For Sean Mattek of Sheboygan Falls, it wasn't a matter of "if" he was going to be a standout wrestler, it was "when."
After falling just shy of a state tournament berth last season, the junior responded by making it all the way to the Division 2, 152-pound state championship match where he fell to undefeated Dewey Krueger of Oconto Falls.
Falcons head coach Brad Knecht saw Mattek begin to find confidence early in his high school career. Mattek, this year's Sheboygan Press Media All-Area Wrestler of the Year, began to turn that confidence into results.
"It really started off halfway through his freshman year when he started to realize how good he could end up being," Knecht said. "He's a tremendous worker in the room and you can steadily see him starting to improve."
Mattek began to remind his coach of a former Sheboygan Falls great.
"He had a look of (2010 state champion) Ben Chappa in him a little bit. That's a tremendous statement to make with Ben being state champ," Knecht said. "Just his style and the way he was dominant on top. It just dawned on me one day, 'Man he looks a lot like Chappa out there.' He started proving it the way he was riding everybody."
Mattek finished the season with a mark of 42-7. Among his more impressive wins was a triumph over D2, 145-pound state champion Chandler Donati of Two Rivers as well as a 4-2 win over Christian Mayhue (Tulsa Union) who was one of the top-ranked wrestlers at his weight in the state of Oklahoma at the time.
"The guy looked phenomenal, pretty much the whole year," Knecht said. "He didn't take a whole lot of losses."
Though Mattek fell to Krueger in the title bout, Knecht believes the 6-1 win was Krueger's smallest margin of victory all season. That leaves little doubt that Mattek can hang with the best of them.
"He knows he's right there. With Dewey gone ... outside of the Cheesehead next year, I don't see anybody challenging him," Knecht said. "He is going to be Dewey. I think that's kind of Sean's line of thinking.
"There are other kids in D1 that we don't see a whole lot ... he's going to run into some good competition that we don't see in D2 for State next year. He's got to be looking at himself as the favorite to win the state title next year, so hopefully that drive continues and he can dominate his way to that title."