One of a kind: RBC wrestler Michael DiBiase wins titles, plays cello and pushes for a state medal

Two years ago, the wrestling career of Red Bank Catholic senior Michael DiBiase was at a crossroads.

He had been homeschooled for his first two years of high school and competed for the wrestling team at Wall, where he won a pair of district titles and was a two-time state qualifier for the Crimson Knights. However, the Wall Board of Education approved a policy change in 2023 that no longer allowed homeschooled students to participate in school sports, clubs or extracurricular activities.

It meant DiBiase would have to either continue being homeschooled and give up wrestling for a high school team or find a new school.

He was intrigued by the up-and-coming program at RBC under veteran coach Joe Gallagher, which had been making notable strides. The Caseys didn’t have a state place-winner for 40 years before producing five under Gallagher, including three in the past three years, led by three-time state place-winner Sabino Portella. They also won their first NJSIAA sectional title in 2022.

RBC ended up being the perfect spot for one of the Shore’s unique wrestlers to find his niche. One day he might be grinding an opponent to dust on the mat, the next playing cello in one of the state’s prestigious youth orchestras, and the next assisting Mass at St. James Church as an altar server.

“When the township changed its policy, not allowing home school students to wrestle, my coaches really fought for me to stay, but it wasn’t able to happen,” DiBiase said. “But I can’t say I regret that. At this point, RBC is probably the best choice I could’ve made. I’m very happy with how it played out. I have found a home here.”

DiBiase is now a four-time district champion after capturing the title at 113 in District 27 on Feb. 22, while senior Frank Romeo (165) became the first three-time district champion to achieve that feat entirely at RBC. The Caseys also won their first district team title in program history.

“It felt like a major stepping stone,” DiBiase said. “Coach talks all the time about our team having built a program from the ground up. We’re pretty good now, but it had taken years to get to that point.”

DiBiase’s focus now turns to a goal he came agonizingly short of achieving last season – a state medal. He has been on a steady upward trajectory in Atlantic City, losing in the first round of wrestlebacks as a freshman, the second round as a sophomore and the fourth round as a junior, all at 106.

He just missed out on a spot on the podium when he lost last year in what is known as the blood round, where the winner is guaranteed at least an eighth-place finish and a state medal.

“I’ve been (to Atlantic City) a few times already, so I’m feeling confident about myself and think I can make a run this year,” DiBiase said. “I want to make sure I focus on what’s in front of me first, starting with my first match at Regions and moving on from there.”

Starting on Friday night, he faces a gauntlet at 113 as the No. 3 seed in Region 7, which features a familiar face as the top seed. If he wins the title, it will put the whole state on notice, as he is an underdog in a rugged bracket.

The top seed is Southern junior Anthony Mason, the state runner-up at 106 who beat DiBiase in last season’s quarterfinals. Lurking as the No. 2 seed is Shawnee’s Jordan Segal, who took fourth in the state at 106 last year. The top four finishers in the weight class advance to Atlantic City next weekend.

Wrestling for something bigger

In addition to his personal aspirations, DiBiase has also dedicated this season to RBC assistant coach Colin Monahan, who died from cancer at 28 in October 2024. After DiBiase won the District 27 title, he pointed to the sky in Monahan’s memory.

The former Freehold star was only a coach for the Caseys for one year, but he made a profound impact on DiBiase.

“Even when I was bawling my eyes out when I lost in the fourth round of wrestlebacks, he sat there and comforted me as I was staring up at the roof of the building,” DiBiase said. “And for that, I genuinely cannot forget him. When he passed away, that really affected me.”

“He was crushed about that,” Gallagher said. “He had a tough time with that for a while.”

The Caseys wrestled this season with Monahan’s initials on their singlets.

“When I told (DiBiase) about the initials on the back of the singlet, he kept saying thank you to me for about a month,” Gallagher said. “He just got a huge smile on his face.”

The wrestling cellist

DiBiase is almost certainly the only current high-level wrestler in New Jersey who has had to leave a quad meet early because he had to perform with a prestigious orchestra.

