By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current
Tim Sebastian’s name will long be remembered at Geneseo High School. The 126-pound varsity wrestler recently marked his 100th win at the Rockford East Wrestling Tournament held in December.
Sebastian, a senior at GHS, is among just 23 wrestlers who have reached the 100-win mark in the school’s history and it is something he said he hadn’t ever really thought about…”It’s a huge accomplishment that not many people achieve, and I never really thought about it,” he said. “Most of the guys that hit that mark were legends, and I didn’t see myself in that category at the time.”
Even though he hadn’t thought about the Rockford East match being his opportunity to hit 100 wins, Sebastian admits it was a thrilling moment when he realized what had happened…”It was exciting. I was pretty tired; the kid from Wisconsin was a really tough match. I knew I was close to 100, but didn’t know for sure that was the one until I saw all my teammates there supporting me with signs.”
Submitted Photo
That was a special moment for the standout wrestler and he said, “The energy they (his teammates) gave him when he came off the mat and the all the guys were there congratulating me and pumping me up! Knowing they were there for me meant a ton.”
When asked about wrestling considered an individual sport, Sebastian said, “We train together all year round, helping each other get better,” he added. “You can’t be selfish. You grow together as a team. Your accomplishments are team accomplishments, because everyone plays a part in it. We have dual meets and tournaments, and team scores are tracked.”
Sebastian’s wrestling career began when he was a second grader and he credits his three older brothers (Noah, Luke and Joe) for his interest, who were all involved in wrestling at that time.
“I wanted to be like them,” he said. “I tagged along with Joe to club practices and just started rolling around on the mats with the guys.”
Geneseo Current Photo
He also described himself as a roughneck little kid who would always challenge his big brothers, didn’t matter that they were two to three times his size.
Wrestling most definitely has been a family affair in the Sebastian household as Tim’s dad, Brian Sebastian, a 1985 GHS graduate, was on the GHS wrestling team and was a state qualifier in the sport.
Sebastian also was asked to share something about how his coaches made an impact on his journey to reaching success, and he said, “Going to Blue Line with Coach (Jessie) Montez was huge for me; I really developed as a wrestler there and learned how to push past my limits. Coach (Jon) Murray has helped me a ton with his technique and experience. We have a lot of great coaches in Geneseo helping us grind and get better every day.”
It is evident that wrestling plays a big part in the young athlete’s life and he admits, “It’s a big part of me. The relationships that you make go beyond a season or year. Fun times. I found that through hard work I could have better results. During the season I pretty much lock in, wrestling is all I really think about. It drives me to want to be better. It’s a lot of pain and suffering, but the results make it all worth it. It’s my lifestyle. Working out, daily strength and core training, eating right, club practices - everything is focused on making me better.”
Sebastian said one of his favorite memories from his wrestling career is when he qualified for State as a freshman…”I was wrestling Ivan Munoz from Ottawa who was ranked top 10. I was down 7- 4 going into the third period, but I knew I was wearing him out. I got an escape and immediately turned back into him and took a shot, and he bent over to defend it and I caught him in a standing cradle to put him on his back the last minute of the match for the victory, and winning that match punched my state ticket. That was when I first realized I could really compete with the best.”
He also wrestled at the state level in his junior year at GHS.
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
-Plans after graduating from GHS – pursue a degree in mechanical engineering and plans to wrestle Division 3 in college.
-Advice for young wrestlers – “Hard work pays off. It may seem like nothing is going right for you now, just trust the process.
-Favorite food – “Cookie cake and ice cream.”
-What he is most looking forward to at the end of this year’s wrestling season – “Celebrating my accomplishments and eating. I love eating.”