Wauconda junior Gavin Rockey is wrestling with a heavy heart this season.
Rockey is driven not only by his loss in a state championship match last year, but also by the memory of his father, Matthew, who died Oct. 5 at age 54.
“I think about him before my matches,” Rockey said. “I know he’s proud of me.”
Rockey, who lost to Grayslake Central’s Anthony Alanis in the final of the 106-pound weight class at the 2023 Class 2A state meet, recalled a moment he shared with his father when he returned to Wauconda with his second-place medal.
“He couldn’t travel and watched it at home,” Rockey said. “But we had the biggest hug ever when I got home.”
Rockey (38-9), a second-year captain, heads back to the state meet this week after finishing second at 106 at the Grayslake Central Sectional on Saturday. He lost 9-2 to Montini freshman Allen Woo.
“It was a pretty good match,” Rockey said. “He got to his ties pretty well. There’s a few things I have to work on. Next week is when it actually matters. It’s a learning experience. I learned I have to get to my ties better, finish my shots better. I got to his legs a couple of times but couldn’t finish. He was pretty strong on his underhooks.”
Rockey is one of six Wauconda wrestlers who qualified for state. Bulldogs coach Trevor Jauch, a three-time state champion at Crystal Lake Central, said Rockey will be ready.
“He wrestled a heck of a tournament,” Jauch said. “We will clean some things up. We don’t talk about peaking at sectionals, rather talk about peaking at state.”
Getting to this point hasn’t been easy for Rockey, who said the burden of expectations weighed on him after his run at state last year.
“I definitely felt that pressure early in the season,” he said. “My matches were a lot closer. It was pretty tough. It was something I had to learn. I had to go through it, battle back and push through it one match at a time.
“I had to sit down with my coach and talk with him. He told me nobody will think differently of me if I don’t do this or that. I was already a state finalist. He told me to just have fun.”
Wauconda sophomore Nate Randle can understand Rockey’s position. Randle lost to Glenwood’s Drew Davis in the state championship match at 113 last season. Randle, who advanced to state again by placing fourth at 126 at the sectional on Saturday, told Rockey to trust his abilities.
“I basically said to him to be calm and there’s no need to be worried about anything,” Randle said. “Just score your points, and the wins will come.”
Jauch said Rockey has added a few more elements to his repertoire, which helped him this season.
“Gavin is extremely coachable and willing to improve every day,” Jauch said. “He works extremely hard and continues to develop strengths in his own style. His attitude and effort in the wrestling room on a daily basis are very positive.”
But Rockey is not all business. He joked about how he practiced rapping ahead of the team’s postseason banquet last year.
“Our coach told the captains we have to give a speech on the day before the ceremony, and I told him I’m not good at that,” Rockey said. “I did a 40-second rap. I wasn’t good at it.”
He is good at wrestling, though. So Rockey, who puts a penny in his right sock before matches for good luck, said he is hoping he can create a different ending for himself at the state meet this time.
No doubt his father will be on his mind.
“I know he’s proud of me, no matter how I do,” Rockey said.
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
