As a January baby who competes as a high school wrestler during winter, Blake Livdahl accepts that he has to decline sweet treats on his birthday so he can fatten up his win total.

Tuesday was different for Richmond-Burton‘s 5-foot-7 wrestling/football star, however. On the day he turned 17, Livdahl was looking forward to eating birthday cake.

The junior may have just lost his wrestling season because of a knee injury, but he hasn’t lost his sense of humor or perspective.

“I’ll probably just spend time with my family, probably have some cake or something,” Livdahl said Tuesday. “I’m not wrestling anymore, so I don’t have to watch my weight as much.”

Livdahl and his R-B teammates were wrestling in a large tournament at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh the week after Christmas. Competing in the 175-pound third-place match Dec. 30, Livdahl held a slim lead in the final seconds when his opponent went for the win.

“He needed to try to do something, so he tried to throw me,” said Livdahl, who was wrestling at 175 for the first time after competing at 190 the first month of the season. “When I tried to stop it, I posted on my leg and my [right] knee went in, and I felt a pop. I don’t think I’ve ever been in so much pain in my life.”

Despite stopping his opponent’s move and winning the match 4-1, Livdahl damaged his right knee badly. He said he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which will require a complete reconstruction, while also partially tearing his medial meniscus and damaging his lateral meniscus.

He is expected to have surgery Tuesday.

Livdahl finished second in the Class 1A state meet at 175 pounds last season, going 44-6 after wrestling for Harvard his freshman year. He then put together a spectacular football season in the fall, earning Illinois High School Football Coaches Association All-State honors as a linebacker/fullback in helping the Rockets go undefeated before losing to Byron in the Class 3A state semifinals.

As an eighth grader, he cracked two vertebrae but won a state wrestling title.

“I overcame that, so I know that I’m going to be able to overcome this,” Livdahl said. “It’s just going to take time.”

Livdahl is ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 1A at 175 pounds by the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association. Winning a state championship next month was his goal.

“It’s been a rough time just because it’s still fresh,” Livdahl said. “Just being the No. 1-ranked guy in [Class] 1A right now at 175, and knowing that someone else is going to be that now, I don’t know if there are any words to describe it. It’s so heartbreaking.”

Reality smacked Livdahl again last weekend, when R-B competed in the Princeton Invitational Tournament. The PIT features the top small-school teams in the state.

“It put me in tears when I was watching the 175 finals match going on because I knew I could beat both of those guys,” Livdahl said. “I knew that title was mine, but I guess I’m just going to have to wait and come back. I’ve never been so devastated in my life.”

Livdahl said he was in the wrestling room 5-6 times a week last spring and summer in preparation for his junior season.

“Now I’m in the wrestling room two times a week trying to help my buddies get better,” he said.

ACL injuries typically require 6-9 months of healing.

“Seven months would put me into football,” Livdahl said. “I’m really hoping, I’m praying, that that’s my recovery time.”

In the meantime, Livdahl said his family is helping him through his tough times. His brother, Bailey, was in the hospital with him when he found out his diagnosis. Bailey (football/wrestling) and sister Britta (volleyball/softball) were athletes at Harvard.

“My family is trying to keep me as positive as possible,” said Livdahl, who’s the youngest of three children of Pete and Amanda. “My family has always been so supportive. I can’t thank them enough.”

If he can’t have cake on his 18th birthday next year, that will be sweet.

“I was looking to have one of the most dominant [wrestling] seasons, but it’s just going to have to wait until next year,” Livdahl said. “I’m going to be back better than ever.”