Logan Wolfley is no stranger to hard work.
Since his earliest days of grade school, Wolfley has spent his time in wrestling rooms, first as an extension of his father’s passion for the sport and gradually as an established passion of his own. Now, nearly 13 years since he first rolled on the mat, Wolfley is nearing the end of his days as a wrestler, and he’s ending on a high note.
As a senior at Pitman High, Wolfley recently completed a feat few others have achieved by compiling an undefeated record in team dual meets — 40-0 through four years of varsity competition.
“I honestly didn’t even realize. At the beginning of this year my dad told me I hadn’t lost a dual meet in all of high school, and that was the first time that I really thought about it,” Wolfley said. “It’s a pretty big accomplishment for me, especially since no one at Pitman has done it before, so it’s pretty cool to leave my senior year with that.”
With what he calls his “Pitman style” of wrestling — a physical, wear-them-down approach — Wolfley has been a point of consistency in team dual meets for the Pride, finishing 9-0 as a freshman, 10-0 as a sophomore, 10-0 as a junior, and 11-0 as a senior. The Pride’s leader hasn’t been unscathed on the mat, however, as his overall record of 138-34 reflects losses in individual tournaments. But to Wolfley, coming through for his team is far more important than just winning for himself.
“It’s a very unique sport because it works both ways,” Wolfley said of the individual and team aspects of wrestling. “I got a little burnt out in junior high but once high school came around it became less individual, you have to work more as a team. That made it a lot more fun and more enjoyable, having a team, too.”
Last year, Wolfley’s style, his ability as an individual, and his desire to win for his team melded together for one match during a Central California Conference dual against Buhach Colony High. With his team trailing by five points, Wolfley stepped onto the mat as Pitman’s last hope at a victory. A pin would give the Pride six points and the win — the pressure was on.
“Coach told me to wrestle my style, wear him out and in the third go for it, do what you can to pin him,” Wolfley said.
After two rounds of grind-it-out wrestling, Wolfley sunk in an arm bar before securing a half nelson and turning his opponent to his back. He earned the pin in what he considered to be his most memorable performance on the mat to that point.
“That was probably the biggest dual match that I’ve been in. It was exciting,” Wolfley said.
While his clutch-win over the Thunder was a peak at the time, it has since been eclipsed by the fulfillment of his and his team’s ultimate goal to win the program’s first ever CCC championship.
“It’s an incredible feeling because it’s been our goal since freshman year. We’ve been close every year, we’ve been top three, and we compete in a very tough league for wrestling with a lot of good schools,” Wolfley said. “There’s been a lot of wrestling and a lot of experience to get us to this point.”
With dual meets behind him it’s nothing but individual tournaments from here on out, starting with today’s CCC tournament. An outright league championship or a co-league championship hangs in the balance for the Pride, but that’s no longer a point of concern for Wolfley.
The kid whose passion was reinvigorated by his team must now focus again on the individual. As a two-time CCC champion Wolfley will be searching for a third CCC championship to add to his mantle, but more than that, he’s eyeing the top of the heap.
“It’s all about the state meet. That’s always been my goal and this is my last year to do it, so I’m going to be putting all effort and everything into that in the next month,” Wolfley said. “Every match, it can be my last match; it can be the last tournament. I don’t want that to happen yet so it’s big motivation to keep moving forward and keep winning.”
With two appearances at the Masters tournament, a state berth would be the cherry on top of what has turned out to be an exemplary career on the mat. But state or no state, as Wolfley prepares for his final act in the sport — there will be no more wrestling after high school as he pursues collegiate football — there’s no doubt that all his hard work, more than a decade’s worth, has paid off in more ways than one.
“There’s a saying, ‘Once you wrestle everything else in life is easy.’ That’s so true. Wrestling is one of the toughest sports out there, you got to grind your way through it, work hard, and persevere through everything,” Wolfley said. “That’s kind of like life. When time gets tough you have to persevere.”