As a three-time wrestling state champion — twice in Illinois and once in Texas — senior Nasir Bailey has had so many big wins in his career.
Last winter, he became the first athlete in any sport to win a state title for Rich Township since the consolidation of Rich Central, Rich East and Rich South into one athletic program.
Now, Bailey has added another huge accomplishment to his resume, becoming the top-ranked wrestler in the nation at his weight class.
Bailey, a Little Rock recruit, won the 138-pound match at FloWrestling’s “Who’s Number One?” event Sept. 9 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Top wrestlers from across the country were matched up at each weight for one match to decide who would hold the No. 1 ranking.
“It means a lot,” Bailey said. “I always felt like I could be the top-ranked wrestler, but I guess I proved it now. I still have to keep working so I can maintain that ranking. I want to keep doing bigger things for Rich Township.”
Two other local wrestlers also came up victorious at the event.
Lockport senior Brayden Thompson beat Zack Ryder from New York to maintain his No. 1 spot at 182 while Mount Carmel senior Sergio Lemley beat Kannon Webster — an in-state foe from downstate Washington — to take over the No. 1 ranking at 132.
For Bailey, the rise to No. 1 was a long time coming. Plus, the win in Ann Arbor earned him some revenge.
He had lost twice to Ryder Block from Iowa, but both matches were in freestyle. The Who’s Number One competition was in folkstyle, which is contested during the high school season, and Bailey won 8-4.
“It was a match that I was looking forward to,” Bailey said. “That was a big reason I took the match was to get my win against him.”
Bailey also made a big move in August when he committed to Little Rock after previously pledging to attend North Carolina.
At Little Rock — which competes in the Pac-12 — he will team up again with his older brother, Bilal. Nasir, Bilal and their other brother, Sincere, all won state championships for T.F. North in 2020 when Nasir was a freshman.
“Who wouldn’t look forward to being teammates with their brother?” Nasir said. “I think it’s going to be great. Little Rock is a fairly new wrestling program, so we get to do it all over again and put them on the map next.”
Lemley, who also is a three-time state champion — twice at Mount Carmel and once in Indiana — was victorious in his future home city.
The Michigan recruit topped Webster 7-6.
Thompson, meanwhile, continued to dominate after going 45-0 last season at Lockport. He beat Ryder 4-3 in overtime to hang on to his top ranking.
“It’s just another day,” Thompson said. “Putting that ranking on the line and defending it, I’m just continuing to show the work I’m putting in is working.
“This is the situation I want to be in. I want to be the one people want to knock off. I want to be the one with the crown.”
It’s been a busy few months for Thompson, an Oklahoma State recruit.
He made Team USA for the U20 World Championships in Bulgaria in August. Thompson lost both matches there, but the experience is one he won’t soon forget.
“It’s a different type of environment but it’s been what I’ve been dreaming to do since I started wrestling at 6 years old,” Thompson said. “Seeing guys win medals and go out and compete against the best guys in the world, it’s been a dream of mine, so to get to do that was surreal.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.