Wrestling, family play role in Woulfe’s success

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Oak Park-River Forest wrestler Michael Woulfe says his parents, Nancy and Brian, who have battled cancer, are an inpiration to him. | Jon Langham~for Sun-Times Media

Updated: February 27, 2012 8:43AM

Adversity can build or reveal character, and it probably does a little of both.

“It’s hard to admit as a 35-year-old man that you look up to a 17-year-old kid, but I do,” Oak Park-River Forest wrestling coach Mike Powell said. “Michael Woulfe’s integrity, his character, his work ethic — he’s just an extraordinary young person.”

Woulfe is an OPRF senior vying to become a class valedictorian and itching to attend the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis next year. Get him on a wrestling mat and he’s a 160-pound workhorse with a current record of 30-10 and a tireless drive to wear you down.

“We always told him and all of our sons that if you’re going to do something, do it as well as you can,” Nancy Woulfe said.

This story could take a common route from here, as a story about one of the high-achieving student-athletes that exist in nearly every high school in Illinois.

But Michael Woulfe’s mother has battled breast cancer. His father, Brian, has been battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma since Michael was a young child. Powell, his wrestling coach, is fighting polymyositis, a debilitating disease that chronically weakens the body’s muscles.

When you’re surrounded by examples like that, what choice is there but to put your shoulder to the wheel and push?

“For sure I’ve learned that being sick isn’t the end of the world,” Woulfe said. “And it gives me the right perspective about what’s actually important. My dad has been battling cancer ever since I was young and both of my parents are an inspiration to me.”

No high school athlete works any harder than a wrestler. It’s a brutally tough and physical sport peopled by uniquely committed young athletes, and balancing that commitment with classroom requirements can sometimes get dicey.

“He’s a guy that takes a book out on the bus to study, gets back late from a dual meet, and then stays up until 2 a.m. writing a paper,” Powell said of Woulfe. “He’s all about hard work, dedication, and discipline.”

Woulfe was hit hard by the flu just before Christmas break. He missed some school and went into Illinois’ toughest in-season wrestling tournament, the Dvorak, at less than his best. He battled through fatigue and weakness well enough to place fifth at 160 pounds.

“He’s not as strong or as quick as some guys, but he figures out a way to score points and win what we call Huskie-style,” Powell said. “It’s fun to coach in his corner because you know he’s going to be the hardest-working guy on the mat.”

Between the flu, the Dvorak tournament, missing a few days of school and playing catch-up in the wee hours in order to keep up with the demands of AP and honors classes, Woulfe has had a rough month. But he also has a perspective beyond his years.

“My father has gone through radiation and a stem cell transplant,” Woulfe said. “He was in isolation for a hundred days and my mom had to clean that room every day for a hundred days. She’s been hugely important in his recovery. So after they both go through something like that, the things that I go through — school, cutting weight, all of that — those things pale in comparison to what my parents have gone through.”

Woulfe also grew up emulating older brothers David and Patrick. Patrick Woulfe wrestled at OPRF and spurred his younger brother on to try the sport. Michael began wrestling seriously in seventh grade but didn’t truly learn the toughness required for the sport until Powell and his staff got hold of him.

Woulfe’s journey from a soft freshman to a tough senior has made all the difference.

“The work ethic I learned in school, I got from wrestling,” Woulfe said. “I wouldn’t be anywhere near as academically successful without wrestling. The sport taught me how to work hard and it developed my character, and having parents overcoming sickness has showed me what actually matters in this world. There’s a lot of baggage that people carry around that they don’t need to.”

The window is now closing on the 2012 wrestling season, and with it Woulfe’s high school career. He won’t be forgotten at OPRF if Powell can help it.

“I asked our freshman class this year, ‘who’s going to be the next Michael Woulfe’?” Powell said. “We’ve had a couple of kids step up and say they’ll be taking honors classes, or getting straight A’s, or they’ll be the hardest-working kid in the room.

“His legacy will live on as long as I coach here, and his entire family has been an invaluable part of our wrestling program. I get a little extra animated in Michael’s corner because I want him to win so bad, because he deserves it so much.

“I’m going to miss him a lot.”