Streator’s Nicholas Pollett is the Times 2024 Boys Wrestler of the Year

When Streator senior Nicholas Pollett pinned Oak Forest’s Jacob Sebek in the 106-pound blood round at the IHSA Class 2A State Finals in Champaign, he not only reached his goal, but put an end to a long drought in the program’s history.

Pollett’s victory secured a state medal, the first such prize won by a Bulldogs wrestler since Tom Wonders in 1958.

“To be honest, I had no idea about it being that long,” Pollett said.

Pollett — the 2024 Times Boys Wrestler of the Year — eventually finished sixth and ended the season with school records in wins (43) and pins (29). Despite a shortened freshman season due to COVID, Pollett ended his Streator career with 93 victories.

“Last year I got knocked out in the blood round at regionals, lost both of my matches to kids that eventually made it to state,” Pollett said. “That disappointment really made me work that much harder this past offseason. I went to camps, and I went to tournaments. It all paid off as I was able to get past all that this year and reach my goal of state.”

“He had a great senior season, but he also put in all the needed work to make that happen. It was really fun to watch him reach the goal he had set for himself. He has set some very high standards here that should give some of our up-and-coming guys something to shoot for.

—  Kyle Lowman, Streator wrestling coach on senior state medal winner Nicholas Pollett

Pollett was champion at the Rock Island Regional and placed second at the Sycamore Sectional. He won his first match at state, but then fell in the quarterfinals. He said his introduction to wrestling as a youth “wasn’t too hot”, but in time he started to see how good he could be.

“I started wrestling in kindergarten or first grade,” Pollett said. “My dad got me into it, he was the assistant coach for the kids club. To be honest, I really didn’t like it. I hated the workouts and training we would do. I didn’t really like the feeling after losing either, it was very demoralizing.

“I stuck with it and around seventh or eighth grade I started to really understand what all the preparation was about. I started to do well then in the kids club and thought I could do well when I got to high school. My dad always said I’d thank him for showing the work I needed to put into the sport. He was right.”

Pollet opened the state meet with a 11-0 major decision over Brother Rice’s James Lolito, then fell 7-2 to eventual state champ Allen Woo of Montini.

Pollett said his match with Sebek was a close one, until he was able to get his opponent into a fireman’s carry and eventually record the pin in 3 minutes, 34 seconds. In the fifth-place match, Pollett dropped a tough 5-4 decision to Chicago St. Patrick’s Dan Goodwin.

“He wrestled the toughest kids in that bracket really all the way through the postseason,” Streator coach Kyle Lowman said. “He stayed calm and focused the entire time. I’m not going to lie, I was nervous going into his blood round match, but I guess he showed me why I shouldn’t have been as nervous as I was.

“He had a great senior season, but he also put in all the needed work to make that happen. It was really fun to watch him reach the goal he had set for himself. He has set some very high standards here that should give some of our up-and-coming guys something to shoot for.”

Pollett says there is a lot of struggles in being a wrestler, but for him it’s maintaining the weight he is comfortable competing at.

“I feel like my biggest challenge of being a wrestler was really just cutting weight,” Pollett said. “On the mat I feel like I’m pretty technically sound and mentally I’m good. But my normal weight is 125, so to get down to 106 is horrible. But that’s the weight class I feel I have an advantage it, it’s the weight I’ve always wrestled at. I’m comfortable there.”

Pollett said beyond the state experience and numerous other titles at regular season tournaments, it was actually a very early season match that he feels really got his record-breaking season off to a solid start.

“One of the memorable matches I had this season was against (Seneca freshman and Class 1A state qualifier) Raiden Terry (at the Fighting Irish Invitational) really early in the season,” Pollett said. “He placed like third at state in middle school and everyone was saying how good he was. He is good, but I was able to beat him in the championship match and that kind of got my season off on good start.”

Pollett says he is still undecided on life and wrestling after graduation this spring but would like to keep competing if the right fit comes up.