Carbondale High School's Cameron Cafferty has gone from failing as a freshman to grabbing hold of greatness and not letting go.
The senior wrestler capped his 41-0 undefeated year with a victory over the 39-2 Cody Baldridge of Morris to win the 2A 182-pound state wrestling championship this year.
It's been quite the journey for Cafferty, who has improved his standing every year that he's wrestled. He's gone from early elimination as a 126-pound freshman, to 11th place as a 145-pound sophomore, to fifth place as a 170-pound junior to his perfect season as a senior. According to Carbondale head wrestling coach Dennis Ragan, Cafferty owes all of his success to the hard work that he's put in.
Cafferty tops off the dominance on the wrestling mat with high character off of it. It's this total package that made him such a huge asset to the program and to the school and that will be missed when he graduates in the spring.
"Great character, but quiet young man," said Ragan. "Very good student with a 4.24 GPA and an National Honor Society member. He's a quiet leader who leads by example."
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