Norwalk stars take aim at state gold

NORWALK — Gabe Phillips wasn't feeling it. He was dinged up and sore, certain he wasn't going to be at his best on the wrestling mat on this particular day. "But you have to understand, that's every day," his Norwalk senior teammate Ethan Hernandez said of Phillips. "Something is always wrong, but then he goes out there 100 miles per hour and everything is fine." Another senior teammate, Alec Maloney, said it's almost like a magical act with Phillips. "He'll complain about his ankle," Maloney said. "He'll tell us how sore everything is, or how he's just not feeling it. Then he walks out there on the mat and literally nothing is wrong with him. "He'll say before some matches, 'I'm not feeling well today. I just feel terrible,'" he added. "Then he goes out there and kills everyone. It's a whole different person when he goes out there. He's nice off the mat, but ferocious on the mat." Hernandez, Phillips and Maloney will always be tied together. A combined record of 506-78 with 10 Division II state appearances and five All-Ohio medals — all close together in weight classes — tends to do that. All three have accomplished things that very few — or no one else — in the history of Norwalk wrestling have done. Beginning Friday at the Jerome Schottenstein Center in Columbus, the decorated trio will conclude their wrestling careers together on Ohio's biggest and grandest stage. "All three will go down as some of the most decorated athletes to ever come out of this school," Norwalk head coach Frank Staley said. From the technician who could wrestle from the minute he could walk (Hernandez), to the late bloomer who loves to gamble on the mat (Phillips), or to just sheer brute strength and power (Maloney) — one thing remains clear. "We're each other's best friend in the world," Phillips said. "It's us three. We're super close. That's how it is. It's been like that ever since we started wrestling, and it will be like that. "We can rag on each other, motivate and beat on each other, but I can always count on those two — for everything," he added. "I can count on them in real-life situations. They mean everything to me." A blueprint Everyone associated with the Norwalk program knows where it starts. There was no surprise that it was Hernandez who became a four-time state qualifier, and the program's first state finalist since 1992 last season. It was even less of a surprise to see him already have a scholarship to wrestle in the Ivy League at the University of Pennsylvania before his junior year finished. "Ethan is well-deserving of a lot of things in his life," Staley said. "The one thing I can assure you is that kid works as hard as anyone in the room. He never takes a day off. Everything he gets, he's earned it." Said Phillips, "Of course everyone knows Ethan, the kid had been wrestling literally since he took his first steps as a toddler. Everything he does, it's super fluid. He's not the strongest — but he's really strong don't get me wrong — but he's super fluid on the mat. Just a heady kid." When Hernandez was able to win a league title and earn a trip to state as a freshman, it set a tone — and raised the bar among the three. "Watching Ethan go down as a freshman, it motivated me and Gabe, big time," Maloney said. "And sure enough, we've all been down ever since and gotten things done. "To be where we are for Norwalk wrestling, it's awesome. It's crazy what's transpired from freshman to senior year." The morning of the Sandusky Bay Conference championships on Feb. 22, which was hosted at Norwalk, Hernandez was up before 7 a.m. and immediately grabbed his phone. The senior leader had a message for his teammates. "The first thing I did was text those guys, and simply said, 'Time to go, time to start the train to Columbus,'" Hernandez said. "I'm totally confident in myself, and Alec and Gabe to get done what we want to accomplish. We just have to keep pushing these next four or five days, and I think we'll be OK." Pushing buttons The three standouts admittedly push each other on the mat. But there is also no trouble pushing each others buttons off the mat. Ask any of the three for a story about one another, and it certainly doesn't take long for a response. "Freshman year, we stayed overnight at our first tournament together," Maloney said. "We had never slept in same room at him in hotel. I was trying to fall asleep, and all you hear is this rolling around in the mattress. Gabe and I were so confused. Here it was Ethan just tossing and turning like you wouldn't believe to try and fall asleep. "He was tossing and turning so bad, and when you watch his demeanor, no one would think that about him," he added. "It's not every 30 seconds or a minute — it's straight consistent back and forth. But thinking back on it, that reminds us of all the fun stuff that happened." Not to be outdone, Hernandez notes that Maloney also has some "acting abilities" similar to Phillips. "Every weekend, on Friday night, he's going to weigh in two or three pounds underweight," Hernandez said of Maloney. "And Saturday, like clockwork, he's