Catholic senior wrestler wants first state title

Chase Hayes has won conference championships. He’s won regional championships. He’s already won a few regular-season tournaments this year.

But he’s never won a state championship.

The Charlotte Catholic senior wrestler hopes this is the year he finally takes home the state title.

Hayes is 39-1 this year going into the ME-GA 7 conference tournament, which took place Feb. 9, and he’s ranked No. 2 in the 3A 145-pound weight class by RetroRankings.com, though he plans to wrestle at 152 pounds for the regional and state tournaments.

He also won the Mecklenburg County and Jim Hayes tournaments this year. He was named the most outstanding wrestler at the Jim Hayes Invitational.

“My record is the best that it’s been up to this point, and I’m enjoying all the accomplishments that I’ve seen from my training,” Hayes said.

He’s come close to a state championship before.

Hayes, who lives in Waxhaw, won the conference championship as a freshman at 152 pounds before an injury in the 3A Western Regional kept him from qualifying for the state tournament. Catholic head coach Stephen Wyniemko remembers being impressed by Hayes’ physique even as a freshman – but it was his work ethic that set him apart.

Hayes came in with natural gifts, “but he definitely puts the work in to get it done right,” said Wyniemko, who wrestled at Charlotte Catholic, graduating in 1997, and is in his 10th year coaching the Cougars.

In his sophomore year, Hayes won the conference again (at 145 pounds) and went on to win the regional. He made it to the state title match that year and lost by one point, to Concord’s Nathaniel Torrance.

“I had the chance to win the state tournament and I almost won it,” Hayes said. “That’s the most frustrating thing for me to get over is just realizing that that could have been me up at the top of the podium, just as easy as anything else. Should have been me.”

Hayes wanted to come back and win his junior year but was hampered by an injury; he tore the meniscus in his right knee before his sophomore year. It was a minor tear and didn’t bother him much that season.

He aggravated the injury before his junior year, however, and the pain grew worse as the season went on.

“It was painful. I could not bend it all the way,” he said. “It was OK until the Piedmont Duals last year. That’s when it started catching and clicking, and I had to kick it back into place. It was just awful.”

The injury prevented him from doing certain moves on the mat, including one of his favorites: shooting, which involves going down on one knee to get under an opponent’s defenses.

Despite the injury, Hayes won another conference title at 145 pounds and another 3A West Regional. Then his knee gave out in the state tournament and he lost in the second round.

“Last year was tough for him,” Wyniemko said. “We both wanted more out of it, you know, but things happen and injuries happen.”

Hayes had surgery soon after the season ended and spent the summer rehabilitating and working out. He said he’s back to full strength and has proven it with his record.

“It’s a tough sport,” Wyniemko said. “To be able to come back from an injury and go again, I think it’s tough. … We haven’t steered away from any competition this year. He’s wrestled the top kids in the state multiple times. Hopefully that all pays off.”

On top of winning the Mecklenburg County and Jim Hayes tournaments, Hayes said he was proud of how he faired in the Piedmont Dual on Jan. 19, winning five matches – including pinning Piedmont’s Lucas Smith, the No. 2 2A 152-pound wrestler according to RetroRankings.

Hayes’ only loss this season came to Jay M. Robinson’s Jake Glunt, ranked No. 2 in 3A at 152 pounds. Hayes beat Glunt in the rematch two weeks later at the Piedmont Dual.

Of Hayes’ 39 wins, 28 have been pins.

“He’s a pinner,” Wyniemko said. “He’s not one that’s going to go out there and try to win a one-point match. He’s going to go out there to try to pin you.”

Going into his final regional (Feb. 22-23) and state (Feb. 28-March 2) tournaments, Hayes hopes to increase his pin count.

Hayes isn’t the only Cougar looking to make an impact on those tournaments. Senior Billy Ferris (106 pounds) qualified for the state tournament last year and is 29-5 going into the conference tournament. Sophomore Ben Litton (132) also is a returning state qualifier and is 34-6 this year. Junior Dan Sardo (120 pounds) is in his first year starting for the Cougars and is 25-9.

Hayes’ brother, junior Spencer Hayes, has also had a strong year, at 32-10. The two are training partners in practice. Spencer wrestles at 170 pounds and is bigger than Chase, challenging him to overcome the size difference in practice.

“It’s great, because he’s getting better and he’s pushing me in areas that I need to improve on and I’m pushing him, getting him better and faster in areas he needs to improve on,” Chase Hayes said.

Hayes has been wrestling since third grade, when he was introduced to the sport at a Charlotte Latin wrestling camp.

During the winter season, he practices six days a week. In summer, he works with Buzzsaw Wrestling and weight trains.

“I just ask my coach every day, ‘Is there something else that I need to work on?’ ” Hayes said. “ ‘Is there something I need to do better? Is there something we can work on after practice with my brother? What can I do to make myself better?’ It’s always about improvement.”

Hayes puts the same dedication into music. He’s played the piano for six years, taking private lessons. He plays everything from classical to hard rock.

He said he looks up to German film composer and music producer Hans Zimmer. “I wish that I could have the same job that he has,” Hayes said.

In both music and wrestling, Hayes said, he’s always trying to be “the best that I can be.”

Hayes, who wants to wrestle in college and is interested in Appalachian State, hopes that means winning a state championship this year. Even if it doesn’t, he’s going to keep working.

“It would mean so much to me just to be able to win states,” he said. “Whatever happens, happens. … All I can do is look to improve. And if this year doesn’t go like I want it to, I mean, too bad. I’m just going to be training still.”