Wrestling | 2/24/2017 4:06:00 PM

ROCHESTER, NY — RIT wrestler Tory Cain (Ontario, NY/Wayne) had reached the pinnacle of success in March of 2015. He became the 16th RIT wrestler to earn All-American honors, placing fifth at the NCAA Championships, while winning 32 matches along the way. It is safe to say he capped off his career as a Tiger in the perfect way.
 
Cain, who was a senior biomedical sciences major in 2014-15, had his whole life planned out. Following his senior season he was off to take part in an internship in Guadalajara, Spain, thinking his wrestling days were over.
 
"Tory being off a year, he wanted to end his career the way we did," said current RIT assistant coach and former All-American wrestler Brad Mayville.
 
Cain, who had one more semester of eligibility, eventually decided to come back as the school year started. Once Cain was eligible to wrestle again in January, he advanced to the title match of the Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Championship at 174 lbs., before falling to a nationally-ranked competitor. Cain said it took time to get back into the swing of things, but he is now back in mid-season form.
 
"It's a hard sport, it's a tough sport, so you can't really just hop right back into it and expect to earn all American status again," said Cain. "I lost the final match my first tournament back this year, which was good and bad. It made me know that I had to work, I kind of got to see where I was at, and now I'm feeling good and strong toward the end of the year."
 
Cain has now put together six straight wins on the mat since that first loss, and is 9-1 on the year, including a perfect 6-0 in dual meets. He has accumulated an 87-40 career record while battling injuries, but when healthy, has put together 26 and 32 win seasons.
 
Jason Bovenzi, who served as an assistant at the university for two seasons before being named the head coach this year, said it is an awesome feeling having a former All-American come back to the team, but he is glad that Cain has come back as strong as he has.
 
"Tory has a goal of wanting to be a two-time All-American," said Bovenzi. "He's currently a one-time All-American, which is a tremendous feat and an honor to have achieved, but I think he sees it as an opportunity for him to further distinguish himself."
 
What brought Cain back after we all thought he had called it a career? No one else but Mayville, his lifelong friend and teammate. They wrestled together at Wayne High school, at RIT, and earned All-American honors together in 2015.
 
"When we were little we thought we were going to be the best," said Mayville. "We both were All-Americans the same year and it was awesome."
 
"When I came back and coach Bovenzi became our head coach, I think that just motivated him even more," said Mayville. "He obviously got fifth our senior year, and now he's ready to win the national championship and he definitely has the right mindset for it."
 
The return of Cain has created a new dynamic in the Ronald S. Ricotta Wrestling Locker Room, as Mayville, a 2015 Criminal Justice graduate, had wrestled with several of the upperclassmen on the 2016-17 roster. Cain now calls Mayville coach, but he said it's helped him get better on the mat as well, being able to look up to one of his best friends.
 
"It's hard to call him coach, as I used to room with him and wrestle with him," said Cain. "I remember the first week of practice coming back, I was in the locker room by myself not sure what I was doing. I feel kind of old, my body is beat down, but it took some work, but coach Bovenzi and coach Mayville, I know they know how to get us ready."
 
This weekend, Cain and the RIT wrestling team, is off to compete in the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships in York, Pa., where a spot in the NCAA Championships in on the line. The Tigers' coaching staff said they believe in Cain in getting another trip to NCAA's, but no matter what happens, Cain has proved again that his work ethic on the mat will also translate well in life after college.
 
"Tory Cain (Ontario, NY/Wayne) is going to be successful, and he has already been successful," said Bovenzi. "He does all the right things, he has all the right character traits. When there's adversity, he can get past it. Tory has been a success for RIT wrestling and he'll represent himself and his family and the school in the same way once he graduates. We're real proud of him and happy to have him back."
 
Action at the two-day NCAA Mideast Regional Championship begins Saturday at 11 a.m., and resumes Sunday at 10 a.m. The top three wrestlers from each weight class advance to the 2017 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships.