By FRED KRONER
Wrestling has been a part of Gage Reed’s life now for a decade.
What he lacked early-on in natural ability, he more than made up for with determination.
“When I started in third grade, I wasn’t the best,” Reed said. “I was average.”
Improvement came slowly.
In junior high school, he qualified in consecutive years for the Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation’s state tournament, but never captured any medals.
“I started getting success my eighth-grade year and started enjoying the sport a lot,” said Reed, now a senior who competes for the Oakwood/Salt Fork cooperative program.
He enjoyed a coming-out party as a high school freshman, winning 34 matches and falling just one win short at sectionals of qualifying for state.
His goals had already been established.
“The first thing I said to Coach (Mike) Glosser (coming into high school) was that I was going to win a state title,” Reed said.
He came close as a sophomore, losing in the state semifinals and settling for fifth place at 113 pounds. As a junior, Reed was not denied.
He was the Class 1A state champion at 113 pounds, capping a season where he won 43 of his 46 matches. Both years, he felt like he belonged in the company with the state’s elite.
“Most times kids are a little nervous when reaching the state tournament,” Glosser said. “However, Gage was just the opposite.
“Gage has always had the potential to be a great wrestler and finally his sophomore year, he had a breakout year. The first year he made state (as a sophomore), he took fifth.”
Reed’s title-bout win last February allowed him to realize that another goal was realistic.
He was convinced the opportunity to wrestle in college was within reach “after I got my hand raised after winning state,” Reed said.
Sure enough, even though much of the country has been slowed for nine months by the coronavirus pandemic, offers began to materialize.
In the week that his sister returns home on leave from the Navy, Reed signed a letter of intent after school on Monday to attend Missouri Valley College, in Marshall, Mo.
“It feels so good,” Reed said. “Now that I’ve completed those, I will set new goals, and that makes it more exciting.”
Even as the signing ceremony was in the planning stages, there were some who were hoping Reed’s decision to attend the NAIA school with an enrollment of about 1,800 students was not final.
“I still had 30 messages in my in-box from coaches texting me,” Reed said.
Glosser said one reason Reed has achieved at such a high level is an attitude of never backing down from a challenge.
Reed’s three-year cumulative prep record with the Comets sits at 112-19 entering a senior season that is projected to start in May.
“His record was always deceiving because he would have three to five losses (a year), but rarely did he lose a match in his actual weight class,” Glosser said. “He was always a gamer, willing for the challenge of bumping up weight classes for tougher challenges.
“I think this strength of always being up for a challenge and never fearing failure really helped him when it came time for state.”
For Reed, that was not a newfound trait. He received encouragement and support at a young age as a novice wrestler.
“My dad had a heart for wrestling and he always told me, ‘Keep going,’” Reed said. “After he passed away my fourth-grade year, that kept the fire going.”
Reed has handled challenges in other sports. As a freshman – “98 pounds coming into high school,” he recalled – he earned playing time on the ninth-grade football team as a center.
“I was probably the tiniest center ever,” Reed said.
Reed shares the credit for his ability to reach his dreams in wrestling.
“I represent T3 (Sports Academy),” he said. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”
He has taken advantage of the training facility, located in Tilton, to improve.
Beyond that, Glosser said Reed’s family has played a major role, especially for an athlete from a high school with an enrollment of less than 300.
“Being from smaller schools, it really helped to be a two-time state placer and get recognized by colleges,” Glosser said, “but what really helped was his parents being so proactive signing up for recruiting sites, getting his name out there and going visiting schools.
“He has a great support system of family and coaches who believe in him, and the sky is the limit for him in college.”
Reed is thankful for the backing.
“My parents were a big part of that,” he said, “getting my name out there on recruiting apps.”
Reed made five college visits, some before Missouri Valley and some after.
The selling point, he said, was “I felt a strong connection with the coaches and wrestlers there.”
Wrestling in college has been more of a short-term goal for Reed, who had a different ambition while in junior high school.
“My original plan was to go into the military, after my sister joined the Navy,” Reed said.
He is still considering joining an ROTC program, but plans to major in criminal justice and cyber security.
From there, he said, his future plans are uncertain.
“I’m still trying to figure that out,” Reed said. “I didn’t realize how many other jobs branch out from that.”
Glosser believes Reed’s college wrestling prospects are bright.
“I look for Gage to have to maybe walk through the weeds a little before he smells the roses in college,” Glosser said, “but if he can stay on the grind and work the way we all know he can, then he will be graduating with a college degree and All-American wrestling honors.
“Gage has been a fun kid to watch progress over the years.”
IHSA sports have been in a holding pattern for nearly two months, but Reed has been active since the summer.
“The first couple months (during the spring lockdown), I couldn’t do much,” Reed said, “but in the summer, I got pretty good mat time, wrestling everyday and tournaments about every weekend.
“I traveled all over (Iowa, Missouri and Pennsylvania) and individually, had more than 50 matches.”
Currently weighing in at 118 pounds, he is headed out of state again this weekend for another tournament.
“I’m still a little rusty and my cardio is not the best,” Reed said, “but I am about the same level, if not a little above, where I was last year at state.”
He has also made strides with his strength.
“This year, if I’m not on the mat, I’m in the weight room lifting on my own at Planet Fitness,” Reed said.
“I can definitely tell (the difference). This is the most lean I’ve been.”
Reed is looking forward to a banner final semester, starting, he hopes, with a football season that is tentatively scheduled to begin in February.
“I’ll definitely play, especially with it being my senior year,” Reed said.
He is no longer a football lineman, but expects to play a receiver position on offense and outside linebacker on defense.
Reed gave up on playing baseball years ago.
“I didn’t like standing in the outfield and doing nothing,” he said.
As he looks to the future, Reed believes there is nothing he can’t accomplish.
Reed sees himself as a candidate to fill the lowest collegiate weight (125 pounds) all four years. He will go in with the mindset that he can compete for a varsity position in wrestling as a freshman.
“I can see myself trying hard to get the varsity spot, and I feel I have a chance,” said Reed, who has attended schools in the Oakwood district since pre-kindergarten.
Glosser is looking forward to seeing what else Reed – the Comets’ first two-time state-medalist – can do.
“From watching him in youth to high school, it has been a fun journey,” Glosser said.
