Wrestling: Plano resident Noah Villarreal of Aurora Christian takes eventful route to third state title

Noah Villarreal had a nervous 24 hours in Champaign a weekend ago.

And a triumphant finish.

Villarreal, an Aurora Christian senior and Plano native, completed a dominating run at the Class 2A individual state wrestling tournament Feb. 29 to win his third straight state championship.

The top seed at 138 pounds and a Virginia recruit, Villarreal's uncle Ruben won three state titles at Plano and his dad Jose one.

Villarreal, who went on to lead Aurora Christian to second place in Class 2A in the dual state tournament last weekend in Bloomington, probably won't soon forget his last state title.

He came down with sickness the Tuesday before individual state, and felt flu-like symptoms after his first two matches in Champaign. The night before the final match, he couldn't sleep at all. Coughing, he went to his parents' hotel room to try to calm down.

"When I would breathe it was like my throat was on fire," Villarreal said.

Villarreal went to urgent care two hours before his last match, and was still there an hour before the Grand March entry for the state finalists. They tested him for the flu, and gave him a nasal spray and cough suppressant.

In one hour he went from urgent care, had a bite to eat and warmed up, then went out and won a 10-1 decision over Bloomington's Ryan Gardner for his 41st win.

In four matches at state Villarreal, a four-time finalist, notched a pin and two major decisions.

"We reminded him who he was, that he's a champion and nothing would get in his way," Aurora Christian coach Justin Pearch said. "When he stepped out there, you couldn't tell, he looked good. But it was scary leading up to it."

"I just trusted my training. I've trained in the worst conditions," said Villarreal, who'd been sick and also hurt his knee earlier in the season at the Cheesehead Invitational in Wisconsin.

It capped off quite a ride for Villarreal at Aurora Christian.

When he arrived as a freshman there were only five guys with wrestling experience. It was an empty room, no floor mats and weights.

But Aurora Christian won the Class 1A team title Villarreal's sophomore year in 2018, and this year is the program's first with a full lineup of wrestlers.

"It's crazy to see how things have changed," Villarreal said.

Villarreal, a leader by his work ethic throughout most of his time at Aurora Christian, has emerged as a vocal leader as a senior. He and two-time champion Cam Johnson of Oswego, who did not wrestle at state because of illness, served as mentors for a young team with six freshmen.

"Before he was a natural leader, but he didn't say much," Pearch said. "Now Noah for the first time was taking them under his wing, helping outside the wrestling room. That was good to see. If there is one thing that stands out, that's it."