Oilers' Sobol continues athletic talents in wrestling after sectional golf appearance

BETHALTO – Drew Sobol is arguably one of the Riverbender-area's top golfers; he played a key role on East Alton-Wood River's boys golf team this past season, qualifying for the IHSA Class 2A West Frankfort Sectional tournament.

What you may not know, however, is that Sobol also wrestles for the Oilers; he's one of the team's top wrestlers, competing in the 106-pound weight class.

Sobol, who is coached in both golf and wrestling by his father, Dave, won the 106-pound class in the recent Civic Memorial Holiday Wrestling Tournament, helping his team to a fifth-place finish in the event.

“I knew it was going to be a good match (against Trevor Edwards of Mattoon; Sobol defeated Edwards in a 9-6 decision to claim the title); last year, he beat me by a point twice, so I needed to get some redemption from last year.

“I wanted to come out with a statement this year, especially in the finals.”

Sobol started wrestling in as a fifth-grader and said he actually wrestles for fun. “I do this for fun, actually,” Sobol said. “It's funny the way it sounds, but golf's what I'm actually interested in.”

Still, there are aspects of wrestling that can translate to the golf course, and aspects of golf that can translate to the wrestling mat. “Actually, golf helps me tremendously in wrestling,” Sobol said. “It helps me with the mental aspect a lot. Say I make a bad shot or something like that, I don't get mad; just like out here, I do something bad, I can't get mad about it. I just have to recover from it.”

Sobol does have his goals on the wrestling mat, just like he has on the golf course. “I want to win a state title,” Sobol said. “I fell short last year, which really bummed me down (Sobol dropped a 7-6 decision to Plano's Jake Krotz in his opening bout of last year's Class 1A individual state tournament in Champaign-Urbana and did not reach the wrestlebacks, ending his season with a 34-5 record).

“This year, I'm going to get it for sure.”

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