I couldn’t believe what I was reading.

The sun had yet to rise and I was still shaking out the early-morning cobwebs when the headline appeared on my monitor: “IOC drops wrestling from 2020 Olympics.”

Excuse me?

That’s just not right.

I’ve never stepped foot on the wrestling mat as a competitor, but I do know the IOC has made a puzzling mistake.

Wrestling has been an Olympic tradition since ... practically forever. It was on the program at the inaugural 1896 Olympics in Athens and hasn’t left since.

It was voted off in favor of modern pentathlon, a combination of fencing, horse riding, swimming, running and shooting — all of which already have individual events at the Olympics.

This has to be a joke, right?

One of the most physically demanding sports you’ll ever come across, wrestlers are instilled with discipline and hard work.

You’ve probably never heard of Phil Moricone, but his story epitomizes the sport.

Moricone was one of my best friends in high school and on the outside he probably came off as just another teenage goof — and based on our day-to-day antics, that label was certainly justifiable.

However, in the wrestling room his dedication was unmatched. He won three New Hampshire state titles and was a two-time New England champion, becoming the most decorated grappler in my school’s history.

Moricone turned himself into a Division I recruit and landed at Edinboro University with a goal of becoming an All-American, but his success on the mat was stunted by numerous injuries..

In his final NCAA Tournament, he was two matches away from clinching All-American status. After rehabbing through previous MCL tears and a neck-fusion surgery, he again tore his MCL and sprained his neck in that match. He won anyway.

One victory away from accomplishing the goal he set out for when arriving at the Edinboro campus six years earlier, it wasn’t meant to be. The injuries were too much to overcome and Moricone lost a narrow decision.

Not all stories end like a fairy tale, but we can still learn from them.

The end result is rarely more important than the trials and tribulations during the course of a journey.

I’ve never personally come across a more resilient athlete than my friend Phil and the life lessons wrestling taught him were far more valuable than standing on an All-American podium.

He’s succeeding in the real world because of the qualities he adapted while competing on the mat.

Although the IOC absurdly decided wrestling is no longer worthy of the Olympics, I hope it doesn’t lead to a dip in youth participation.

It’s a sport that sets an athlete up for success, on and off the mat.

Jason Orfao is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle.