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South Fayette wrestler earns MVP award

By Eleanor Bailey 5 min read
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Mike Carr owned a 160-15 career record at South Fayette. He is a two-time state champion.

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Mike Carr will compete for the Pennsylvania team in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic set for March 26 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Fieldhouse.

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Mike Carr will continue his wrestling career at Illinois.

For the past two wrestling seasons, Mike Carr has been unstoppable on the mats. He has rolled up back-to-back undefeated state championship runs. The South Fayette senior does, however, has a relative rival. In fact, his older brother, Nick, owns him.

“He’s my training partner and he kicks my butt,” said Carr with a hearty laugh. “I’ve gotten better over the years and he has made me better but I have never beaten him in a match although I’ve scored on him. He knows me so well. He knows my bread and butter moves.”

Carr’s older sibling has long been removed from the scholastic scene, having won a PIAA state title in 2010. He won a NCAA Division III national championship at Washington and Jefferson College in 2015.

Thanks to Nick, however, few on the high school level have had to answer to Carr’s outside single. He used the move to garner his second straight state title on March 12 at the Giant Center in Hershey. His win against James Duffy of Smethport, 3-1, capped a 42-0 season and a 160-15 scholastic career.

Carr credits experience, particularly that with his brother as well as his father, as reasons for his success. See, when it comes to wrestling, it’s all in the family for Carr.

“For Mike, it really is a family thing,” said South Fayette coach Rick Chaussard. “He’s not a club wrestler. He’s home grown. In his own house, they, all the brothers, help each other out,” he added, saying that when Seth Carr is added into the mix the siblings are ranked in the top five and could possibly end up No. 2 with over 400 victories. “That’s why he is successful. He’s a do-it-yourself guy. He’s always calling me to get into the room.”

At age 4, Carr saw the inside of a wrestling room for the first time as he trailed his father, Mike, to youth practices. He said that he ran around a lot doing simple drills and then they became more complex. “My dad took me to his practices and he became such a role model for me.”

When Mark McKnight won a PIAA title in 2003 wrestling under the Chartiers Valley banner because South Fayette did not have a program, Carr was sold on winning a state championship. “Mark was such a role model for me. I remember watching him on television win the title. And then I saw my brother win one. I decided that’s what I wanted to do, too.”

Winning a second title wasn’t as easy as accomplishing the feat the first time.

“The second title was a new adventure because coming off of one you are expected to win. It was more expected than excitement. But it was a goal. There is more pressure to repeat, but I just went out and wrestled,” Carr explained.

“It’s just a game and I’m just going to go out and wrestle hard. That’s all I can do.”

Carr, however, wrestled under less than ideal conditions. Not only did he compete with an abdominal hernia that likely will require surgery, he wrestled with a torn meniscus. That injury proved more worrisome for Carr.

“At first, I didn’t think I was going to actually be able to wrestle. I thought I was going to have a lot of issues. But then, I was like, I’ll find a way. That was before sections,” he said. “Over time, I figured out a way to handle it. I adapted to it and actually the pain got less and less as I continued to wrestle. It all worked out. The knee feels good. Right now, it doesn’t feel too bad.”

Though he’ll likely have to have the knee “scoped”, the tear should not impede Carr from competing in the Pittsburgh Wrestling Classic set for March 26 at the University of Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. Carr will compete on the Pennsylvania team and wrestle against Hunter Marko. The four-time Wisconsin state champion sports a 150-4 record. He is a Minnesota recruit.

“The Classic is something you dream about since you are young,” Carr said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge. It should be fun and exciting. It will be great to see how competitive you can be with the other guys that are tops in the nation.”

When he matriculates to Illinois, Carr will also be competing against the best in the country. The Fighting Illini feature Jim Heffernan and his assistants Mark Perry and Jeremy Hunter, a four-time state champion from McGuffey and a Penn State product.

“Athletically, I want to win an NCAA title,” Carr said. “I’m looking forward to training under Jeremy and Coach Perry. Academically, I want to take the pre-med pathway and maybe minor in mathematics,” added Carr, who plans to become a pediatric surgeon or a gastro-intestinal specialist.

A national championship will pad an already impressive resume. Carr completes his scholastic career as a three-time regional, district and sectional winner. He won state titles at 138 in 2015 and at 145 in 2016.

“If you look at his record, he has to be considered the best,” Chaussard said. “Nobody has put together a resume like his here (at South Fayette).

“Mike has set the bar high and in the last few years, it has gotten higher because if someone wants to better what he has done, then they have to win three state titles. His whole demeanor and approach are second to none as is his work ethic. He’s always prepared in whatever he does.”

Preparation, indeed, paid off for Carr. He said that he wanted to get gold and he accomplished that. He said that he didn’t want to lose and in two years, he didn’t. All the glitter and all the victories have enabled Carr to achieve yet another award. He has been named Almanac Grappler of the Year.

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