He is part of the New Jersey Symphony Youth Orchestra, which is coached by some of the most accomplished musicians in the state. Once a week, he heads to the Middletown Arts Center to practice with the orchestra. DiBiase played multiple instruments growing up before gravitating toward the cello.

“It’s a blessing to be able to play for that kind of an orchestra and get to play an instrument I genuinely enjoy practicing and playing,” he said. “I think it was just my commitment to playing it, and knowing that if I can start anything from the ground up and start working at it, I can get really good at it. It was always a cool instrument. It just spoke to me.”

The discipline and time that it takes to improve are similar to wrestling in DiBiase’s mind.

“Kids in middle school say they want to be wrestlers or play an instrument, and they end up dropping it in a few years because they don’t want to put in the time and effort,” he said.

The precision and calm DiBiase displays while playing the cello are contrasted by his ferocity on a wrestling mat.

“He’s such a sweetheart, but he’s such a violent wrestler,” Gallagher said. “It’s not dirty at all, but he’s just strong and he’s nasty. My son (RBC sophomore Joseph Gallagher) drills with him, and he has black eyes like twice a week.”

“To be perfectly honest, when I go out there and wrestle, half the time I genuinely forget what I’m doing as I’m doing it,” DiBiase said. “I turn on a switch and just go into ‘I want to beat this guy’ mode. It happens really fast.”

Reaching the podium

If DiBiase is going to finally get over the hump and secure that elusive state medal, he most likely is going to have to go through a familiar group of opponents.

In addition to dealing with Mason and Segal in Region 7, the 113-pound weight class also features defending state champion Cam Sontz of Delbarton, who beat Mason 9-1 in the state final at 106 season. DiBiase gave Sontz a test in the Region 5 semifinals last season in a 4-1 loss on his way to finishing third in the region.

Also returning is St. Joseph-Montvale junior Charlie Esposito, who DiBiase knows all too well. Esposito is the one who beat him 6-1 in the blood round last year to dash his medal hopes, and he also beat DiBiase 11-0 at the Catholic School Duals this season.

“I’ve talked with a mindset coach this year about just scoring points and not thinking about the outcome or looking at the clock or thinking about what I have to do to score on this guy,” DiBiase said. “If I do that, it’ll help me to focus on wrestling as a whole.”

At this point, he is used to the atmosphere at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City that can overwhelm wrestlers who haven’t experienced it. Gallagher also lined up a challenging schedule this season for the Caseys with the goal of preparing them for the postseason meatgrinder in the individual tournament.

“My first year, I was so psyched out and tired (in Atlantic City), but over the years I’ve gotten better at managing that,” he said. “I think if I get there a fourth time it will just be another day in the office.”

DiBiase can be so intense in his approach, whether it’s playing the cello or wrestling, that it can be to his detriment.

“I want wrestling to be fun, which was the main thing I had to convince myself,” he said. “I took inspiration from watching (Penn State star) Mitchell Mesenbrink wrestle. He kept shooting over and over, and just going for it even if some got stopped. That’s the kind of way I want to wrestle. Not thinking about brackets, or what this kid’s gonna do, just focusing on scoring points.”

DiBiase’s Catholic faith is also an integral part of his life, which factored in his college decision. He will wrestle for Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina, which bills itself as “the Catholic college of the South.” The analytical DiBiase plans on majoring in engineering.

“When I was looking for colleges I wanted not only to have a good education and wrestling career, but at the same time have a school where I would be able to honor my Catholic faith,” he said. “A lot of big-name schools, I was thinking, ‘Would I be able to talk to most of the people here about my faith?’ That’s the kind of thing I really had to consider.”

Before he gets to the next level, he still has one order of business – standing on that podium at Boardwalk Hall. He took Mason to the edge in a 2-1 loss in the quarterfinals last year on a stalling call, which showed how close he could be to competing with the best.

“I know that last match I wrestled that day (against Mason), I was hanging in with everybody,” he said. “If I can wrestle like that this time around, I don’t know if there’s anybody I can’t beat.”

Scott Stump is a freelance reporter, newsletter writer and editor who first started covering Shore Conference football in 1999 and has covered basketball, wrestling, baseball and seemingly every other Shore Conference sport at some point. 

You can contact him at [email protected]