TREY CULOTTA INVITATIONAL WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Since its inception in 2000, the Trey Culotta Invitational has occupied a special place in the wrestling schedule for Southeast Louisiana. As a tournament that sought out the best teams and the best wrestlers, the Trey Culotta has seen more than its fair share of great wrestling, exceptional champions and dramatic bouts. The trophies, medals and other awards handed out by the Culotta family are always displayed proudly by their winners, in large part due to the quality of competition each wrestler faces in the tournament matches. The tournament also enjoys a reputation as a well-run and efficient operation, making for not only a top competitive experience for the participants, but also an enjoyable atmosphere for friends and family as spectators.
The tournament is special also for the fact that it is sponsored by the Trey Culotta Foundation. The generous donations from the foundation allow teams to enter and participate without having to pay an entry fee. It has always been the hope of Brother Martin High School and the Culotta family that each wrestler, spectator or other person involved in the tournament will take away some of the spirit of Trey Culotta himself, a young man known as having the heart of a lion. Trey's life remains a shining example of triumph over adversity, dedication to a noble cause, and service to others, all admirable traits at the cornerstone of the philosophy of Brother Martin High School. It is also the hope of those who sponsor the tournament that young men who learn of Trey's untimely passing will be reminded of the importance of acting responsibly about drinking, driving and protecting friends who might place themselves in harm's way.
It has been the privilege of Brother Martin High School to work with the Culotta family to sponsor the annual Trey Culotta Invitational Wrestling Tournament and to spread the word about the extraordinary young man in whose memory the tournament is named. The Culottas and Brother Martin believe in the message of this event and have undertaken a vision to host the tournament in a regional format, so that even more young men can take part in this very worthwhile experience. Brother Martin looks forward to another great tournament in this upcoming season, and to welcoming familiar and new faces from around Louisiana and the South Central United States to New Orleans and two days of exciting wrestling action.
A Heart of a Lion
Many of you may have heard of Trey Culotta and his wrestling accomplishments. What many of you may not know is how much Brother Martin High School and its faculty and staff did for Trey. In 1992 when Trey started at Brother Martin, he was given special help in two basics of high school life: organization and discipline. The love and attention of the staff and faculty of Brother Martin were a very important reason why Trey found success and loved his alma mater so very much.
When Trey started at Brother Martin in the eighth grade, he desperately wanted to play football for Brother Martin. He was uncoordinated and slow and very much unable to perform some of the simplest instructions. It was understandable that he was cut and never even given a helmet. Trey was crushed! We then encouraged Trey to try out for the wrestling team. We knew that he would be in better physical condition and might find some success as an athlete and be encouraged to try out again next season for football.
The wrestling coach, Coach Wisniewski, indicated that he was trying to rebuild the wrestling program. Although we told him of Trey's failure in the football program, he still agreed to let Trey try out. The initial outlook for Trey as a wrestler was equally as dim as it was for football. To this day, Coach Wiz and Coach Dauterive will tell you that they never thought he would make it. Yet we knew one thing no one else knew: this was a determined young man whose heart was bigger than his smile.
By the time Trey was a sophomore at Brother Martin, he began to grow. He was over six feet and, thanks to wrestling, strong, well conditioned and self-confident. His size was beginning to attract attention when Brother Martin's legendary football coach, Robert Conlin, met Trey in the hall one day and asked him why he wasn't going out for football. Trey proudly told him, "I'm a wrestler and I an going to stay a wrestler".
Trey also grew in his love for friends, school and family. He protected those less able to protect themselves and demonstrated that his heart had grown even more. The rest of Trey's athletic career is well known to most of you. He was the 1996 LHSAA heavyweight champion as a junior and repeated his senior year in a magical overtime match that will forever delight his friends and family. After Brother Martin, Trey attended Holy Cross College and began working in Criminal District Court. He seemed to have turned the corner and found his way to adulthood and his future.
The end of Trey's life was the ultimate gift of love. He gave his life to save his friend. Trey had gone out that night to convince his friend that he should return to school. When Trey realized that the accident was occurring, he, with what had grown into a heart of lion, acted instinctively to protect his friend from physical injury in the tragic accident of October 1, 1999.
The Culotta family cannot say enough good things about the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and Brother Martin High School. We want to help support Brother Martin's academic program and help other less fortunate men benefit from the wonderful experience that is Brother Martin High School. The Trey Culotta Foundation will establish and support an academic scholarship in Trey's name. Please join us in some fun and good times for Brother Martin High School and the young men that will benefit from this foundation.
Van and Mimi Culotta
