Hinsdale South junior Callie Carr has already wrestled at the state meet three times, an impressive achievement for someone with so little experience in the sport before that.
After all, she didn’t wrestle until eighth grade. She had been watching her older brother Griffin compete for the Hornets when she decided to practice with him at the high school.
“It all started at the dinner table with my parents,” she said. “I told them I wanted to wrestle. My brother was a junior at the time.
“For me, it was a whole different world going to high school practices. I was dying every day I was there. It was really tough. I was sore every day.”
But Callie Carr said the sport grew on her every day too.
“I didn’t really know anything about wrestling,” she said. “I think about two weeks in, I was all in. I knew there was no backing out at that point. I had to at least try it. I always looked up to my brother. I ended up loving wrestling.”
Griffin Carr, a two-time state qualifier, said Callie was rough around the edges but picked things up quickly.
“She learned more in two weeks than I have ever seen anyone else learn,” Griffin Carr said. “She was able to soak it all up and use it in her matches in eighth grade. Before that, she had only two moves. But by the time she left, she knew more than 10 moves.”
Callie Carr has only gotten better in the years since then, and she made Hinsdale South history on March 1. She became the school’s first girl to win a state title in wrestling when she prevailed in the 155-pound weight class during the individual state meet at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
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Callie Carr (39-0) defeated Oswego’s Kiyah Chavez 6-0 in the championship match to complete a perfect season.
“It’s still a shock to me because I’ve been training so hard and long for this,” Callie Carr said. “I wanted to be unstoppable. I still want to go out there and win more. It’s great to leave a mark and be an inspiration for other girls.”
Sitting in her corner, Griffin Carr watched her with admiration.
“I told her to wrestle her way,” he said. “She was very nervous going in, so the goal was to calm her down and get her focused on the task at hand and to not worry about all the outside stuff. It’s just you and your opponent on the mat.”
Hinsdale South boys wrestling coach Andrew Mangiaguerra, who has assisted Callie Carr for three years, called it a memorable weekend. A former wrestler at Hinsdale South and Eastern Illinois, Mangiaguerra was unable to attend Carr’s previous two trips to the state meet, but he had a front-row seat this time.
“The biggest thing for her was having the right mindset and taking it one opponent at a time,” Mangiaguerra said. “The last few years she added a couple of moves and expanded her offense, which made her very dominant in her weight class. She went above and beyond with extra workouts and never settled. She was always willing to do more.
“What she did at state was something special.”
Hinsdale South girls wrestling coach Michael Uhlir, who was hired during the early part of the season, said the program is starting to grow after two seasons when Carr was the only girl. Uhlir credited her for helping to add several wrestlers this season, and he expects to see more gains after her win.
“Now that Callie put Hinsdale South on the map, other girls will look at Callie and see it can be done,” Uhlir said. “They will challenge themselves to be the next undefeated state champion. For the program, it was huge.
“She was very determined all season long. She really dedicated herself to wrestling in the offseason and with nutrition and working out, and it got her to where she won state.”
Carr, a quarterback on the flag football team and a former softball standout, said winning in front of Griffin was particularly significant for her. He was her warmup partner before several meets this season.
“It was definitely a surreal moment with him after winning, just knowing he had been there through it all — the good and the bad — and saw me coming home crying from a tough practice,” she said. “We have a real special bond. He’s my best friend in the whole world.”
Carr has another brother still to impress. She said she hasn’t talked with her older brother Tanner, who is also a former wrestler, in several months due to his obligations in the Navy.
“He’s been in a submarine,” Carr said. “I won’t talk to him until May or June because there’s no communication. It’s crazy to think he’s fighting for my freedom. I can’t wait to tell him.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.