2023 Northwest Herald Wrestler of the Year: McHenry’s Chris Moore

Chris Moore had one goal for his senior season: Earn redemption after losing in the state-title match his junior season.

Moore, a McHenry senior, worked all offseason to push his pace as he wrestled to make sure he could finish any match and take down anyone.

His hard work paid off during a perfect senior season in which Moore earned redemption by taking down Chicago Mount Carmel’s Colin Kelly, the same wrestler who beat him the previous year, to win the Class 3A 170-pound state title, the first individual state title in McHenry history. Moore finished the season 43-0 and helped the Warriors win the Fox Valley Conference with a 9-0 conference record.

He will wrestle at the University of Illinois.

Moore’s storybook senior season earned him the 2023 Northwest Herald Wrestler of the Year honor, as voted on by the sports staff.

Moore recently spoke with Northwest Herald sports reporter Michal Dwojak about what it meant to win a state title to end his high school career, who’s impacted him the most as a wrestler and what kind of animal he would be.

What did it feel like to come back this season and win a state title after losing last year?

Moore: It feels good, knowing that I beat him once last year and then losing to him in the state finals, I knew that I could beat him. So I just worked all offseason, all season for that moment. The work paid off for sure.

What was your mindset heading into your senior year?

Moore: I just wanted to push the pace on everyone, just always attack and not worry about how I feel. Just pushing the pace, getting off the mat and worry about how I feel afterward.

What do you think you’ll remember the most about the season?

Moore: Probably the state finals, just that feeling of getting redemption to the guy I lost to the year prior and ending my high school career with a state championship.

What does it mean to you to win a state championship at the State Farm Center, where you’ll wrestle collegiately with Illinois?

Moore: It feels good because that feels like a new home now. It’s great to start winning there.

Who’s had the biggest impact on your wrestling career?

Moore: Jordan Blanton and Ryan Prater, who are my club coaches, and my dad had the biggest impact, just pushing me to new limits.

Which one of your teammates has inspired you the most?

Moore: Pedro Jimenez. He was my wrestling partner every day and came ready to work every day, didn’t complain about anything, complain about how he was feeling. He just came and got to work. He worked all season and really inspired me with that push.

What is one thing people don’t know about wrestling?

Moore: How tough it is, how mentally strong you have to be to do it.

What routines do you follow to maintain your weight, and how difficult is that to do?

Moore: I watch what I eat. It’s really not that difficult. I don’t cut too much weight, so it’s really just watching what I eat and maintaining the workout, and the weight will come off.

Do you have any superstitions before a match?

Moore: I don’t have any superstitions, but I do like to be alone a little bit before I wrestle, have a moment before I wrestle, and then after, that’s when I’ll get back to normal.

What’s your favorite TV show?

Moore: I’ll have to go with “Outer Banks.” I like the mystery to it. You never know what they’re going to do next. They’re always looking for something. I always enjoy seeing what’s next.

What’s your dream job?

Moore: It would probably to making a living out of wrestling, going to the Olympics and wrestling at the world-class level.

What is your favorite class right now?

Moore: Independent living. It’s kind of like teaching you how to live on your own, teaching you about credit, how to buy a house, how to buy a car, all of those things, things that I’ll need in the real world.

After a big tournament, what’s your pig-out food?

Moore: I’ll go to Raising Cane’s or Portillo’s. At Raising Cane’s I get the chicken tender basket, or at Portillo’s I’ll get two hot dogs, a large cheese fries and a large sprite.

What is one thing that people don’t know about you?

Moore: That I’ve been wrestling for like 15 years.

If you could be any animal, which animal would you be?

Moore: I would be a cheetah because of their speed.