Belleville West senior Nick Foster earns top Class 3A wrestling honor

Only a freshman at Belleville West at the time, Nick Foster wasn’t on hand when teammate DeMechico Spraggins won the Class 3A 126-pound state wrestling title in 2013.

But Spraggins’ title win had an impact.

“I wasn’t there in Champaign to watch “Mech’ win it, but I saw the video and, on my cell phone, I had a picture of him jumping into the arms of (former) coach Al Sears after the state title match. I thought that was so cool. Right then I made it my goal to win a state title.”

Three years later, Foster fell just short of reaching the ultimate prize of a state title. But the athletically gifted Maroons senior accomplished just about everything else during his outstandly splendid high school career.

Headed to McKendree University later this summer where he will compete in both football and wrestling, Foster joined Spraggins earlier this year as the only wrestlers in Belleville West history to earn three state tournament medals when he placed third in the 152-pound weight class at the State Farm Center in Champaign. Spraggins was a four-time state tournament medal winner.

The third-place medal, his second straight, to go along with a sixth place medal in 2014, was a fitting end of a memorable senior season for Foster, who finished 47-3 and ends his career No. 2 on the Maroons’ all-time wins list with 160.

“I’m satisfied with what I accomplished in my wrestling career at Belleville West. The goal was to win the state championship this year. But sometimes you fall short of your goals,” Foster said. “Other than my freshman year when I hurt my shoulder, there are a lot of good memories here at Belleville West. It’s gone fast and it’s kind of sad, but I’m excited about the next part of my life.

“I’m looking forward to wrestling and playing football at McKendree and four or five years from now earning my degree in engineering.”

The top Class 3A wrestler in the metro-east, Foster was a near unanimous choice as the Belleville News-Democrat Class 3A Wrestler of the Year.

A summer of wrestling

One of the top football players in the Southwestern Conference during the 2015 season, Foster spent much of his summer wrestling in tournaments for the first time.

That hard work paid off as Foster entered the postseason as the ninth-ranked 152-pound wrestler in the nation and with just one loss. That loss came by disqualification at the dual team tournament in the Chicago suburban area.

“I still get upset with myself when I think about getting DQ’d. Another one of my goals was to go undefeated this year,” Foster said. “I hadn’t wrestled much at all during the summer until this year because of football, but I think the time I put in this year really helped.

“In the past I really didn’t have anything I could go to as far as shots. But by wrestling, I was able to develop a couple of things I could go to. I was able to get in on my opponents better and once I did I was able to finish this year.”

Disappointment in Champaign

After losing in the sectional titlle match, Foster won his first two matches at the state tournament before taking on Trace Carello, of Aurora’s Marmion Acadamy, in the 152-pound semifinal.

Tied at 1 in double overtime, Carello was awarded a two-point move and went on for a 3-1 win.

“It was a controversial call and after he (Carello) scored, there were only a few seconds left. I tried to score but ran out of time,” Foster said. “It was disappointing, very disappointing to lose a match like that when its your goal all year and you’ve worked so hard to achieve it.

“I have to credit my coach Joe (Rujawitz). He was right with me all the time. He never left me. He helped me get my mind straight after the loss. He helped get me right so I could focus on coming back to finish third.”

Although Foster had plenty of help from his teammates and assistant coaches, he gives Rujawitz a lot of the credit for his success this year.

“For me, Joe is the best coach I’ve ever had. He’s always been there with words of encouragement. I remember one time we’re working out and I hear Joe’s knee pop,” Foster said. “I stopped and asked him if he was alright.

“All he said to me was ‘let’s go again’ That’s the kind of coach Joe Rujawitz has been for me.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Belleville West senior Nick Foster earns top Class 3A wrestling honor."