School Adds Wrestling


	EDITORIAL

ILLINI WEST - School known for football adds a wrestling program

CARTHAGE, Ill. -- Illini West High School has been a football school from its inception.

Even back when it was known as Carthage High School, the community has lived and died with its football program. There are five state championship trophies in the trophy case to prove it.

This year, there is a new game in town. Or make that a new sport.

For the first time, Illini West will have a wrestling program.

The coach is a familiar face -- football coach Jim Unruh.

Unlike the football season, there are far less expectations on the wrestling team. This year's team members are part of something special, the first building block in what the Chargers hope will become another tradition.

"It's a unique situation in that most of these kids have never wrestled before. Most of them have never even seen a wrestling match before," Unruh said. "The one thing I was pleased about from the get-go was the school was set on starting a program and doing it right. They are behind the program 100 percent. They went out and bought new mats, new uniforms, new headgear. Everything we needed, we got."

Going on the old philosophy that 'if you build it, they will come," the Chargers have a room full of wrestlers eager to earn. They range from junior Kyle Huss, a 171-pounder who has been wrestling since he was six years old and who wrestled at Chariton High School before his family moved back to Carthage, to junior 189-pounder Steven Miller, who was just looking for something to do in the winter, to Kody Seaver, a senior who watched his brother wrestle at Thomas Jefferson High School in Colorado.

It is an interesting and unique experience for all.

"I was really glad when I found out they were starting a wrestling program here," said Huss, a running back on the Chargers' football team. "Last year when my family moved back here, I was used to wrestling, so there wasn't any winter sport for me to go into. My Dad (Richard Huss) used to be a wrestler at Dallas City, Ill. He was one of only two wrestlers from Dallas City ever to win 30 matches in their career."

"I heard a couple guys talking about it and said wrestling was good for football, so I thought I would give it a try," said Miller, a guard on the football team. "I like it so far. It's fun. Right now we are just learning the basics. I think it's going to be fun. It's a physical sport. I like being out there, being competitive."

"This is my first year of wrestling, but I've always been around it with my older brother," Seaver said. "I've always been interested in it. I just never had an opportunity to get into it until this year. It's been great. It's a real learning experience."

Experience is exactly what the Chargers are lacking. But they didn't have to look far to find a coach experienced in wrestling. Unruh, one of the winningest football coaches in state history, also has a strong background in wrestling.

"I started wrestling when I was in third grade and wrestled all the way through junior college," Unruh said. "I wrestled at Moline High School and Black Hawk College. I have always loved wrestling."

Illini West is not exactly equipped for wrestling. There is no wrestling room, and with the basketball teams occupying the gym, the wrestling team is forced to practice in the fitness center on the east end of town. One by one, they trickle into the center, most driving their pickup trucks from school to the fitness center.

In a back room, tucked away on the far side of the fitness center, is the Chargers' practice room. The wrestlers trudge in, change into their practice gear, then roll out the mats. They go through their warms-ups, then hit the mat for some basic training. For now, Unruh is keeping things simple.

"The first year, we just want to teach the basic moves and get wrestling established here," Unruh said. "We want to get some kids to come out and hopefully they have fun and get other kids excited about it and want to give it a try.

"My one goal I have for this team is that every day when we are done with practice, I want these kids to say they had fun. I want them to have fun and enjoy the sport of wrestling. That's my only goal."

So far, the Chargers seem to be enjoying themselves as they become part of the building process in what Unruh and other hope will become a new winning tradition at Illini West High School.

"Everybody is having a lot of fun," said senior 152-pounder Seth Pilkington. "We are finding out how tough wrestling really is. I think we will be a lot better by the end of the year."

"I'm really enjoying it," Unruh said. "I haven't had this much fun coaching in a long time. It's very fun, very enjoyable. This is like a fresh start for everybody.