Wrestling: McHenry alum Chris Moore earns All-American honor

Chris Moore felt better with each hand raise as he inched closer to achieving his goals at the Junior National Tournament last week.

Moore, a recent McHenry graduate, wanted to become an All-American after just missing out on the honor at last year’s tournament. Once he secured that honor and a national runner-up finish, Moore completed a year of hard work, all started because of the agony of coming so close a year ago.

“It’s definitely a great accomplishment,” Moore said. “Especially with all the hard work and all the practices, stuff after practice leading up to this event.”

Moore finished runner-up in the Class 3A 160-pound IHSA State Tournament as a junior and just missed placing at last year’s Junior National Tournament in the blood rounds.

Moore said he felt the pain and dedicated himself to working harder over the year to become one of the top wrestlers in the nation. He rebounded by winning the Class 3A 170-pound title in February and built off of that by helping Team Illinois win two national titles.

Then he set off to Fargo, North Dakota, last week to finish off his year’s worth of work at the Junior National Tournament in the 170 freestyle. He won his first two matches 6-0 and 14-1, respectively, before facing his first test of the tournament.

Moore took on four-time Iowa state champion Nick Fox, who went on to win the 170 Greco-Roman Tournament, and found a way to win 6-4. He knew he needed maximum effort even though he didn’t feel his best.

“A lot of it was digging deep, finding ways to win when conditions aren’t perfect,” Moore said.

Moore pulled out a 3-2 win over New Jersey state champion Jasiah Queen in the quarterfinals before taking down Pennsylvania state champion Holden Garcia 12-7. He eventually lost to Wisconsin’s Noah Mulvaney 14-1 in the title match.

Despite the national-title loss, Moore was proud that he accomplished his goal of becoming an All-American by grinding in every match against some of the nation’s best.

“There was no quit, there was no conceding, there was no close but not going to get it,” Moore’s club coach Jordan Blanton said. “He pushed through and persevered because he was prepared for those moments and prepared to do whatever it took to find a way to win.”

Blanton was proud of how hard Moore worked after feeling heartbreak last season. He watched Moore battle all year and dedicate himself to the sport, working each day to become a better wrestler who knew what to do in different scenarios.

“It’s definitely a great accomplishment. Especially with all the hard work and all the practices, stuff after practice leading up to this event.”

—  Chris Moore, McHenry alumnus

Moore built off of his past experiences and used them to his advantage, which made his journey even more impressive for Blanton.

“Chris was just ready to win,” Blanton said. “He felt the loss, he’d been knocked down so many times that the fact that he continued to get up, continued to meet that call, he’s prepared for it now.”

The national runner-up finish ended a decorated high school career for Moore. He won a state title with Aurora Christian as a freshman before finishing runner-up with Marian Central as a sophomore in the IWCOA State Tournament because there was no IHSA-sanctioned State Tournament because of COVID-19.

Moore was named the 2023 Northwest Herald Wrestler of the Year after he won a state title in February.

Moore already has started his shift to collegiate wrestling at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He’s moved to Champaign and is ready to start a new journey after completing a year’s worth of hard work.

“It’s getting ready for freshman year,” Moore said. “Let’s see where it takes me.”