Success on the mat continuing at St. Charles East under Potter
The name Potter is synonymous with wrestling in St. Charles.
Currently in his fifth season as the head wrestling coach at St. Charles East, Jason Potter captured back-to-back 171-pound state championships (1998, 1999) and placed fourth as a sophomore at St. Charles (1997).
His younger brother, Chris, kept the family name familiar on the awards stand by winning two individual state titles of his own at 171 pounds (2003, 2004) following a sixth-place showing as a sophomore (2002).
Their older brother, David, also earned his share of state wrestling hardware during his high school days, posting third- and sixth-place finishes (1996, 1997) at 171 pounds.
Last weekend, four Saints wrestlers - Joe Ruffino, Ben Anderson, Justin Benjamin, and Cody Glidewell - participated in the IHSA Class 3A state tournament at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
Ruffino (39-3), who topped the 100-win mark for his varsity career earlier in the season, and Benjamin (36-7) both reached the quarterfinals with first-round wins at 106 and 120 pounds, respectively.
While Anderson (36-7) and Glidewell (20-14) each dropped a pair of weekend decisions at 113 and 182 pounds, respectively, their seasons didn't end in Champaign.
For the first time in 16 years, St. Charles East captured the team title at the West Chicago regional earlier this month and qualified for this week's dual team sectional finals at Conant.
Considering the fact that the Saints slipped past longtime nemesis Glenbard North, 245.5-220.5, at West Chicago, made their regional team triumph even sweeter.
"It's a major step in the right direction," said Potter, whose team finished second to the Panthers at regionals the last three seasons. "It was one of our main goals this season, something that we've been inching toward."
Led by legendary coach Mark Hahn, Glenbard North had won 16 consecutive regional titles before the Saints ended the streak two weeks ago.
"Glenbard North has been in our way ever since I've been back at St. Charles East," said Potter. "They nipped us last year so it was important that we didn't let it happen again. We've had some great teams not get out of regionals."
Lucson Schneider (126), Max Hatch (170) and Max Schumann (285) joined Ruffino, Anderson, Benjamin and Glidwell as regional individual champions.
The state dual team pairings weren't too kind to the Saints, who drew 3-time defending Class 3A state champion Oak Park-River Forest at Conant.
Potter, who guided Leyden to back-to-back regional team titles in 2009 and 2010, took over for his former high school coach, Steve Smerz, as the Saints' head coach in 2012.
His heart never left St. Charles.
"When the (St. Charles) schools were divided, we had to reestablish the feeder program," said Potter. "We want the kids to stay in St. Charles. This town can be a hotbed for wrestling. It already has been.
"Times have changed some. Not all of these guys have been wrestling since they were five years old like when I was a kid and my dad and then Jay Payleitner took over the (youth) program."
Potter has attempted to create a family-type atmosphere in the Saints' wrestling room.
"I'm on the mat every day with them," said the coach. "A lot of our former wrestlers have come back - guys like (D.J.) McDermott, (Brandon) Rubino, (Isaiah) Vela. To me, it means we're doing the right things.
"We're doing it the right way. The culture out there is that not everybody is doing it that way. We're working from the bottom up, trying to recruit football players and re-establishing the feeder program. We want to instill a sense of pride and culture in our program."
His St. Charles ties remain strong.
"It's different when you come home," said Potter. "I know it makes me as passionate as I am.
"Everyone on our (coaching) staff has ties to St. Charles and our kids club - guys like Joel Crawford and Max Payleitner. I also got my brother, Chris, to help."
Despite his state title accomplishments, Potter doesn't flaunt the past on to his wrestlers.
"I talk about it a little but I'm not preachy about it," he said. "I share more about my failures than my successes."
Undoubtedly, all signs are pointing upward for the Saints' wrestling program.
"Looking back, this hasn't happened in one year and looking forward, it's not a one-year deal either," said Potter. "We're not sitting still. We want to set the example for others."
Craig Brueske can be reached at csb4k@hotmail.com