Triad’s shining Knight: Cole Witzig repeats as top Class 2A wrestler

When Cole Witzig has time to sit back and reflect on his high school wrestling career there will be far more good memories than bad ones.

Under the guidance of his dad, Triad wrestling coach Russ Witzig, Cole Witzig became the Knights first three-time all-state wrestler. Witzig is also the first Triad athlete to earn three straight Class 2A state medals and his 152 career wins and 47 pins also rank him among the best in school history.

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If only Witzig could erase a period of three seconds in the opening minute of the Class 2A 170-pound state title match and add about 15 seconds to the end of it, his career would be complete.

Instead, a heartbreaking 6-5 defeat to Kordell Norfleet, of Chicago Heights Marian, left Witzig with the state runner-up medal for the second year in a row.

“To come that close and lose, it hurts,” Witzig recalled this week. “He (Norfleet) had the one five-point move in the first period. I battled back to tie it at 5 and then he escaped with 14 seconds left to take the lead. I couldn’t take him down after that.

“He was tired. I could feel it. Another 15 seconds and I would have scored.”

A four-time Mississippi Valley Conference champion, Witzig finished his senior season with an impressive mark of 47-2 and a second straight second-place medal in the 170-pound weight class.

For all of this, he is the News-Democrat’s Class 2A Wrestler of the Year.

A more aggressive senior

After placing third in the 160-pound weight class as a sophomore and losing in the 170-pound state final match as a junior, Witzig knew changes had to be made prior to his senior season.

More specifically, Witzig said he believed he had to become more aggressive.

“Last year for some reason, I seemed to get passive in big or tight matches. I don’t have any idea why,” Witzig said. “In the offseason, I really worked on taking more shots and being more aggressive.

“I was also a smarter wrestler this year. I think a lot of that comes from experience and being more mature. I was to handle, cope and understand things better this year.”

Ranked among the top three in the 170-pound weight class all season, Witzig suffered his first loss of the year — against Norfleet — at the Granite City Holiday Wrestling Tournament. Norfleet defeated Witzig 9-4 in the title match.

“It was closer than you think. He beat me 9-4, but I was down late in the match and I needed to try something to get back into it. He caught me with a three-point move,” Witzig said. “I lost two matches all year, both to the same guy. Not what I wanted.”

The coach’s son

While the loss to Norfleet was tough for Cole Witzig to handle, it was equally difficult for his dad and coach, Russ. The man who taught his son the basics of wrestling at a young age and was in his corner for all 174 matches of his storied high school career, still gets a bit emotional when thinking about the title match.

“It was tough because it was so similar to the state title match he lost when he was in the eighth grade. It was on one move that time as well,” Russ Witzig said. “For him, being my son, but for any of the kids really. You see them come in every day and you see the amount of time and work they put in. To have them work so hard and then come so close towards reaching their goals only to lose a match like that, it’s very tough.

“In one way it would have been easier to take if he had gotten blown out in the championship. At least then you could accept the fact that the other wrestler was better.”

While both father and son will always remember and have fond memories of the past four years, both agree that its time for Cole Witzig to have a new wrestling coach. Witzig has been told that he will be red-shirted next season at North Dakota State, a program which has become one of the elite in the nation.

Witzig will be eligible to practice and can compete in “open” tournaments during his red-shirt season.

“They (North Dakota State) are up there among the top teams in the nation. I’m fine with sitting out, getting stronger and working on what I need to in order to compete at the D-1 level,” Witzig said. “I’m wrestling once or twice a week in Edwardsville and I’m working out more in the weight room. I know I’ve got to get better when I’m on the bottom (position) at the college level.

“My dad has been there and taught me everything I know about the sport, really. I’m looking forward to moving on to the next level and getting a different perspective from a new coach. I think its time.’’

A former all-American wrestler at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, Russ Witzig also said he feels it’s time for a different coach to teach his son. But he will always cherish the past four years.

“We never had any issues with me coaching Cole because I treated him the same way I did with everybody else on the team,” Witzig said. “I’m glad I had the chance to do it.

“But it’s time for him to move on to see what he can do at the college level. More for him than for me, I think it’s good that he’ll have the chance to work with a new coach and see how he can do at the next level.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2016 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Triad’s shining Knight: Cole Witzig repeats as top Class 2A wrestler."