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CHAMPAIGN — Charles Walker of Joliet Central fell behind his opponent in the quarterfinals and was dangerously close to not being in the Class 3A 215-pound state championship match. In Saturday’s championship match, he trailed again.
But, Walker kept battling and eventually turned the tide on previously unbeaten Kai Calcutt of Loyola Academy and picked up a 7-5 win to become the Steelmen’s first state champion since Joe Herron in 1998, when the Central and West programs were combined as Joliet Township.
On Friday, Walker fell behind Caleb Baczek of Libertyville 10-1 in the quarterfinals. He kept fighting, though, and ended up beating Baczek by fall in 3:45. After winning his semifinal match against Taft’s Evan Jocic, he was set to face undefeated Kai Calcutt of Loyola Academy.
Once again, Walker found himself trailing as Calcutt led 4-0 after two periods. Walker started in the down position in the third and escaped to make it 4-1. He then scored on a takedown to tie it at 4. Walker led Calcutt get back up, giving Calcutt a 5-4 lead, but soon after, Walker lifted his big opponent clear off the ground, turned and slammed him to the mat to record three more points for the takedown. He managed to ride Calcutt out the rest of the way and win the title, setting the stage for an even bigger takedown.
Walker raced to coach Patrick McGovern in his corner. Instead of embracing him, Walker gave McGovern a Rock-Bottom to the surprise and delight of the crowd before doing a back flip in celebration.
“We’ve talked about that since sophomore year,” Walker said about slamming his coach. “He told me if I won a state title, I could Rock-Bottom him. That felt great.
“Yesterday, when I fell behind 10-1, I just did what our coaches keep telling us. Wrestle with heart, never give up and it’s not over until the final buzzer. It feels so good to accomplish my dream. People should never count themselves out.”
Walker wasn’t the only District 204 state champion, nor was he the only District 204 state champion with the initials C.W.
That’s because Joliet West’s Carson Weber earned some revenge on Lockport’s Justin Wardlow in the Class 3A 150-pound title match. Wardlow had beaten Weber for the championship in both the regional and sectional tournaments. Weber, though, was able to get an escape in the second period after starting in the down position, then hold on for a 1-0 win and the Tigers' first champion since Todd Sterr in 1981.
“I kind of figured that it would be Justin and me in the championship,” Weber said. “I think we were the two best in the state. I learned from wrestling him the last two weeks that I had to stay disciplined.
“I was a little nervous before the match, but once you shake hands and the buzzer sounds, those nerves go away. But, the last 30 seconds or so with me only having a 1-0 lead, I started to get nervous again. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t do anything to give the match away. It feels so good to win the state title. After taking third last year, I wanted to win a title this year.”
Brothers Judah and Justus Heeg each came away with a Class 2A state championship. Judah, a junior wrestling for Lemont, won at 190 with a 4-1 win over Crystal Lake Central’s Cayden Parks, scoring a takedown in overtime for the win. Justus, a freshman wrestling for Providence Catholic, beat Mascoutah’s Brock Ross with a 20-5 technical fall at 150.
“It feels great to win a title,” Judah Heeg said. “He [Parks] beat me earlier in the season, so it felt good to beat him this time. Once it got into overtime, I knew I had to unload and give everything I had.
“I was definitely nervous. Last year, we lived in Minnesota and I made it to state, but I lost my first match. I give most of the credit to my coaches and teammates.”
Justus Heeg won a state high school championship as an eighth-grader last year in Minnesota, where eighth-graders are allowed to compete in high school competitions. It gives him the rare opportunity to be a five-time state champion and he got off to a strong start this season.
“Five times is definitely a possibility,” Justus Heeg said. “It was fun watching my brother win before I went out there. He gave me the incentive to go out and win as well.
“The title match was pretty much how I like to wrestle most of the time. I like to go out there and score points.”
Besides Wardlow, second-place finishes came from Nico Ronchetti of Joliet Catholic Academy (3A, 190), Cooper Morris of Coal City (1A, 126) and Brody Widlowski of Coal City (1A, 138).