KCC Wrestler of the Year: No rest for Arlis

Batavia's 112-pound junior aims to be Bulldogs' 1st state champion

Commitment knows no offseason, and neither do most top high school wrestlers.

Batavia junior Logan Arlis counts as one of them. It's 4:30 p.m. on a Thursday, four days after the IHSA state meet, and he hardly is lounging around.

"In wrestling, you really can't take a break," Arlis said, "because that's when your opponents can get a step ahead of you."

For now, Arlis keeps them at bay from the treadmill and weight room at XSport Fitness in St. Charles or the streets and sidewalks of his neighborhood. Look out your window. He could be out for a run right now.

Arlis, the Chronicle's Wrestler of the Year, routinely yelled "Count it!" after every lap when the Bulldogs conditioned around the school halls. His 41 consecutive victories to start the season checked off much the same way: one after the other, on record pace.

Now that a week has passed since his only defeat, a 6-3 decision to Providence sophomore Edwin Cooper in the Class 3A 112-pound finals, perspective has started to replace pain.

"It was a real special thing," Arlis said. "I know I'm going to look back on it and it's going to be one of the greatest memories I ever have."

Arlis still concedes that becoming Batavia's first state champion in 51 years of wrestling would have sweetened memory lane. He factored into history anyway, joining Matt Weight (2000) as the only other Bulldog to take second at state.

Three Batavia wrestlers overall placed at the state meet, the most in program history, while a record-tying four advanced to Champaign. More than perfection, showing well in postseason consumed Arlis' agenda, then and now.

"There wasn't much talk about the undefeated record, but I don't think we were too concerned with records anyway," said Batavia senior Andrew Rudd, who took sixth at 160 pounds. "We knew that going down to state was where we had to lock in and advance."

Motivated by his state elimination in the preliminary round the year before, Arlis, a top seed this time, quickly scored the two victories he needed to reach the finals against Cooper.

Judging by his expression after both matches – or lack thereof – it would have been easy to think that he'd lost.

"He was just really focused," said Tom Arlis, Logan's father and Batavia's coach, "and when he got down on the tournament mat, he was on a mission, and you could tell.

"With all of the hoopla down at the state tournament, it's easy to be distracted and that can even cost you a match. He did a good job of staying focused and locking in. That was never an issue."

Not even against Cooper, who scarcely opened up in the title match and made it difficult to attack. Arlis lamented wrestling "too tentatively" after trailing, 4-3, entering the third period, then pledged to move on.

"That's all behind me, over and done with," he said.

Perhaps he'll face a similar scenario again in the offseason – or is it already preseason for Arlis' senior year? Between workouts at the renowned Overtime School of Wrestling in Naperville and summer competition that could include a third successive trip to Team Illinois Nationals in Fargo, N.D., Arlis aspires to wrestle 100 matches between now and next winter.

The objective, again, will be achieving Batavia history.

"I'm going to do whatever I can to make next year the best year possible," Arlis said.

He already is getting an early start.