Wrestlers sometimes have to sweat away several pounds in a matter of hours or days to make their weight class. Being dominated on the mat can be ego-bruising and the mental discipline it takes to stay at weight can be extremely difficult when friends are headed out for a burger. Yet its popularity is on the rise on the high school level, with a 9 percent increase in participation since 1994. On Saturday the Illinois High School Association holds its regionals, with the sectionals the next weekend and the state individual meet in Champaign on Feb. 18-19. The answer to why the sport has a chokehold on so many young athletes might be older than the sport itself.
Wrestling attracts that type of person.
Conant's Gerry Giuliano was asking himself whether he wanted to continue after his sophomore year. The victories were hard to come by and the sacrifices were great. The effort he was putting out didn't offset the time and sweat he was putting in. I didn't want to do it anymore. Giuliano gave the sport another try and became a .500 wrestler on the varsity.