EAST ST. LOUIS • East St. Louis wrestling coach Paul Wright is all smiles these days.
As he should be. East St. Louis, once an almost non-existent program and recently a doormat in the Southwestern Conference, is coming to life.
"I'm just so excited. It's been unbelieveable," said Wright, who in his second year as head coach has 35 wrestlers in the program. "We're on the map now."
Recent accomplishments are indicative of the program's turnaround:
• The Flyers earned their first team trophy in at least 20 years, Wright said, when they finished second at the Civic Memorial tournament on Dec. 3.
• Five days later, East St. Louis won its first conference match by knocking off Belleville East 37-36. "We have never beaten East in my 27 years as a coach in East St. Louis," Wright said.
• Then on Dec. 10, the team finished first at the Jerseyville tournament, marking the first time in at least 20 years, Wright said, that it won a multi-team event.
The Flyers, who practice and hold meets at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center, are 6-5 in dual matches heading into the five-team Oakville duals Saturday.
As well, the team is scheduled to compete that same day in the Wood River Team Duals, where Wright is sending his junior varsity squad to wrestle the varsity matches.
Why the success now?
Wright credits wrestling veteran Mark Bullington, who has started a feeder program at JJK that has attracted some 50 kids.
"We've never had a kids club or middle school wrestling," said Wright, whose team hosts Collinsville in a conference meet Wednesday at 6 p.m. "The kids club has made a difference. Some of our freshmen have three or four years experience already. Whereas before we would get sophomores and juniors with no experience."
Bullington, who during the summer has taken kids around the Midwest to wrestle in meets, said confidence has been a big factor in the Flyers' climb.
"The kids see we believe in them, and they are starting to believe in themselves," he said. "They're starting to see that they can compete against other kids. They didn't realize that before."
Wright agreed.
"Our guys are starting to believe in the coaching staff, and they're starting to believe in hard work," he said. "They're starting to believe in themselves. They're willing to put in the work. They're knocking on the doors to get here. It's been unbelieveable. I'm just in awe of all of it."
Flyers captain Dontrell Perry is one who trusts in the revitalized program. A 145-pound senior who had no experience when he started wrestling as a freshman, Perry steadily has improved since his freshman season when he was 7-16. He went 12-19 the following year and 25-12 last season.
This season Perry is 18-2 and would like to reach 30 wins. He won his first-ever individual title at Civic Memorial, followed that with another title at Jerseyville and placed third at Mascoutah on Dec. 17.
"It has changed my life," Perry said. "Most guys we go against have eight-nine years experience. My first year, I was terrible. What motivated me to win was the upperclassmen then who really worked hard. It really inspired me to work hard and get better.
"I didn't want to be that person who did not meet that expectation. I've always worked hard. Wrestling is a humbling sport. It pushes you to the limit where you don't want to give up. It challenges you mentally. It's very tough."
And it will only get tougher when the postseason rolls around. Since East St. Louis has dropped in enrollment it also has dropped in classification, going from Class 3A to Class 2A. That means the Flyers won't have to compete at the Edwardsville Regional on Feb. 4 against Edwardsville, Granite City, Alton, Belleville East, Belleville West, Collinsville, O'Fallon and Quincy.
Instead, the team will travel to the Centralia Regional the same day to wrestle against Triad, Mascoutah, Cahokia, Mount Vernon, Carbondale, Marion and Waterloo.
What happens then is anybody's guess. Right now, Wright is enjoying his coaching duties.
"At the competition, I'm happy, I'm laughing," he said. "Win, lose or draw, I'm excited. I'm just trying to get the best out of our athletes."
