The heart of a champion

Former Foxcroft Academy wrestler’s long road to redemption

Contributed article

    In life you sometimes don’t get a second chance and when you do, you better make the most out of it. This is what former Foxcroft Academy wrestler Josh Pelletier did. In Pelletier’s senior year of wrestling at Div. I Liberty University, he came into the 2010 season with high hopes. He knew this was his last chance to make it to the NCAA championship tournament. He had come one match away from qualifying the year before. He was having a great year. He had worked hard to get to this point and was focused and determined to do it. By the time the national qualifiers came, he was poised to win his weight class and lead the team to a fifth consecutive East Regional Championship. In order to go to the Big Dance, he had to win his weight class. 

    Pelletier came into the East Regionals ranked No. 1 in the 285-pound weight class. He knew his dream of going to the NCAA tournament was possible. His first match was against an opponent that he had wrestled and defeated earlier in the season. This is where within a blink of an eye everything changed. During a warm-up routine with a teammate, he was doing drills that he had done a thousand times before. Another teammate rolled onto his knee, in that split second he felt a sharp pain and heard a popping sound in his knee. Teammates gathered around him and quickly called for a trainer. His teammates carried him to the trainer’s room. Trainers evaluated him and quickly knew that it was not good, he had torn his ACL. 
    When Pelletier heard the news he was devastated. His dreams of a trip to the NCAAs were shattered. When his coach heard of the news, he quickly rushed to see him. When he saw how Pelletier was feeling all he could do was console him. But Pelletier was not going to just take this, he was going to go down fighting. He told the trainer to tape his knee because he was going to wrestle.
    As Pelletier waited for his name to be called for his match no one knew what was going to happen. When he limped onto the mat with a taped up knee, everyone that came to see him that day had a lot of anxiety. As the whistle blew, it was quickly apparent that his opponent was going to attack his injured leg. Pelletier was in defensive mode all through the match and never had a chance for a victory. Pelletier lost the match 6-0 and he was devastated. 
    The next match he was medically disqualified, as his coach and trainer decided that he could no longer wrestle. Pelletier was heartbroken. This was not the way that he envisioned his last match of his career going. Liberty won a fifth regional title and everyone on the team was celebrating. This was supposed to be a joyous occasion but this left Pelletier with an empty feeling inside. 
    He had surgery on his knee soon after and was restricted to a cast and crutches for months. After graduating from Liberty,  Pelletier healed up and moved to Florida to begin working on a career. It wasn’t long, however, when an old medical condition, plaguing him throughout college, could not be ignored any longer. He had his first pilonidal cyst surgery in Jacksonville in March 2012. Pelletier moved back home to Charleston when his healing did not progress as expected. He endured four subsequent surgeries which left him in pain and bedridden for most of his days the following year.
    During the winter of 2012, Pelletier felt he had to do something that would get his mind off his injury. He would find himself back where he knew he belonged, in the wrestling room. He became part of the Foxcroft coaching staff. Coach Luis Ayala could not have been happier as Pelletier brought a new excitement.
    The wrestling team was coming in from winning back-to-back state championships and wanted to do something that has never been done in school history, being three-time state champions. Pelletier was able to bring that hunger back with new drills and different techniques. This hunger and drive to win again helped Foxcroft earn another championship.
    “Josh was a big part of our team’s success,” said Ayala.“The kids really look up to Josh. They all know of his accomplishments because they see his picture on our school’s wall and trophy case. He is a legend, so when he talks, they really listen.”
    The next year Pelletier received an offer that he could not refuse. The University of Maine was bringing the wrestling program back as a club. The school wanted Pelletier to be part of the coaching staff that could bring back the excitement of wrestling to the university. Pelletier was slowly beginning to heal and jumped at the opportunity. 
    He was even more excited when he found out that he would be coaching one of his good friends Jerod Rideout. a four-time state champion at Foxcroft. Rideout came to Maine to wrestle his senior year. This gave an opportunity for the both of them to be back together. Pelletier and the coaching staff lead the team to a phenomenal year, sending nine wrestlers to the NCWA Nationals in Allen, Texas. 
    At nationals, Pelletier saw his former college coach Jesse Castro. Castro informed Pelletier that he may have a year of eligibility left due to his previous injury. He encouraged Pelletier to consider coming back to help the team attain the national title they were shooting for next year.
    When Pelletier returned home from Texas days later, he realized he could not shake Castro’s invitation. He knew what it was going to take to get himself in shape and into competitive status. His health was finally returning, and he began to work toward that goal to be ready to join the team in the fall.
    Pelletier worked hard all summer to get back in shape. He was going to the gym every day working on losing weight and to build his endurance and strength. He had a strict diet that he never wavered from. He lost over 130 pounds that summer. This was a new Pelletier, one that his parents and friends had not seen since 2010. The motivation and dedication that Pelletier showed to get back to Liberty was inspiring. This was an opportunity that he was not going to let slip through his fingers. 
    Once the practices started at Liberty, Castro quickly saw that this was an individual on a mission. He was not the same  Pelletier of 2010. The maturity and leadership that Pelletier brought day in and day out made quite an impression on his teammates. They nominated Josh as one of the the captains. Not only was Pelletier on a mission, but Liberty was on one as well. They wanted to be the first wrestling team to capture a national title. The previous year, Liberty finished as runners-up and with the addition of Pelletier the team felt it had all the pieces. 
    Liberty entered the season ranked No. 1 in his NCWA division. The team kept this position all season long as by finishing the season with a duals record of 18-0 and won the Nationals Duals Championship. Up next was the Mid-Atlantic Conference Championship, Pelletier (29-5) was ranked second in his weight class and had to place in order to advance to the national tournament. Pelletier and the team captured the title, as they bulldozed the competition, accumulating 215 points to second place Middle Tennessee State with 154 points. 
    Liberty qualified 19 wrestlers for the NCWA National Championships in Allen, Texas. With this victory, Pelletier came into the title tournament ranked No.1 at 285 pounds. Liberty became the heavy favorite to claim the national title. 
    Pelletier pinned his first two opponents. In the quarterfinals, he beat his opponent 10-2. In the semifinals, Pelletier rolled the points to a 12-4 victory. He had now reached the national finals. His opponent was the second-ranked wrestler from Davenport University in Michigan. 
    This was an intense match all the way through. In the third period, with the score tied 2-2, the Davenport wrestler was able to pull ahead with just several seconds remaining in the match and claimed the 285-pound title. Pelletier was upset for his loss, but was not devastated like in 2010 after his injury. He knew this had been an amazing journey. A journey that probably never would have taken place if not given the opportunity by his college coach, the support of his parents and friends and having faith in God.  Pelletier could now enjoy the celebration with his teammates in winning their first national championship and he played an integral part.