Even in the day and age of specialization, a three-sport guy like Geneva’s Joe Pettit still exists.
His combination of sports, however, may be the most unique in the area.
Football and wrestling are certainly common sports for athletes to participate in. Rugby, however, isn’t nearly as mainstream, and for the senior heavyweight, that was actually his first sport.
“That’s what I started out with,” Pettit said of rugby. “I was in first grade. There was a tryout with the local men’s club and they showed us how to play, and it seemed really fun.
“It taught me how to tackle and how to keep myself safe in a contact sport. I stuck with it.”
Pettit also keeps putting up the wins in wrestling, improving his record to 14-0 after winning by forfeit Thursday for the host Vikings in a 52-24 loss to rival Batavia in a dual meet.
Next weekend, Pettit faces his first stiff challenge of the season at a tournament in Granite City. It’s actually the second of three sports that he excels in on a year-round basis.
Pettit, who picked up a Division I offer this week from Marian to play rugby, is also coming off earning all-state recognition in football as a leader for Geneva, which took second in Class 6A.
“It was definitely a special season,” Pettit said. “We knew that we were going to have a breakout season for sure. We just put in a lot of work in the offseason. We definitely deserve what we got.
“It didn’t end how we wanted, but I left the program better than I found it, that’s for sure.”
In wrestling, Pettit is making the move to heavyweight from 215 pounds as he looks to improve upon back-to-back state appearances. He has loftier goals on the mat this winter.
“The goal this year is to make it to the finals,” Pettit said. “It’s realistic. That’s the goal.”
Pettit is a sturdy 245 thanks to his relentless work in the weight room. Anything past 250 would be too much for Geneva coach Tom Chernich, who likes where Pettit is positioned at the moment.
“He’s getting stronger and stronger,” Chernich said. “He’s wrestled against guys that are 280, and Joe is just a lot stronger than them. He moves. We want him to keep that agility for a heavyweight.
“He’s a great athlete.”
Pettit, however, isn’t resting on his laurels.
“I haven’t faced a lot of the top 3A guys yet, but I’ve faced some of the top 2A guys,” Pettit said. “We’ll see. I still have to make some statements. I’m a competitor. I’m not going to cave.
“There will be some big matches, but I’m built for it.”
Pettit regularly works with sophomore heavyweight Mark Atkins, assistant coach Jeff Martens and sophomore 215-pounder Tennyson Welage-Stein.
Welage-Stein relishes the opportunity to work with someone he looks up to in Pettit.
“He’s just really aggressive and a great wrestler,” Welage-Stein said. “He’s a lot more advanced than I am, but I think we both feed off of each other and we’re able to improve.
“It really motivates me to get better and work as hard as I can every single day. I want to have big goals and try to go downstate in high school. It feels good to work with somebody who’s already reached that level and has had that much success that I can learn from.”
As far as Pettit’s next steps after high school, he said his recruiting is wide open in all three sports.
Before that decision, though, Pettit has some unfinished business on the mat.
“He’s stronger now than ever,” Chernich said. “Joe is not a 215 anymore. He’s a heavyweight. It was like, hey man, you did it. You’re big enough. You don’t need to think about going 215.
“You’re better off at heavyweight.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
