Joliet Junior College wrestler Andres Russi never qualified for a state tournament in high school. Then his first collegiate season with the Wolves was cancelled due to COVID-19. 

When the team was given permission to compete at the National Junior College Athletic Association's national tournament last month, Russi and his teammates had only 19 days to train. 

Unfortunately, the 19-year-old from Plainfield lost his first match of the tournament. 

Some wrestlers might have thrown in the towel, accepting that competition at a higher level just wasn't meant to be. 

Not Russi. The former Joliet West Tiger believed in himself and relied on his faith, overcoming all of these odds and more to become an NJCAA All-American, placing 7th in the 125-pound weight class at the national tournament in Council Bluffs, Iowa April 21-22. 

With no regular season matches, the Wolves came in unseeded and Russi and his teammates were randomly inserted into their weight brackets, many facing tough matches in their first rounds. 

"I think we were the only school to come in cold," said Wolves Head Coach A.J. Blahut. "But as COVID restrictions loosened here, we just wanted a chance to compete at the national tournament. We were very grateful that our administration let us have that opportunity." 

Russi lost his first match of the tournament 8-6. 

"I had the fourth seed, so it was rough, but it was close so I knew going into the other (wrestle-back) bracket that no one would probably be better that that first guy," said Russi. "I thought I might have a chance to beat the next few guys and hopefully make it back to the placement rounds."

And beat them he did, one by one, winning four in a row. 

"My body was hurting, but I just kept thinking 'one match at a time' and counting them down after each one," remembers Russi. "I didn't really care who I wrestled. I was just trying to stay positive and make sure I was doing all the right things to stay competitive."

"Andres showed a lot of grit," said Blahut. "He fought through adversity in almost every match, but he just kept grinding away. I think the other wrestlers were getting frustrated because after they scored on him, he would turn it up another level and just go even harder. That just shows the will he has. To lose that first match then win four in row, that's something that a lot of wrestlers can't do." 

Russi made it back to the placement bracket, losing his first match 13-7 but winning the second one by fall for a 5-2 record over the two-day tournament and a 7th place national finish in his weight class. 

"Seven matches is a lot in two days, especially when you haven't wrestled a whole season," said Blahut. "Anybody who knows the sport of wrestling knows that it's process. It's a grind to get to the end of the season and you need to be battle-tested to win those big matches. And he just didn't care about any of that. He got stronger as each match continued and he wrestled tougher as the tournament went on." 

Russi is the second NJCAA All-American to be coached by Blahut during his four-year tenure at JJC. 

"For Andres to do what he did is truly remarkable," reflected Blahut. "He just placed in a really difficult tournament. To place in that bracket, and to do it in his first collegiate matches, was special." 

"I am very proud of Andres' performance at Nationals and his All-American status. His dedication to the sport and commitment to work hard really paid off for him and our Wolves wrestling program," said JJC Director of Athletics Gregg Braun. "In such a difficult year, it was great that Coach Blahut and the wrestling team were able to compete at the national tournament and get some experience competing at that level." 

Originally from Lake Station, Indiana, Russi attended Joliet West High School for his senior year and wrestled for the Tigers, making it to sectionals but falling short of the state meet. 

"Sometimes when kids come in and they don't have a super successful high school career, it makes them work extremely hard," explained Blahut. "You could tell he just wanted to keep getting better every day. He never complained once and he was always the hardest worker in the room." 

"The expectation now is to keep working hard," added Blahut. "I think he could have wrestled with anyone in the country this year, so his goal moving forward should be to be in that top tier and training to be a national champion." 

Russi, a freshman at JJC, is studying human services. He plans to return for his sophomore year and hopes to eventually get his credentials to become a pastor or work in the church. He is also is interested in coaching someday.