BETHALTO - Civic Memorial wrestler Bryce Griffin recently brought home a 2A State Wrestling Championship to Bethalto in the 157-pound category.
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Griffin appeared with C.J. Nasello on his Our Daily Show! this past week.
Bryce won the state championship in Class 2A with a 5-1 win over Seth Digby of Lake Forest. He finished the season 49-2.
Bryce is a Tom Lane State Farm Insurance Male Athlete of the Month for the Eagles.
"We are very proud of him and excited to see him finish out his high school wrestling career with the storybook ending he has worked relentlessly to achieve," Bryce's mother, Jill, also the superintendent of Bethalto Schools, said.
"Ryan and I have enjoyed watching him set goals each year and work to obtain them, but this year felt different, he was more dialed in and focused than we've ever witnessed before. He's placed every year at state in high school and last year was such a disappointment for him when Kannon Webster (the number 1 ranked kid in the country who is attending U of I now and having a phenomenal true freshman season) bumped up at regionals to Bryce's weight class after Bryce was ranked #1 in the state all season. So, Bryce lost to Kannon in the finals last year and fell short of his goal to win a title.
"I think the disappointment he experienced last year made him even more hungry, determined and willing to do whatever it took this year to ensure his high school career ended exactly the way he wanted. Watching him come home from practice, shower and head back to the gym for another extensive workout was something to admire. Don't get me wrong, Bryce has always done 'extra' or 'more' than his typical practices, but this year just seemed different with him. He managed his weight this year differently than in years past as well and we were proud to see him doing his part to make sure all the stars were aligned at the State tournament leaving nothing left to chance."
Bryce Griffin said it felt “awesome” to bring home a state championship.
“It showed I put all that work in and got what I wanted," he said. "It is super cool what Illinois does with its state wrestling tournament."
Bryce said after a tournament in Delaware in mid-December, he decided to move down to the 157-pound category for the Illinois post-season tournaments and it paid off. He said using a resistance back at Leisure World in Bethalto paid dividends.
"I would go hard for six minutes which is the length of a match, then barely pedal for three minutes and do it again," he said. "All the training did pay off. I did a lot of conditioning at the gym, running and biking and I always drank a lot of fluids. It is super important to stay hydrated when cutting weight."
Again, congrats to Bryce on his Tom Lane State Farm Insurance Male Athlete of the Month honor for Civic Memorial.
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