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SPRINGFIELD: Northern Burlington wrestler is home grown champion

By Anthony Williams, Special Writer
   When a person walks into a sporting event at Northern Burlington County Regional High School — the name Melton is synonymous with respect and tradition.
   Every generation, from the grandfather-to the sons-to the grandsons, has represented the Greyhounds with great success and pride since 1964, and it can be said that being a Melton is being a Greyhound. It is with this foundation that the legacy that is the Melton name, which seemed impossible to build upon, recently grew from small town legend to Paul Bunyan size lure with the latest addition of Melton feats.
   Fourteen years ago, senior Cody Melton, 18, of Springfield laced up his first pair of wrestling shoes as a four-year-old, but his wrestling career began long before that.
   From birth, Mr. Melton was in Northern Burlington’s wrestling room every year, watching his older brother R.J. practice and learn the sport that would eventually make him a champion. His parents would have him attend his cousin Eddie’s high school matches and witness some of the most intense battles the sport has witnessed, immersing him in wrestling from day 1.
   Despite the good genetics, strength, size, and athleticism, nobody could have known then that the chubby, baby faced little boy with blonde hair and a contagious smile would grow up to become only the second NJSIAA State Wrestling Champion in Northern Burlington’s history, capturing the 285 pound weight class this past March, 35 years after Andy Zuckerman captured the school’s first title at 108 pounds in 1977.
   It would take an entire book to chronicle the younger Melton’s athletic career and describe what got him to this point, but the best spot to begin would be the 2011 Region 7 Finals, where he faced Paul VI’s Greg Webb in the 285 pound finals for the third time in his high school career.
   Mr. Webb was an imposing figure; standing well over 6-feet tall, weighing all of the 285 pound limit, and possessing athleticism and strength college coaches drool over. College scouts had already taken notice of him on the football field, and it was well documented that he would have his pick of Division I football scholarships upon graduation, but it wasn’t football season, he wasn’t graduating, and a Melton stood across from him when he stepped on the mat.
   To an untrained eye, the shorter, less chiseled, baby faced blonde would appear to have bitten off more than he could chew against Mr. Webb, but for the ones who knew of the men, the myths, and the legends, they knew a battle was about to ensue. Six minutes later, the two largest athletes in the room were deadlocked in a 1-1 tie. Mr. Melton would go on to lose a 2-1 decision in triple overtime, but his effort and near defeat of ‘Goliath’ had a lot of people taking notice.
   "I was trying to make a name for myself entering districts my junior year and pinned my way through districts and regions until I lost in overtime to Webb,” Mr. Melton said. “That match was almost like a coming out party for me. It’s when people really started talking about me and asking questions about who I was, and it was where I really started to believe that I belonged in the same conversation with the state’s best heavyweights.”
   Mr. Melton would go on to win his first round match at states, but dropped his next two to end his junior campaign.
   Three weeks before Melton’s final high school wrestling season began, he suffered a near devastating injury as he partially tore a ligament in right ankle while playing football. The injury kept him off the mat for the first month of the season, and he didn’t get in a full contact practice until after Christmas.
   "Coming into the season, I felt a little pressure because I was the second highest placing wrestler at states last year behind Webb,” Mr. Melton said. “And starting the season with the injury really kept me from getting in the right frame of mind.”
   Mr. Melton’s lack of preparedness showed early on as he dropped two of his first six matches to start off the season 4-2, despite being ranked second in the state. His first loss came in the finals of the Collingswood Christmas Tournament, where he fell to a wrestler from Virginia 4-3, and then a week later he suffered a similar 2-1 defeat in the finals of the David Brearley Tournament to Kevin Wilkins from Don Bosco.
   Mr. Melton’s father, Robert Melton Sr. shared his son’s sentiments about his preparedness in the beginning of the season and his troubles with tougher opponents. It was obvious to everybody watching from the outside that the injury was taking its toll on Cody, whether he said it or not.
   "Losing (those matches) was a humbling experience for us,” the elder Melton said. “We came into the season with high hopes and a desire to get another shot at Webb, but after those two setbacks, we had to regroup and rethink our game plan. We, (Mr. Melton and Coach Dolci), knew the ankle was affecting him because he wasn’t using it, and we even considered sitting him out for a while to allow the injury to fully heal, but Cody found alternative ways to continue training without aggravating the injury further.”
   After the second loss, Mr. Melton said he began to doubt his ability to reach the goals he had set for himself in the beginning of the season, but refused to run from tough competition. When given the chance to compete in the 2012 All-Star Classic at Brick Memorial High School, Mr. Melton jumped at the chance to take on the third ranked wrestler in the state, John Appice from Manalapan, despite some people prodding him to reconsider putting his state ranking on the line.
   "Some people tried talking me out of the match, talking about rankings and seedings at states,” Mr. Melton said. “But rankings are just that, rankings, and I felt like this was another opportunity for me to prove to myself and my detractors that I deserved to be there.”
   Mr. Melton scored a takedown at the third period buzzer and was able to sneak away with a 4-3 win and reestablish his place among the state’s best heavyweights.
   The win at the All-Star Classic would go a long way in dictating the remainder of Mr. Melton’s season, as he steam rolled his way through the regular season, and carried that momentum into the state tournament this past March.
   "It just clicked for him after that win,” Melton’s father said. “You could see he began to dominate opponents and control matches from that point on, and he was able to carry that momentum all the way to Atlantic City.”
   En route to the state finals, Mr. Melton captured his second District 25 Championship, and knocked off Cinnaminson’s Sam Ekwonike 2-1 to capture his first Region 7 crown as well.
   Once in Atlantic City, Mr. Melton wrestled every match like it was his last. He followed the game plan to a ‘T,’ control and dominate. The championship tournament was held the weekend of March 9 to March 11.
   "I wrestled the four best matches of my life,” Mr. Melton said. “I wrestled mistake free and took charge from the opening whistle.”
   Mr. Melton had a 3-0 advantage in the third period of the state finals against Morris Knoll’s Jermaine Eluemunor, and turned back every offensive attack Eluemunor tried to mount against him to win 3-1.
   "When he rode that guy out in the third period for the first minute and twenty seconds, I knew he was going to be a state champion,” his father, Robert Melton Sr., said. “He hadn’t been taken down since the All-Star Classic and had only given up five points through district, regions, and states, so right then I knew he had done it.”
   Mr. Melton was very judicious in giving credit to everybody that helped him get to where he is today.
   "It’s a testament to the entire Northern Wrestling program, from the youth all the way through the high school,” Mr. Melton said. “A lot of people put time and effort into making me a champion, and I want them to know I will always remember where I came from. I’m a home grown champion. From dad driving me around as a kid, to mom’s cooking, to Coach Dolci, Coach Graf, Coach Wonesh, Coach McMullen and everybody in between, this means a lot to me.”
   Mr. Melton won 32 straight matches to end his high school wrestling career with a 106-21 record, while maintaining a 3.9 GPA in school. He was also a member of the National Honor Society and the Student Council treasurer. Mr. Melton will be continuing his pursuit of wrestling and academic excellence at The College of New Jersey, which he will be attending this fall.