IN THE SPOTLIGHT
New Trier’s Patrick Ryan (right) battles Highland Park’s Alex Rosenbloom in the 142-pound final at the CSL Championships. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOEL LERNER
Patrick Ryan sported a splotch here and there and a cut here and there on his face last weekend.
They were a wrestler’s badges, some red and some maroon and some color in between. The shape of the mark on the bridge of the New Trier senior’s nose looked a little like a miniaturized state of Ohio.
“Patrick, you resemble a pirate,” Cheri McDermed — the mother of New Trier senior heavyweight Jimmy McDermed — said after the Central Suburban League Meet at Maine West on Jan. 20.
“Or a character,” she added, “from the movie Gangs of New York.”
Ryan, a 145-pound grappler, hasn’t seen the violent flick. It’s set in 1863, and it’s about a fictional gang leader, William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting (portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis), in his roles as a crime boss and political kingmaker.
“Not sure what Mrs. McDermed meant by that,” Ryan said with a smile, which softened his nicked-up face considerably. “Maybe I’ll have to see it one of these days.”
Ryan received rave reviews in Des Plaines last weekend, capturing the title at 145 with a 7-3 defeat of Highland Park senior Alex Rosenbloom and earning Outstanding Wrestler of the Meet (among CSL South competitors) honors for the second year in a row.
The victory against a state-ranked foe with a 25-1 record before the championship bout upped Ryan’s 2017-18 record to a four-star 38-0.
“Patrick is from another world,” said Trevians senior Jack Tangen (35-1), the champ at 152 pounds last weekend and Ryan’s practice partner. “He’s strong and super quick, relentless. Never stops; Patrick never stops when he’s on a mat.
“He’s got that … want,” Ryan’s good friend added. “He wants to be the best, wants to grind each day, and that makes me a better wrestler.”
Ryan — a two-time state qualifier who is ranked No. 4 in his weight class by Illinois Matmen — credited Tangen for preparing him well in between duals and weekend meets this winter.
“I have a tough practice partner,” said Ryan, who fell one win short of qualifying for the Class 3A state meet as a freshman in 2015. “Jack and I go at each other hard every day — that raises my level of conditioning.
“The key [to his defeat of Rosenbloom] was conditioning, especially after the second period,” he added. “Alex is a really good wrestler. I had more left in the gas tank, and I kept pushing the pace.”
Ryan has two older brothers (Joey, 22, and Charlie, 19) and a younger one (William, 15). Joey and Charlie swam and played water polo.
Polo, to some, is essentially wrestling in chlorinated water, particularly when a defender attempts to prevent his man from receiving an entry pass a few feet in front of a goalie.
“We’ve had a debate going on in our family for years,” Ryan said. “It’s the ‘Which is the tougher sport … wrestling or water polo?’ I love competing with my brothers. Baseball, basketball, you name the sport. Two-on-two, in anything, it goes beyond competitiveness whenever the four of us battle.”
New Trier wrestling coach Marc Tadelman has watched Patrick Ryan tangle with singlet-clad opponents for 10 years. Ryan worked with Tadelman for years at North Shore Edge Wrestling Club, a New Trier feeder program.
“Good scrambler, wrestles a whole match, wrestles with a lot of heart,” Tadelman said of Ryan, who hopes to major in political science or English and wrestle at one of three colleges (American University or George Mason University or Brown). “I’ve always enjoyed coaching him. Patrick doesn’t give up points easily; any point against him has to be earned. What I’ve always liked about him is his willingness to learn, along with his desire to go hard each time he competes.”
Ryan recognizes the sport of wrestling is packed with life lessons.
And he appreciates each of them.
“Discipline, working hard [to lose weight and increase strength], believing you’re never out of a something with a positive attitude … to name a few,” Ryan said. “You know what it comes down to, what this sport is all about, what life is all about? Heart. The guy who succeeds is the one with the most heart.”
Notable: New Trier’s wrestling squad finished third (225.5 points) at last weekend’s Central Suburban League Meet behind the title efforts of seniors Patrick Ryan (145 pounds), Jack Tangen (152) and Jimmy McDermed (285), who improved his overall record to 23-9. CSL North division champ Deerfield (245) and CSL South champ Maine South (229) went 1-2. NT’s other top-six performers at the meet: sophomore Michael Miralles (2nd place, 113 pounds); senior Russell Sanchez (2nd, 170); sophomore Matthew McKenna (3rd, 132); senior Bayne Kiser (3rd, 160); freshman John Schwartz (5th, 106); senior Zane Albrect (5th, 182); junior DJ Barzovan (6th, 220); senior Mac Lamison (6th, 138); and freshman Liam Cummings (6th, 120). … New Trier wrestling coach Marc Tadelman, on Tangen: “I’m sure he also got some votes and was in contention [for Outstanding Wrestler among CSL South entrants at last weekend’s league championships at Maine West].” Tangen’s classmate, Ryan, earned the honor in a repeat feat; Ryan received Outstanding Wrestler recognition at the same meet last year after topping the field of 138-pounders. Tangen avenged his lone loss (a 2-0 decision to an Oak Park-River Forest at the New Trier triple dual on Nov. 25) this winter with a convincing 12-4 victory at a weekend invite. … New Trier vies for Class 3A sectional berths at the Glenbrook South Regional on Feb. 3.