Meet the Ivy League grapplers making wrestling a family affair at Penn
Here's how Michael and Louis Colaiocco are bringing Brotherly Love to Penn's wrestling program.
Michael and Louis Colaiocco have been fans of each other for their entire lives.
Louis, a freshman, who is three years younger than Michael, a junior, shares a bond forged by being Penn wrestling teammates, being brothers — and being best friends.
As they reminisce on roughhousing throughout childhood, they had differing views on the competitive nature of their relationship.
“I wouldn’t say that we were overly competitive with it, it was more just a privilege,” Michael said. “The way I look at it is I have a training partner no matter the circumstances.”
“It was really competitive when we were little, wrestling in our living room,” Louis added. “I used to get pretty competitive with Michael and got excited when I took him down.”
Michael and Louis are among a pack of three Colaiocco brothers who wrestled, including middle brother Vincent. Growing up, the trio frequently traveled together to wrestling meets on the weekends.
Separated by three years in high school, Michael and Louis spent one season on the same team at Blair Academy, a school that features a renowned high school wrestling program.
Michael was the No. 1wrestler in the country at 126 pounds his senior year of high school. Louis entered his freshman year at Penn as a National Prep All-American.
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“Family is probably one of the most important things in my life,” Michael said. “The opportunity to share that experience in high school with Louis and my other brother Vincent was something that I’ll never forget and something that I’m grateful for.”
Michael has now spent three years wrestling at Penn, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he has had little opportunity in the postseason.
This season, he fell in the consolation bracket of the 2023 NCAA championship after advancing past one opponent. Michael finished the season with a 23-5 record and is ranked as the No. 6 wrestler at 133 pounds, according to InterMat wrestling.
“There’s not anyone on this team that reached their goals [at the NCAA championship],” Michael said. “I think that just adds more fuel to the fire. The way I view it, it gives us more energy. ... My goal next year is to be an NCAA champ.”
While Michael is chasing greatness on the mat, Louis is still adjusting to college life.
“Honestly, this transition into college was a little bit of a struggle for me, and having Michael here helped that out a lot,” Louis said. “I don’t how he did it alone. … Sometimes you feel alone and like there is no one that you’ve made a close connection with or to talk to about things. Having a sibling here, it’s a privilege.”
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As the brothers’ circumstances have changed, their relationship has evolved as well.
“If something goes wrong, I know that there’s always someone there for me, or whenever I need to talk about things,” Michael said. “It’s also been fun to pursue my goals alongside Louis … it’s special to have someone who has been supporting me my entire life.”
“It’s cool to see my brother achieving and pursuing his goals,” Louis added. “It’s inspiring, and it makes me want to follow in his footsteps even more and achieve the goals that I set for myself.”
Goals that will once again happen collectively as Michael and Louis will get one more year wrestling at Penn — together.