Senior wrestler Keegan Davis-Carter knew there was one area he needed to get stronger in entering this season: He needed to compete for the full six minutes of every match. 

Armed with more stamina and physical strength, Davis-Carter turned around a disappointing junior campaign and has become one of the Rochelle wrestling program’s top competitors. Entering this weekend’s IHSA 2A Sectional with a 28-9 record, the 138-pounder has grown tremendously after going 18-22 last season. Davis-Carter’s improvements are reflected in the team’s results as well, with Rochelle finishing 18-4 in head-to-head duals.

“We weren’t expecting to have this great of a season, but our young wrestlers really stepped up and our seniors wrestled well,” Davis-Carter said. “My coaches have been on me about working hard in the mat room. My junior season wasn’t the season I really wanted… I definitely couldn’t wrestle three periods, and I think that’s the biggest jump I’ve made this year. I tried scoring as many points as I could this year, and I think I did that well.”

Davis-Carter will represent Rochelle in the individual sectionals for the third time in his prep wrestling career after advancing as a freshman and as a junior. While Davis-Carter competed for the Hubs in the IHSA Dual State Championships his sophomore season, the senior would like nothing more than to qualify for state in front of the home fans at RTHS this weekend.

“I have a lot of motivation to perform well, especially since this will be my last time competing at RTHS,” Davis-Carter said. “I want to put on a show for the fans because we’re going to have a lot of them in the gym supporting us… I’ve taken on more of a leadership role this year, and young guys like Weldon [Nay] and Ivan [Pineda] look up to me… I wasn’t really confident in myself as an underclassman, but I tell the guys that they’ll get there if they work hard.”

A multi-sport student-athlete, Davis-Carter started wrestling when he was 6 years old, and he began playing football with the Rochelle Junior Tackle program around the same time. A two-time starting varsity cornerback for the Hubs, Davis-Carter said the hand-fighting techniques he uses in the wrestling room have been partially developed from his time on the gridiron.

“Wrestling and football go hand-in-hand for me,” said Davis-Carter, who’s currently weighing offers to compete collegiately in both sports. “I need to get low for a takedown in wrestling, much like I need to get low for a tackle in football. Football has definitely helped me a lot.”

While Davis-Carter and the Rochelle wrestlers have enjoyed quite the successful season, those triumphs didn’t come easily. After a tough 2018-19 campaign where the Hubs finished 9-19 overall and fell to the bottom of the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference, Davis-Carter and his teammates knew they needed to improve greatly in order to have any success this winter.

“Our upper weights have always been strong, but our lower weights have improved a lot,” Davis-Carter said. “Grant [Thompson] and I have improved a lot and having Caleb [Nadig] come in was huge for us. Our lower weights have gotten much better, and [Alphonso] Vruno coming in as our head coach was big for us.”

Davis-Carter is hoping his aggressive wrestling mentality will lead to glory during the sectional tournament this weekend. With 30 wins and a possible state qualification in sight, the 138-pound senior will leave everything out on the purple and white mats at RTHS.

“I’m a go-go-go type of wrestler and I want to score a lot of points,” Davis-Carter said. “I don’t want to win by only a few points. I’m not satisfied if I can’t beat my opponent by five or more points. I know I have to be focused if I’m going to go out there and perform my best.”