The pageantry of the state wrestling tournament is unlike any other offered by the Illinois High School Association.
The culmination of an entire season features a grand march, where the top two remaining wrestlers in each weight class parade around the floor of a packed State Farm Center on a Saturday night before arriving at one of three mats for a winner-take-all finale in Champaign.
“Yeah, it was pretty cool, I guess,” Hinsdale South junior Josh King said. “I was just focused on wrestling. I wanted to be the guy with his hand raised at the end of it all.”
With the cool composure he showed all season, King culminated a spectacular season with a 9-6 decision over Plainfield South junior Eric Johnson to capture the Class 3A 220-pound state championship Saturday. King finished his season with a 45-1 record and is the likely favorite to repeat next year.
“I knew what to expect when I got down there,” said King, who was making his third trip downstate. “I didn’t want to take anything for granted. I was focused and I wanted one thing, a state title. And I was willing to do anything to get it.”
King’s path to the title match appeared, at least on paper, to be relatively effortless. His first two opponents didn’t last past the first round, both resulting in pins in a combined two minutes, 40 seconds. An 11-2 major decision over Libertyville’s Mark Dunsing put him in the championship match.
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“He had all day Thursday to wait around because he didn’t have to wrestle his first match until later,” Hinsdale South coach Kevin Formanski said. “And his focus even at that time was phenomenal. He was tuned in and ready to roll right away, and it showed.”
The only stumble during the day came during the title match, when Johnson briefly turned King on his back in the first period.
“That’s where you really see that this meet is a real spectacle. When that happened, the crowd roared,” Formanski said. “Josh is a physical beast. People might not know who he is, but they recognize the 6-foot-7, huge kid on the mat. It was electric.”
The mishap led to a 4-4 score after the first period. From then on, King never faltered. He’s already started thinking about defending his title next year. But his future is in football, where he is already acknowledged as one of the most sought-after recruits in his class.
But for that Saturday in mid-February, King stepped to the top of the awards podium and enjoyed the view.
“I guess that finals match was a little closer than I would have wanted it to be,” King said with a laugh. “It is what it is though. And I came out on top.”