As he tried to crack Lincoln-Way East’s varsity lineup, junior Rory Moran found himself blocked by a pair of established wrestlers.
It’s why Moran wrestled on the JV level for nearly the entire season. Determined to find a way to get his chance, he started to put on weight and bumped up two classes from 150 to 165 pounds.
Now, he’s not only on the varsity — he’s a regional champion.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for my turn,” Moran said. “This is the greatest feeling in the world.”
Moran, who had wrestled just one varsity match all season entering Saturday’s Class 3A Rich Township Regional, surprised his way to the top of the podium at 165, beating Lincoln-Way Central’s Tim Key 8-2 in the finals.
He scored vital points to lift the Griffins to their first team regional championship since 2007. Lincoln-Way East edged Lincoln-Way West 208-206.5.
“He’s a kid who really leaves it all on the mat,” Lincoln-Way East coach Kevin Rockett said of Moran. “It was maybe a good thing that he hadn’t been wrestling these kids all year so they weren’t in his head or anything like that. He didn’t care who he wrestled. He just laid it out there.
“We told him, ‘You have nothing to lose.’ We owe a lot of this regional title to him.”
Moran made it into the varsity lineup for part of his freshman season but has been battling to get back ever since while having success on the JV team.
The Griffins have senior Domanic Abeja and junior Alex Lizak locked in at 150 and 157, respectively. Moran saw a possible opportunity at 165. Before the regional, he earned that spot by winning a challenge match in practice.
“I took a little time trying to gain some muscle and weight during the season and, yeah, 165 it is,” Moran said. “I told coach, ‘I think I’m ready for 165.’ I challenged for the 165 spot and I won, and now I’m here.”
Moran is a multisport athlete with a unique combo. He’s also a varsity golfer.
“My mental strength was not good in golf, but then it got boosted up during this high school season,” he said. “I think improving that mental strength in golf has really helped me with my mental strength in wrestling.”
After winning his title match Saturday, Moran was mobbed by his jubilant wrestling teammates, including fellow junior Tyson Zvonar.
“I saw a lot of grit, a lot of heart and a lot of confidence from Rory,” Zvonar said. “It was great to see him win. I’m really happy for him.”
Zvonar, Lizak, and Caden O’Rourke (215) also were regional champions for Lincoln-Way East.
The Griffins entered the regional ranked No. 12 in Class 3A by Illinois Matmen, behind both district rivals Lincoln-Way West (No. 6) and Lincoln-Way Central (No. 11).
But Lincoln-Way East, which finished as a close regional runner-up to Lockport each of the last two seasons, came out on top this time.
“This means everything,” Zvonar said. “We’ve been trying for a long time to get through that barrier of winning a regional as a team. We finally were able to do it.”
And Moran certainly helped the Griffins get there.
“Putting him into the lineup, we knew we had to get something out of him and we knew we could get some points from him,” Rockett said. “We didn’t know we could get that out of him.”
Moran was unsure, too.
“I didn’t know if I had a chance to win it, but I just had the mindset that I want to win it and I’m going to win it,” Moran said. “I’m just glad that I’m part of the team now.”