Pallotti Senior Competes in First Martial Arts Fight

Cary Caprio grew up playing soccer and basketball with the Laurel Boys and Girls Club.

And as a student at , the Laurel resident has competed in wrestling and cross country.

But for about the past 18 months, Caprio, who turns 18 in April, has discovered a new athletic role as a competitor in mixed martial arts (MMA), a competitive form of martial arts that blends boxing, grappling, and kickboxing among others.  

And it came about mostly by accident. 

“I just kind of moved into it,” said Caprio, who had his first bout last month in Sterling, VA.

He has done this while dealing with Crohn's disease, a chronic condition that causes inflammation of the digestive tract leading to abdominal pain, among other symptoms. Caprio was diagnosed with the disease in 2007 after suddenly losing 20 pounds during the summer.

"He went to summer camp in Pennsylvania and he was 95 pounds," said Samuel Caprio, Cary's father. "He was down to 75 pounds when we picked him up eight weeks later. We did not know what the problem was."

Still, Cary said he's learned to persevere.

"I deal with it. I suck it up," Caprio said of his condition. "I go for treatment about every six weeks, for about fours hours at a time. I get an infusion, medicine, through IV."

Caprio, who lives in North Laurel and is a rising senior at Pallotti, began working out with trainer Robert Crawford of , who also works with boxers, about 10 years ago by doing Brazilian jiujitsu at the Laurel Boys and Girls Club. Brazilian jiujitsu is one of the disciplines of MMA, Crawford noted.

“The first year I was not that great, but then I really started to get it,” said Caprio, who attended First Baptist in Laurel before heading to Pallotti as a freshman.

On July 31 at the Dulles Sportsplex in Northern Virginia, he competed in his first MMA bout. He came away with a loss by TKO at the hands of Orlando Torres as the 2:43 mark of round three. Torres is 24 years old, Crawford said.

"Torres dropped to his knees after the fight. And after the fight he came over and spoke to us. He said when Cary turns 24 he wants no part of him," said Crawford, with a laugh. "Cary did a very good job."

Caprio has been able to compete despite his condition. He missed 20 days of school in eighth grade but still had a 4.0 grade point average, according to his father. His GPA at Pallotti is around 4.2. "He is a tough kid," said his father.

Likewise, Crawford said that Cary has always been up to a challenge, even when he was at disadvantage.

"He has Crohn's disease. It has impended his growth, his strength. But he has never feared going against bigger people or mature people. He would play around with some adults that would come in and train when he was younger," Crawford said. "His heart and drive—oh, you can't buy that anywhere." 

Caprio goes for treatments every six to eights weeks for three hours in a day, said his mother Daphne Rodriguez. The visits to the doctor includes weight and height measurements and an infusion. Caprio misses a few days of school each year due to the process, but his mother said he doesn’t allow it to hold him back.

"He does not talk about it. He does not like to talk about it," she said. "He does not share that.

Caprio, who said he may want to study psychology after high school, ran cross country last fall for Pallotti, but this year plans to compete in just wrestling for the Panthers. He was on the wrestling team as a sophomore and junior at Pallotti under veteran head coach Tom Owens.

David Tenney, who coaches cross country and is an assistant wrestling coach at Pallotti, has had Caprio on both teams.

"We throw him into the varsity lineup at some points" in wrestling, Tenney said. "He works hard. He is a good member of the team."

Tenney said one would never know Caprio has Crohn's disease by watching him compete.

"I may get a note from his mom that he has to be out today for treatment. Other than that you would not know it. He is not the type of kid that complains," Tenney said.

Caprio said his next MMA bout “is up in the air” and added that it is harder to compete in MMA events during the academic year.

“Right now I am taking a break. I need to work on everything, of course, in MMA, including my strength and jiujitsu,” said Caprio, who competes at around 135 pounds.

Even though Caprio is not rushing to get back into the ring, Crawford said he's already plotting a course for Caprio when he returns to tournaments.

"He said he wants to wait until he is 19 until he goes out again" for a bout, Crawford said. "I am going to put him into amateur kickboxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling tournaments. Plus, he will be wrestling for Pallotti."