By BUTCH HARMON
For those who think that winning a state championship is easy, a conversation with New Lothrop senior Josh Wendling may change their minds.
As a returning state champion, many people around New Lothrop and in wrestling circles thought that a repeat state title for Wending was a given.
Not so fast, according to Wendling. “A lot of people thought that I would win the state title automatically,” he said. “Everyone thought I would win easy. It’s not that easy. I felt a lot of pressure. Winning another one is sweet. It was just a blast.”
Wendling needed to grind to win his title, as he defeated Mark Workman of Hesperia 13-7 to win the 160-pound title in Division 4.
Wendling finished his career at New Lothrop with a 202-24 overall record. This year, he turned in a 56-4 record.
Along with the expectation of winning a second state title, Wendling had another distraction that made winning the second title more difficult. The week leading up to the individual state title came on the heels of New Lothrop’s dramatic win over Hudson to take the Division 4 team state title. After helping New Lothrop win the team title, he had to deal with the post-championship celebrations around New Lothrop.
“I had to keep my mind right,” Wendling said. “Everyone was talking about the team state all week, and it was tough keeping my mind on the task at hand. I thought I was able to do that and keep myself at the top of my game.”