The Wright Stuff: Parkersburg South senior seeks fourth individual state title
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PARKERSBURG – It's not quite yet official, but it appears the end of Gage Wright's athletic career at Parkersburg South will conclude this weekend at the 77th annual West Virginia State wrestling tournament in Huntington.
The top seed in Class AAA at 175, who earlier this season became the fourth Mountain State wrestler to ever win an Ironman championship, will try and conclude his career on Saturday night inside Mountain Health Arena with a fourth consecutive state crown.
"I thought about doing different sports, maybe baseball or track, but I don't know," Wright replied following Monday's practice when asked if he might do something this spring.
"I leave July 1 for Virginia Tech. I don't know about that, but it's definitely going to suck. I'll be back to help out my team for next year, too. I always got to come back and help support and watch the boys."
What Wright is hoping for this year is to help the Patriots finish as back-to-back state champions.
"It's been a blast this season getting closer with all the guys," said Wright, who finished runner-up for the Curt Warner Award given to the state's best running back. "When I was a freshman it was like 'dang man, I got so much time' but in a blink of an eye I'm two days away from not practicing here ever again other than like coming in and helping out the boys. It's good to be done, but it's also not at the same time.
"It kind of sucks, but it happens. You got to grow up and keep pushing I guess. It's exciting, but it's also a little upsetting knowing that the high school career is over, but you got stuff to look forward to. Win states for my fourth time, getting our, my, last team title and then going out to Blacksburg being part of Virginia Tech."
As talented a two-way player as Wright was on the gridiron, he knew wrestling was going to be his sport at the next level.
A couple years before he reached high school Wright sort of got tired being on the mat and decided to opt out for a bit, which his dad fully supported.
"I feel like people that just wrestle non-stop they get hurt more often and I believe that they get burned out from the sport," Wright expressed. "Whenever I was young I'd wrestle non-stop, but I'd still play football and stuff. I felt like I was getting a little burned out from wrestling so I took a whole summer off from wrestling. I haven't done that in a while though. I took a whole summer off and I started missing wrestling.
"If you start to get burned out you kind of got to take a summer off. I kind of started missing it a little bit more. I remember I was in the living room just trying to hit moves with my dad. He wouldn't let me wrestle. He wouldn't take me to practice. He'd just let me go lift and everybody would be practicing and he'd make me go home. He was like 'you're going to want to wrestle by the time we are done doing this' so I mean it worked."
Wright added of the experience when looking back at it "he kept me away from all of it. He'd let me watch it and everything like that, but he wouldn't let me step on a mat. It just really made me want it really, really bad."
Two years ago when the Patriots made Wheeling Island and the state football championship, Wright went 2-2 at the Ironman after finishing fifth as a sophomore.
"Football, it's a lot of work on the body, especially at running back and then having to play defense as well, but really other than that, it's just coming into the wrestling room and trying to prepare for Ironman that quick, especially after the championship football game. I had like three days of practice and I went out there and got my butt kicked.
"I was out of shape. Way different shape for football than wrestling shape. I was dead. It was horrible. I had a lot more time (this year). We lost in the first round, but it will be all right. We went against Martinsburg and kind of shot ourselves in the foot multiple games to go against Martinsburg, but other than that I had a lot of time to prepare and I think that's why I did so good."
Perhaps on a different timeline, Wright would be off to play Division I football and already have one Robert Dutton Award for the state's best wrestler in his trophy case.
"It's in the past," Wright admitted of last year's announcement of the Dutton Award while adding of winning this year "it would mean the world to me. There's a lot of good wrestlers in the state.
"(Point Pleasant's) Gunner Andrick, (University's) Brock Kehler and there's good people on our team, too, as well. If I don't win it then I guess I don't win it, but it's just whatever honestly. I'd love to win it. If not, then I'm not going to get all upset or anything."
Wright, who told FloWrestling he credited Jason Nolf and the Winn-Dixie move for his Ironman finals pin, was fairly direct when asked about being finished with football.
"It kind of sucks. It really sucks," said Wright, who has won state titles at 145, 170 and 175. "It's the one sport to get me out of wrestling for a little bit. Honestly, it's probably one of my favorite sports if you want me to be honest.
"It's above wrestling. Wrestling is just horrible. It's hard. It's a job. Football is more of my fun sport, but I'm better at wrestling so I got to stick to wrestling, which, oh well, got to put football in the past."
Wright, who is attempting to become the 25th four-time state champ in Mountain State history, added he's at least been healthy this season for the most part.
"Other than I broke my big toe a couple weeks back, but it's healed and it's good now," said the Patriot. "I think I broke it during my OVAC finals match."
The perfect ending for Wright's career aside from a fourth state title and back-to-back team crowns would be if fourth-ranked 113-pounder Cole Smith or fifth-ranked 120-pounder Cade Staats could win it all as a freshman.
"Gavin (Quiocho) my freshman year, his senior year, he passed me down the torch and said I got to be the next four-timer," Wright said. "I'm trying to do that for him and I'm going to try and pass it to someone, maybe, if I can. It would mean a lot to get the (team) title. I know it means a lot to all of us and it means a lot to coach (Shaun) Smith. He puts in the time and the hours with us.
"It's just a good way to give back to him and show how appreciative we are of him and everything else like that. He has a family, too, and I know he wants to get home to all them, but he's in here busting his butt just like us every moment for the exact same cause. He just wants a championship, too, and he wants the best for us. He's the best coach in the state. I can't ask for a better coach."
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com