As a sophomore making his first appearance at the IHSA State Tournament, St. Joseph-Ogden’s A.J. Wagner has his sights set on continuing to grow as a wrestler.
Growing has been his goal for the last seven years.
In 2012, Wagner joined the St. Joseph youth wrestling program before moving over to the Champaign Wrestling Club under the direction of Steve Hall in 2014.
“I have had coaches and they all have helped me grow in the sport,” Wagner said. “Steve Hall, from Champaign, pushed me when I needed it most. I can still hear him yelling at me from the corner.”
Becoming a better wrestler hasn’t always been an easy road for Wagner.
“Youth wrestling in Champaign took us up north where we faced kids from 3A schools and I would go weeks without a win,” he remembers. “My stepdad always told me that there is always something good you can take from a loss and if you keep wrestling the best one day that kid will be you.”
Wagner kept his sights set on improving the little things while maintaining high goals.
“I believe the main lesson wrestling has taught me would be confidence and believing in myself,” he said. “I know with hard work my goals can be reached and not only in wrestling.”
Coming to SJO as a freshmen, Wagner had just come off of two seasons as an 84-pound state qualifier in the Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation (IKWF).
Working with a University of Illinois wrestler, Wagner was able to get his weight up to 104 pounds by the beginning of his freshmen year.
“He had me eat a triple-decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich and two glasses of whole milk before bedtime every night,” Wagner said.
Wrestling at 106 pounds during his first high school match, Wagner had to decide if he could sometimes wrestle above his weight at 113 pounds.
“I fell behind early but came back to win by a major decision,” he said. “I went on to finish the season with a record of 27 wins and nine losses.”
Wagner ended up taking second place at IHSA regionals, then made it to the semis at sectionals before losing two matches. He did participate as an alternant in the state competition last year.
“I knew at that point with extra work I could make the jump my sophomore year and make it to state,” Wagner said.
With a 43-7 record for the 2018-19 season, Wagner leads the St. Joseph-Ogden team in wins.
Wagner placed fourth at the Carterville Class 1A sectional Saturday and advanced to the state series, beginning Thursday.
While his goal was just to make it to the state tournament this year, Wagner said now that he is there, he would like to make it into the top six in his weight class and earn a medal.
“I think every wrestler’s dream is to be in the Grand March at the State Farm Center,” he said.
Wagner said he will approach the upcoming tournament just like every other one.
His first match is against Ridgeview’s Billy Tay, who is a three-time middle school state champion and heavily favored by many to win the 106-pound weight class.
“Looking past (Tay), I have two paths,” Wagner said. II see myself in the blood round again and I see my opponent as the same kid I lost 1-0 to in the third/fourth place match at sectionals Saturday night. He is the same kid that I lost to at sectionals last year 11-0 so I feel I have closed the gap and would love that match again at state.”
Wagner knows that sometimes success in wrestling is about the draw, too.
“I have seen No. 1 vs. No. 2 seeds in the first round and the loser falls back. This is where a good kid can get knocked out if he falls into that match.
“You will hear that a lot in this sport , ‘all about the draw,’ ” he said.
“When teammates that I know deserved to make it don’t, part of me is missing.”
Wagner hopes that part of his success as a Spartan is helping the wrestling program.
“I would love to see wrestling grow in St Joe where as a team we can be competitive,” he said.
One other Spartan, senior Jake Wendling, qualified for state and will compete in the 120-pound weight class.
