. I was losing all the time. I felt like I should just quit,” Marchetti said. “That kind of reassured me that I was doing the right thing by sticking with it.”

Outside of wrestling, Marchetti enjoys golf and history documentaries. He calls himself a history nerd, even though wrestling still occupies much of his attention. “If I’m not practicing, I’m watching wrestling, or I’m thinking about a match that I had,” he said. He wants to be known for more than rankings and trophies. “I just try to be myself all the time,” Marchetti said. “I don’t care what other people think. It kind of just all matters about how you view yourself.”

Faith provides Marchetti with perspective beyond competition. He said Christianity gives him purpose and shapes how he wants to treat people. “One day wrestling’s going to end, and after wrestling, what’s your purpose?” Marchetti said. “I think that gives me a goal, not only for my sport, but for who I want to be as a person—how I want to treat people, who I want to associate with.”

Marchetti’s Fargo championship is a major marker in his young career, but it is not the complete story. The bigger picture is a wrestler who once considered quitting, developed from a kid with “two left feet,” embraced hard coaching and learned alongside teammates such as Caines before having to face one of them for a national championship. He has already reached Fargo’s top step, but Marchetti’s attention has already moved to the next practice, the next tournament and the next opportunity to prove that his best wrestling is still ahead.