Friendship matters

By Mark Feldman

WATERFORD - They're the matched set at Waterford High School wrestling matches.

One wrestles at 140 pounds, the other at 145 pounds, so their matches come back-to-back most of the time.

They have matching floppy haircuts. They have been best friends since kindergarten and practically grew up together.

When high school came, one went to Waterford, the other to Park.

For three years they wrestled without each other. But a day at the beach over the border down Mexico way changed that. Now the childhood buddies are reunited on the same team for their last high school season.

And these two best friends, who have grown up together, trained together, competed together and have the same first name, are at the top of their games.

Seniors Anthony D'Alie and Anthony Azarian are undefeated this season for the Wolverines, and both rank among the best in the state in their weight classes. D'Alie is 15-0 and is ranked No. 1 in the state at 140 pounds in the Wisconsin Wrestling Online rankings. Azarian is 11-0 and ranked third in the state by WWO at 145.

Having top-flight competition at practice has made all the difference for both wrestlers, Waterford coach Henry Agallar said.

"I think it's noticeable," Agallar said. "They push each other. They battle in practice. And having two guys as good as they are going against each other can only help both of them. Before, D'Alie could beat most of our guys. Now they really battle. When they go at it, you'll see them do combinations of 7 or 8 moves in a row that most guys wouldn't even try.

"Sometimes D'Alie is a little too aggressive, and I think Azarian can be a little too passive," Agallar said. "By working together, D'Alie has learned to relax a little bit, and Azarian has learned to go after it a little bit more. They have been good for each other that way."

While at Park last season, Azarian went 25-4 and placed second at 135 pounds at the WIAA Division 1 state wrestling tournament. He lost the championship match 8-2 to Dustin Perry of Merrill. D'Alie went 32-4 and qualified for the state tournament at 130 pounds. He lost his first match.

Now the two have one goal: "Win state and have D'Alie right there with me doing the same thing," Azarian said. "I also would love to have our team go to team state. I've never done that before, and that would be awesome if we could."

With D'Alie and Azarian solidifying the middle weights, the Wolverines have a chance to get to the state team tournament. Both went 4-0 at the Kettle Moraine Invitational Dec. 30 and Waterford placed second among 18 teams.

"As a coach, it's a great feeling to have those two weight classes wrapped up in almost any meet," Agallar said. "They also can score a lot of points for us in tournaments, too. They can pile up wins and pile up points."

D'Alie won the 140-pound championship at the Ed Stech Invitational last month, becoming a three-time champion at the prestigious meet. He went 3-0 at the Beloit Memorial Invitational Dec. 11, and went 4-0 at Kettle Moraine and was named the outstanding wrestler at that match.

"I'm wrestling so much better right now," D'Alie said. "I have some competition at practice. It's like wrestling the best kid on any team every day."

Azarian went 3-0 at Beloit and 4-0 at Kettle Moraine, where he finished third in the outstanding wrestler voting.

"At Waterford, I have a guy that goes through the same things I am, like cutting weight, training and practicing. It makes things a lot easier for me," Azarian said. "This has really boosted my confidence. Having Ole (D'Alie's nickname) around is like having another me to practice with. I lot of people think we're twins."

Considering how close the two families are, that's no surprise. D'Alie's father Anthony and Azarian's father Sam are best friends. Anthony Azarian's middle name is D'Alie. The two boys started wrestling in the Washington Park Kids Club when they were 5 years old.

"We grew up together and we wrestled together all the time," D'Alie said. "We were at tournaments every week, even twice a week. The families have just been so close."

Last summer, the families traveled to Cozumel, Mexico for vacation. It was there, under the hot Mexican sun, that the two seniors-to-be decided to join forces. Now Azarian lives with D'Alie.

Adding Azarian to the lineup didn't create much distraction to the Wolverines, Agallar said.

"He didn't really displace anyone because we have such a small squad to begin with," he said. "We go only one guy deep at most weights. It's amazing we have done as well as we have so far."

So day after day, the two state-ranked wrestlers hone their skills against a state-ranked wrestler in the practice room. But no one - not Agallar, D'Alie or Azarian - will say who has the upper hand in those training sessions.

"It's pretty darn even," Agallar said. "If I said one way or the other I probably would never hear the end of it."

Strangely, the two, in all their years of wrestling, have never faced each other in a real competitive match. Not in kid club, not at any tournaments, not anywhere at anytime.

"Never," D'Alie said. "We never had the chance. I wouldn't mind doing it sometime in the future. It would be a pretty good battle."