Undefeated state wrestling champ Rakers earns top BND honors

By placing fourth in the Class 2A 160-pound weight class at the 2016 Illinois High School Association State Wrestling Tournament, Highland junior Trent Rakers put himself in elite company.

With his medal-winning performance, Rakers joined two-time 285-pound state champion Tanner Farmer and 2015 285-pound runner-up Nick Czar, as the only Highland wrestlers to place in the state finals.

“I really wanted to win a state title,” Rakers recalled last week. “I remember watching Tanner (Farmer) win and thinking how great that was. In the last year, I have worked as hard as I ever have in my life. I got in the weight room, got stronger and became a more mature wrestler and person.

“I knew coming in to this year. It was now or never.”

Despite missing a month to start the season after recovering from a broken right fibula suffered while playing running back for the Bulldogs football team this fall, Rakers made his goal a reality this winter when he overcame the adversity to become the Bulldogs’ second state champion.

Rakers put the finishing touch on a perfect 35-0 season when he defeated Demarius Smith, of Rantoul, 1-0 in the Class 2A 152-pound state title match at the State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign.

“When the final buzzer went off ... I was like, pinch me. It was an incredible feeling,” Rakers said. “My match was the first (Class 2A) final of the night, so I spent some time soaking it in with my family and friends and teammates. We had a long time to wait for them to take the picture with all the state champions. But I didn’t mind. It was a great night.”

Headed to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where he will compete for the Cougars wrestling team, Rakers undefeated state championship has earned him the honor as the Belleville News-Democrat Co-Wrestler of the Year. Rakers shares the honor with Althoff junior Danny Braunagel.

The injury

The all-time leader in wins at Highland with 149, Rakers’ senior year at Highland was turned upside-down on the night of Sept. 30 early in the Bulldogs game against Civic Memorial.

The Bulldogs top running back was hit hard by an Eagles defender and went down. He couldn’t get back up.

“As I was going down, I felt my ankle roll a little bit, and there was a little pain. But it’s football. There is always a little pain,” Rakers said earlier this year. “Anyway, we unpiled, and I went to get up to my feet, and I knew there was something wrong. There was a lot of pain, and I had to go back down to the field. When I got to the sideline, I was hoping that it was just a bad sprain. It turned out to be much worse.”

Surgery followed and the rehabilitation process began.

“There was pain and a lot of it. I think that even when I think a lot of people thought it would be great if I was able to get back and earn a state medal,” Rakers said. “I had higher expectations for myself.

“Looking back now, it might have been good that I didn’t wrestle as much during the season. When it came time for the post season, I was fresh and my ankle was strong. I was also determined to come back and win it.”

The state title match

Rakers had beaten Smith in the 152-pound final at the Mascoutah sectional the previous week and both wrestlers entered the final match knowing how the other wrestled.

“In the first period of the final I had a chance to hit a big move and maybe get out to a three- or four-point lead. I didn’t capitalize on it, and I wasn’t happy with myself,” Rakers said. “The second period I knew he (Smith) would choose down, but I knew that I could ride him out.

“The third period I knew I could get up. I had the 1-0 lead, but I knew how good he (Smith) was on his feet. I just wrestled my match.”

When the buzzer went off, Rakers had joined Farmer — the 2013 and 2014 Class 2A 285-pound winner — as Bulldogs state champions. Farmer is now a starting offensive lineman at the University of Nebraska.

“Tanner is a good friend, and he was texting me and my coaches throughout the postseason,” Rakers said. “After everything was over that night we went out and ate and then went home Sunday. The phone calls were nonstop.”

Rakers will study pre-pharmacy at SIUE and expects to compete in either the 157- or 165-pound weight class.

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 2:49 PM with the headline "Undefeated state wrestling champ Rakers earns top BND honors."