High school wrestling: Torn ACL ended Harrier's state tournament before it began

Everything was aligning for Jacobs 138-pound senior Jake Harrier last week.

He had qualified for the IHSA Class 3A state tournament for the fourth time. Though he lost a sectional semifinal to Warren’s Joel Vandervere, Harrier gave Vandervere one of his toughest matches all season in a 7-5 decision.

Harrier, a fifth-place medalist at 120 as a sophomore, missed out on the podium last season as a junior and trained all year long to right that wrong. He had dreams of doing it with a state title.

Then his state tournament ended before it began. Harrier felt a pop in his knee during practice Tuesday night before last Thursday’s opening round.

“I was wrestling my teammate and we were going live and it was toward the end of practice,” Harrier said. “He went to throw me and I posted my leg and I twisted weird over it and it just popped.”

Harrier couldn’t put much weight on his right leg.

“It was just a regular day of practice,” Jacobs coach Gary Conrad said. “Nothing harder than usual. Actually easier than usual.”

The school trainer suggested Harrier see a doctor. His uncle, who is also a trainer, didn’t want to speculate, though it didn’t look good. The next morning, Harrier learned he had torn his ACL.

“I wanted to wrestle at state, but the doctor told me, ‘No way,’” Harrier said. “My uncle was telling me, ‘No way.’ I wanted to, but the costs outweighed any pros.”

Harrier ended his high school career as a four-time state qualifier, one-time state medalist and the all-time wins leader at Jacobs with 158 career victories.

Harrier was ranked No. 3 in his class prior to state. No. 2 Danny Pucino of Libertyville missed sectionals due to injury and bowed out of the postseason. Warren’s Vandervere cruised through the state meet to the 138-pound title, winning the championship bout by major decision, 9-0.

Conrad is convinced it would have been Vandervere vs. Harrier in the state title match had Harrier been healthy. It wasn’t meant to be.

It’s not unheard of for wrestlers to compete through a torn ACL, but Harrier has a Division I college career ahead of him at Old Dominion.

“He probably could have gone out there and eked a medal out, but we were there to win a state title and that’s not going to happen when you blow your ACL out,” Conrad said. “It really is just one tournament. He’s got bigger and better things ahead of him.”

Harrier will have surgery on his knee next month. He traveled to Champaign to watch teammates James Wright, Alex Epstein and Ryan Golnick compete.

Three years ago, Harrier started lifting weights with Conrad at 6:20 a.m. every day. At first, it was just Harrier and Conrad in the weight room. By senior year, they had recruited about a dozen varsity wrestlers to the 6:20 a.m. workouts.

Conrad said Harrier was back in the weight room this week, doing what he could.

“He’s got a lot of character,” Conrad said. “He’s got the attitude. He loves wrestling and he’s a technician. He just does it all right. If he keeps doing it right, he’s going to go far.”