One last goal

Eric Hogue doesn’t focus on his 25 wins this season. The Charlotte Catholic High School senior, who wrestles in the 140-pound weight class, instead clams up when the subject of his one loss is mentioned. His arms cross and his head lowers. 

“It was a close match,” said Hogue. “But to me, I blew it. It’s frustrating.

“I hope to get better from that and move on.”

In reality, Hogue’s loss was nothing to scoff at. For starters, Parkwood’s Chris Rivas, the lone wrestler to beat Hogue, is rated No. 1 in his class at the N.C. 4A level. Also, the match was a 7-5 decision, so Rivas hardly dominated. 

Fact is, Hogue’s one of the state’s top wrestlers in his own right. Last month, he was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at Olympic High’s Meck County Tournament. On Jan. 9, he earned the same distinction during Charlotte Catholic’s Holy Angels Tournament for the lighter weight classes (103-140 pounds). Currently, he’s the top-ranked 140-pounder in Class 3A.

“I knew (last) weekend would be a good gauge for where I’m at, as far as where I want to be at the end of the season and what I need to tune up and how much harder I need to work,” Hogue said of the Holy Angels tournament. “It definitely showed me that I have some good matches. I need to get my conditioning a little better and stay aggressive on my feet.”

And if Hogue keeps progressing the way he and his coaches hope he will, he could emerge as a serious contender for the one prize that has eluded him in his career: a state championship.

Prodigious beginnings

While many Mecklenburg County youths don’t get their first experience in the sport until middle school, Hogue’s been wrestling since he was 6. His mother, Diane, was familiar with the sport after growing up in Iowa, so Hogue never had to convince his parents to let him wrestle. 

“I took it seriously, but it was more recreation and getting into it,” said Hogue. “It took a few years of getting beat up before I got used to it.”

By third grade, he was on youth teams. By fifth grade, he was traveling to tournaments and even won a national event in Tulsa, Okla. 

When he began his career at Charlotte Catholic, he was already an experienced grappler, which showed when he placed fourth at the state meet that season. He improved to third in the state during his sophomore and junior seasons.

Now, Cougars coach Steve Wyniemko wants to see Hogue take the next step in his development and challenge for a state title.

“When (Hogue) gets up to competition, he knows he’s good, but he wrestles more defensively,” Wyniemko said. “There aren’t many people who can go with him when he wrestles his best. We can’t really put our finger on it, but it’s one of those things we’ve been working on.

“There’s a huge mental part of the sport also when you get to that next level where you’re wrestling kids who are just as good as you,” continued Wyniemko. “Mentally, you’ve got to figure out what it’s going to take to beat them.”

Hogue agreed with his coach’s assessment.

“I think a lot of it is just peaking at the right time,” he said. “I’ve been progressing as the year has gone on, whereas in years past I felt like I started out real strong and then plateaued as the season went along.”

To combat Hogue’s late-season flameouts, the coaching staff has done extra work with him, critiquing and fixing his faults while fine-tuning the rest of his skills. 

“We’re trying to get him prepared mentally and physically more than anything,” said Wyniemko. “The biggest thing is him wrestling his own match and not going out there and wrestling (his opponents’) match. I’m trying to get him to control everything.”

To his credit, Hogue’s been more than willing to do his part to make sure he advances beyond the state semifinals for the first time in his career.

“We’ve seen a difference this year in his mental attitude toward things and the way he’s working out in the room and his willingness to work extra practices,” said Wyniemko. “He’s definitely putting forth the effort. 

“Just in talking with him, I think it’s something he truly wants to happen, which I think makes a difference. In past years, I think he was just happy to be there, but I think he’s realizing, ‘This is what I want, and this is what I have to do to go get it.’”

Hogue said this season is beginning to feel different, thanks to all the hard work.

“I have the best feeling about this ­season over any others,” he said. “I’m probably more confident when I wrestle, and I’m much more consistent. Consistency is probably the biggest thing I’ve noticed.”

The rest of the team seems to be feeding off Hogue’s work ethic; the Cougars have a 6-1 team record. Fellow seniors Andrew Grant (130 pounds), Alex Bounds (171) and Zack Levins (heavyweight) have been solid, while freshman Chase Hayes (152) has amassed an impressive 13-3 record. But it still seems that Hogue represents the Cougars’ best shot at an individual state championship. 

And according to Hogue, he’s not about to let this opportunity slip away the way his early-season match against Rivas did.

“I’m motivated,” Hogue said. “This is my last shot at a state title.”