E.C. senior is bigger, better and seeking redemption

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The end of last season led to a new beginning for Willie Lott.

The East Chicago Central wrestler didn't qualify for semistate as a junior last season when he ended up fourth in the 171-pound weight class at the Calumet Regional.

Since only the top three wrestlers advanced to the semistate then -- the top four advance this year -- Lott's season came to a crashing halt.

Devastated, and determined to make amends, particularly since he had qualified for semistate as a sophomore, Lott promised himself things would be different as a senior.

"I told my coach (Rene Hernandez) I wasn't accepting that this year,'' Lott said. "I was cutting a lot of weight before matches last year and didn't feel good. I was cutting about eight pounds a week trying to get down to 171.

"I tried to get back down, but I started hitting the hard pounds early, and when you do that, it takes more to shave them off.''

Lott decided to bump up to 189 pounds this year -- something he admits he should have done last season as his coach suggested.

"I was hard-headed last year,'' Lott said. "I was like in the middle of 171 and 189 all the time. This year I came in weighing almost 200 pounds after football. I had to lose some body fat, but once I did that, the weight just stayed off. I made a mistake last year. I'm always on weight now before a match.''

Since he was always scrambling to cut weight at 171, Lott was limiting his energy and not wrestling as effectively as he could.

"I wasn't working or practicing as hard as I should have,'' he said. "This year, though, I'm breaking through the walls. My work ethic pushes not only myself, but the team every day. I'm pushing my coaches so they can push me. Coach Rene, he could wrestle all day. He never gets tired, so that helps with my endurance. When I wrestle against coach (Robert) Heckler, I get to match my strength.

"My goal is to win the regional this weekend. I'm hungry. I just want to go there, wrestle hard and see what happens. I don't want to leave anything to chance.''

Hernandez said last year's disappointing finish has served as motivation for Lott, who won the 189-pound title at the East Chicago Sectional last week, improving his record to 20-1.

"He ran into some tough competition and kind of took his eye off the prize last year,'' Hernandez said. "I don't know if he was burned out, but I didn't really see that extra effort he'd been giving me all season at the end of the season.''

Hernandez thinks another year of maturity has been beneficial for Lott, because it's helped him progress and become a better wrestler.

Hernandez said Lott's style is a little funky, which can lead to trouble at times. Usually, though, his athletic ability allows him to overcome any problem that arises.

"He's tall and long, so he's able to reach and grab, and we try to use that to our advantage,'' Hernandez said. "He's not going to wrestle like someone who's short and compact. He can get a lot of leverage and is surprisingly good on top. His athletic ability helps him on the bottom. He's really good at getting reversals.''

Hernandez believes if Lott wrestles up to this potential, he should continue to advance this postseason.

"He has all the talent in the world,'' the Cardinals' coach said. "It's all about him wrestling solid matches and making smart decisions on the mat. If he can do that, I think we can put together six good minutes.''

If Lott is able to do that in each of his matches at Saturday's Calumet Regional, he should be wrestling next week at the Merrillville Semistate.

Right now, though, Lott is looking forward to the competition at regional.

"I really can't wait,'' said Lott, who plans to play football in college, but hasn't decided on a school yet.

"I'm anxious to get out there on the mat. I want to prove people wrong. I want to prove to people I can wrestle the tough matches and win, you know? Even though I'm a laid-back person, I'm jacked-up for this.''

Hernandez thinks Lott should make an impact.

"There's no reason why he shouldn't win the regional this weekend,'' he said. "I have a lot of belief and faith in him that he can do it. My goal is to make him realize he has the potential and believes he can do it.''

Calumet Regional

When: Saturday, 9:30 a.m.

