Last modified: Saturday, January 17, 2009 3:12 AM CST

Ryan Prewitt photo Francis Howell senior Malach Radigan reacts after pinning Fort Zumwalt South wrestler Joe Johnson in the GAC South heavyweight championship on Jan. 10 at Fort Zumwalt East. Radigan was hampered by a broken leg at the beginning of the wrestling season but appears to be 100 percent back in form.

Another brick in the wall

By Russell Korando

After wrestling at Francis Howell as a freshman, Malach Radigan didn't go out for the team again until January of 2008. In between Radigan's freshman year and rejoining the team for the latter part of last season, he told Howell coach Kevin Stroh he wanted to concentrate more on football.

Stroh's persistence to add Radigan to his roster stemmed from a need to help rebuild the once-dominant Vikings into a conference power again. Stroh wrestled for Howell from 1992 to 1995 and became the Gateway Athletic Conference's first four-time champion. Only seven other wrestlers have been added to that list.

"Malach's first match last year was at the Kyle Thrasher meet and he added a lot of energy to our room," Stroh said. "I had been trying to talk him back on the team for a couple of years but he always said no because of football."

In the fourth quarter of a football game against Francis Howell North on Oct. 17 last year, Radigan tackled the Knights' fullback and was prone when a Howell North lineman's elbow landed squarely on his leg and broke his fibula.

"The guy who broke my leg, I had been fighting him the whole night," Radigan said. "When I got to the sideline, I tried massaging it out, but it became clear pretty quickly that I couldn't walk on it."

Radigan returned the game for eight more plays because the Knights were driving and the Vikings needed a stop; they got it.

Despite the injury, Radigan's play on the offensive and defensive lines helped the Vikings reach the playoffs for the first time since 1999. He was selected to the all-GAC South first team on offense and second team on defense. He finished the football season with 44 tackles and four sacks.

Known for being the strongest Howell athlete in the weight room, Radigan healed quickly enough to report to the Howell wrestling team by Thanksgiving, although he said he wasn't able to go full speed and that hindered his progress.

By the time the GAC Wrestling Championships rolled around on Jan. 10, Radigan was well enough to post a 15-2 record and was the No. 2 seed in the heavyweight division behind Fort Zumwalt South senior Joe Jennings, a 2008 state qualifier.

When Radigan joined the Vikings last season he said he was weighing around 215 pounds but wrestled at heavyweight. He said after an extended absence from the wrestling team, he was just eager to fit back in and help make a difference.

"I didn't push myself last year like I should have," said Radigan, who missed qualifying for state by one match. "Once I got back in the wrestle room and saw how hard everybody was working, it hurt my pride because everybody was whipping my butt. Coach Stroh brought in guys that would kick my butt because he was trying to get me ready for the best in the state."

Stroh's speed dial of former Howell state champs is impressive. Stroh was the perfect pick to re-energize the Vikings because of his age, resume and phone tree of Howell legends like Brandon Lococo, Nate Crossett and Aaron Anyan. Crossett is a three-time GAC South heavyweight champion.

"Malach is a good, basic wrestler who pushes the pace in the top one percent of our team," Stroh said. "He pushes himself to the point of exhaustion. He needs to keep improving every week. He has done the work to be able to win a state medal."

But first there was Jennings to deal with. Radigan said Jennings had made a comment during the weigh-ins before the GACs that they would see each other in the finals, and he was right.

Jennings led the heavyweight final 1-0 as the third period was drawing to a close, but in a flash, Radigan was on top of him and ended up with the Vikings' second come-from-behind pin of the day. Earlier at 112 pounds, Howell senior Nick Baker trailed Francis Howell Central sophomore Terrel Wilbourn 19-9 in the third period before pinning Wilbourn in dramatic fashion.

"After Nick won, he comes up to me and says, 'Your turn'", Radigan said. "Everyone was constantly telling Nick he was the underdog, and I thought he was pinned three times, but he kept fighting and that definitely motivated me for my match."

Stroh said that Jennings is the best wrestler Radigan has faced this season.

"Malach was a slight underdog going into that match because Joe has more experience," Stroh said. "We knew Malach was going to have a good season because of his work ethic and he's just wrestling good basic wrestling right now."

With five weeks left before the MSHSAA Wrestling Championships in Columbia, there's still a lot of wrestling to take place before dreaming of state glory puts Radigan and his teammates to sleep every night. But ask any Howell wrestler what their main goal is and you always get the same response: "I want up on the Wall."

The Wall they refer to is the Howell wrestling Wall of Fame that greets visitors to their gym. Names like Hodapp, Hoffman, Malawey, Henson, Stroh, Garner, Kyle, Lococo . . . are painted on the wall.

"Yeah, that's my goal," Radigan said. "If I could be included with those names it would mean that the hard work paid off."

Ask anyone at Howell about Radigan, and you get the same response: A great person, team leader, hard worker. Sounds like somebody better get the paint ready.

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