Oilers' Drew Sobol wears multiple hats in his statewide golf, wrestling success
WOOD RIVER – In an age of high school athletes seemingly wanting to specialize in one sport, seeing someone excel at two sports appears to be a throwback to an earlier era.
For East Alton-Wood River's Drew Sobol, excelling at two sports is almost old hat.
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Especially considering the sports he excels at – golf and wrestling – could be considered as far apart from one another as any.
Sobol, a senior, finished in fourth place in last year's IHSA Class 1A Wrestling Championship in the 106-pound weight class. Tuesday, he advanced to this weekend's IHSA Class 2A state golf tournament at D.A. Weibring Golf Club on the Illinois State campus in Normal.
In the process, Sobol became the first Oiler to qualify for two state tournaments as an individual.
“I'm a natural at wrestling,” Sobol said. “But I've dedicated myself to golf. To me, golf is a harder sport than wrestling; you're out there and having to concentrate for four or five hours on the course during a round.
“I've worked really hard to get where I am in golf, but it was really cool to be able to get to the state tournament.”
Sobol did go to the state golf tournament two years ago as part of an Oiler team that advanced out of the sectional to the Class 1A state tournament, where EAWR finished 11th ; this year, Sobol advanced to the sectional as an individual and then to state by being one of the top 10 golfers in the regional and sectional tournaments on non-qualifying teams.
“He's got the ability and the work ethic to excel at both sports,” said Dave Sobol, the Oiler golf and wrestling coach – and Drew's dad. “Drew has talent, no doubt, but he loves what he does. There's no substitute for hard work and golf's not an easy sport to master.
“It's the kind of sport where you reap what you sow; there's no shortcuts to being successful.”
While wrestling is the more physical of the sports Sobol participates in, golf is a much more challenging sport, especially from the mental aspect. “In wrestling, you're done with a match in just six minutes; in golf, the longevity of a match can really be difficult mentally because you have to think about how you want to play a shot,” Sobol said. “There's many ways you can play a shot, depending on the situation.
“You prepare as best as you can and let the results take care of themselves.”
Dave Sobol said Drew has accomplished a significant amount in his high school career.
“I'm very proud of Drew,” Dave Sobol said.
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