Wrestlers to watch: 103 -- Kyle Ayersman (Lake Central), Zac Stevens (Merrillville), Aurelio Medina (Munster), Brian Orzechowicz (Griffith); 112 -- Bryan Smith (Lake Central), Danny Rodriguez (Highland), Al Padilla (Merrillville); 119 -- Marc Escobedo (Lake Central), Willy Costakis (Merrillville), Nick Gonzalez (Griffith), Luke Smith (Munster); 125 -- Anthony Napules (Merrillville), Bradley Wartman (Lake Central), Sam Camacho (Hobart); 130 -- Frankie Porras (Hobart), Chris Pajdzik (Gavit), Frankie Valdivia (Merrillville), Mike Clark (Calumet); 135 -- Johnny Dillon (Hobart), Keith Britton (Clark), Justin Slosser (Munster), Eddie Deluna (Merrillville); 140 -- Alex Surma (Munster), Darrius Richmond (Merrillville), Jack Hammons (Lake Station), Victor Rodriguez (East Chicago Central); 145 -- Chris Almaraz (Highland), Keon Jones (Merrillville), Aaron Hammons (Lake Station); 152 -- Aaron Estrada (Munster), Nicholas Hill (West Side), Jack France (Hobart); 160 -- Rob Keough (Lake Central), Robbie Jordan (Merrillville), Johnny Tyler (Highland), Derek Stokes (River Forest); 171 -- Kourtney Berry (Merrillville), Mitch Vis (Highland), Chris Bartley (Griffith); 189 -- Willie Lott (East Chicago Central), Nathan Fowler (Calumet); 215 -- Vlade Nacovski (Lake Central), Joe Peco (Hobart), Christopher Woods (West Side), Nate Nunez (Highland); 285 -- James Travis (Merrillville), Coty Anderson (Highland), Anthony Willis (Lew Wallace), Felix Denton (Gavit).

Next: Top four in each weight class advance to Merrillville Semistate, Feb. 14

LaPorte Regional

When: Saturday, 9 a.m.

Wrestlers to watch: 103 -- Cameron Halsted (Crown Point), Jesse Duque (Portage), Paul Petrov (Hanover Central); 112 -- Anthony Hawkins (Crown Point), Brandon Coppinger (Portage), Kyle Chadwick (Kankakee Valley); 119 -- Danny Bradley (Knox), John Petrov (Hanover Central), Jake Lamb (Lowell), Josh Manes (Crown Point); 125 -- Jason Tsirtsis (Crown Point), Luis Acuna (Portage), Kyle Hernandez (Knox); 130 -- Dallas Schurg (Crown Point), Zack Thornton (Chesterton), Cameryn Brady (Lowell), Zeke Escobedo (Andrean); 135 -- Eric Roach (Crown Point), Chris Santos (Portage), Cody Jackson (North Newton), Aaron Kearney (Kankakee Valley),Thomas Lusco (Michigan City); 140 -- Dustin Schultz (Kankakee Valley), Garrett Payne (Michigan City), Josh Flamme (Crown Point); 145 -- Cody Ray (North Newton), Tony Nuzzo (Portage), Tom Renn (Crown Point), Spencer Stockwell (Chesterton); 152 -- Sean McMurray (Portage), Jeremy Pogorzelski (Crown Point), Anthony Quiroz (Chesterton); 160 -- Mark Myers (Crown Point), Kurt Monix (Lowell), Justin Rhein (Portage); 171 -- Andrew Sands (Hanover Central), Adam Winebrenner (Knox), Aaron King (Portage); 189 -- Marcus Shrewsbury (Crown Point), Bryce Holland (LaPorte), Adam Mandeville (Kankakee Valley), Kyle Keith (Portage), Alex Windbigler (Knox), Will Hoefflicker (Valparaiso); 215 -- Nathan Cleveland (Lowell), Kannon Keigley (New Prairie), Nathaniel Coleman (Portage), Jim Bakalik (Crown Point); 285 -- Craig Fitzgerald (Glenn), Wade Vhynanek (North Newton), Andrew Hale (Kankakee Valley), Alex Boatright (Chesterton), Kyle Marshall (Crown Point).

Next: Top four in each weight class advance to Merrillville Semistate, Feb. 14

Note: Rensselaer advanced six wrestlers to the Logansport Regional, including sectional winner 189-pounder Randy Kaufman