going to walk in and panic to us, 'Guys, I ate so much last night, I'm so worried about my weight.' Of course he steps on the scale, still two pounds under. It's a routine with him. Literally every single time." During a brief break in taking a group photo on Monday, Phillips decided to start prodding at Maloney. Moments later, he was on the gym floor in both pain — and laughter. But for Phillips, when speaking of Maloney, it wasn't so much poking fun, but trying to grasp the reality of a moment on the football field. The three players were two-way starters for the Truckers in each of the last two seasons, including the run to the state semifinals in 2018. "Sophomore year, there was a game where Alec walks off the football field, looks at me and Drake Neuberger — and his pinky finger was dislocated at like a 45-degree angle," Phillips said. "And he was like, 'What do I do?' Before I could say anything, he just grabs it, yanks it back into place and runs back onto the field for first down on offense the next play. "Who does that? It's one of the craziest things still I've seen in sports," he added. "I would have been on the ground in pain. This kid yanks it back into place and is back on the field. He's crazy. We mess around a lot, but that was nuts." One last ride All three wrestlers know rankings are just that, but they also offer a glimpse at the type of season and expectations they've created. Maloney (51-2) is projected fourth in his 220-pound bracket, about where he was ranked all season by borofanohio.net. But given his strength and athleticism — he'll continue his football career at NCAA Div. I Bowling Green State University in the fall — few would be surprised if he ended up higher than fourth. "Alec is one of the best athletes I've ever been around," Staley said. "He's got freakish strength and speed, and finds a way to get better every single day. He's incredible." Maloney's goal is always to go out and try to end the match as fast as possible. "Nothing special," he said. "All it takes is for you to go out there and hit you're move you perfected and you're done." At 195 pounds, Phillips is the projected state champion and has held the No. 1 ranking for over a month. Just don't look for an answer out of him — or his 30-0 record. "I try to not let any of that get to my head," he said. "I'm going down there to have fun. It's the last wrestling matches of my high school career. I make friends with a lot of the kids I've wrestled that I never knew before. I'm just going out to have fun. That's my mentality this year. Don't worry about losing, just go out and try and have fun." Entering the tournament rail, Phillips has focused in on all areas of offense. "I've always wanted to go out and throw people, because throws look cool and they are fun," he said. "But lately, I've been trying to work on my shots more. That's more high percentage and what will win you matches." As for Hernandez (49-2), the target has been there for several years. After being projected to reach and lose in the finals last season, which he did, the 193-win star has been No. 1 and the projected state champ at 170 all season. Norwalk's only state champion was Dan Pugh at 155 pounds in 1972 — 49 seasons ago. "I know there is a big target on my back. It's been there since my sophomore year," Hernandez said. "I've been the guy to beat, and that's an awesome thing to have, and that's why I have all these close matches. "Guys don't want to wrestle me, so they try to keep it close, then go for it," he added. "I'm not going to let that happen. That target has been on my back for three years now. It's something you get used to, but also something you take pride in." Hernandez lost 11-6 to Davison (Mich.) junior standout Alex Facundo in the championship match at the Brecksville Holiday tournament on Dec. 30. Facundo is ranked No. 1 in the country at 170 and is verbally committed to powerhouse Penn State University. On Feb. 5, he lost in overtime to Oak Harbor's Wyatt Miller on a night he bumped up to 182. Miller (38-5) is projected third in Div. III. "Right now I don't have any pressure," Hernandez said. "But when I lost that match at Bellevue, things started getting heavy on myself, mentally and physically. I just had to take a step back, relax and focus on the moment daily. Every day, focus on the moment and what we're doing at that time and place." Regardless of how it shakes out for him or his two close friends, Hernandez sees a bigger picture in the trio's success. "We've had goals and aspirations to do great things here, and through whatever sport we're doing, football or wrestling, we give 100 percent, no matter what," he said. "Just to achieve these things, not just individually, but as a group of us three … we've made our dreams come true. It truly feels like a movie sometimes, it's awesome. "I think it will be a long time before it happens again, but I sure do hope it happens again," Hernandez added. "There is no reason why it can't. I'm hoping the three of us win a state title this year and it attracts kids in here at Norwalk to do great things long after we're gone."