To-do List: Wadsworth wrestler doesn't let injuries keep him from goals

If ever there was an athlete that resembled the man in the game "Operation," he would be Jon List. Need an injury? The Wadsworth junior wrestler probably has had it. Last July, he wrestled in the freestyle national championships in Fargo, N.D., and came back with tears in his LCL and meniscus as well as two tendons that were ripped off the bone. He also had a torn muscle in his knee. List fought through the knee issues and came back for the North Canton Holiday Tournament. A week later at the Powerade Invitational, he tossed an opponent with such force he had to have emergency surgery to remove a foot of his intestine after being admitted to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Children's Hospital as a Level 2 trauma patient. List also missed time with a back injury as a sophomore and had a partially torn MCL as a freshman at Medina. Through it all, the 195-pounder has weathered the storm and succeeded. "Jon defines heart and toughness," Wadsworth coach Clay Wenger said. "I think the reason he keeps coming back is because of all those guys in the room. They're friends, brothers and are a team. He wasn't just coming back for himself to get on the podium, but was putting his team in the position to bring a banner back here. "I think that's been in the back of his head all the time. It's just the person he is and the captain he is. He did it for himself, but his toughness and his heart were for his team, too." Lesser wrestlers may have skipped the season and had surgery to repair the knee. They would have quit after losing part of an organ. At Powerade, List hit a throw and landed on top of his opponent's knees with the force of a car crash without an airbag. Quit? That's not in List's DNA. "I thought I got the wind knocked out of me, so I finished the match and then what happened, happened," he said. "I didn't know if I was going to be able to come back until the doctors told me. They said they would make the final decision. When they said it would be a quick recovery, they said I could do cardio until I came back to wrestle." Anyone who knows List knows sitting out was the worst pain he endured. Up until the Division I, Region 2 State Duals last Saturday, List missed 40 consecutive days of action. Sure, the two-time state qualifier and one-time state placer could practice on a limited basis, but getting out on the mat was all he wanted. "I was happy for them because they were all succeeding, but the thing that hurt me was I couldn't help," List said. "At Edison (a 42-25 loss), I think I could have beaten that kid. I think I could have made a little bit of a difference in the shape of the dual. "I took notes to help my teammates so I was still in the sport, but my coaches and teammates kept feeding me positive things. They told me setbacks make for even greater comebacks." Setbacks also provided incredible motivation for a team that hadn't been healthy all season. When his teammates had minor scrapes and bruises or were just plain tired from the grind, all they had to do was look over at List on the bike to see things weren't all that bad. "His heart is huge," teammate Dom Loparo said. "Even though he was hurt, he was at every practice, working out and doing the things he could. He was still leading and that says a lot about him. "Everybody goes through adversity, but it's what you do to get through that adversity. Jon's a perfect example of that. He had freak accidents happen, but he's still coming. He's still just working through it because it's what he loves to do." Back and ready to make up for lost time Sunday at the State Duals, List won't take a second off. At 9-2 this season, he knows the value of each second and is ready to make sure his junior season ends the way he envisions it. "Last Saturday meant a lot," List said. "I felt normal again. I didn't have to come from school and ride the bike for an hour and a half. I could go out and practice. It felt good to come back and perform in front of the home crowd. "I have to make up for lost time. I only have 11 matches under my belt. Most kids have 30 matches. My coaches and I have a plan. I just have to go out and execute that plan." Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com.