When Justin Walker started wrestling, it was to become a better football player.
Now he does it to become a better wrestler.
Walker is a senior at Father Judge High School, and when the Parkwood native got to high school, his goal was to become a key player on the Crusaders football team.
He had the size. He had the strength. He had everything he needed to be a good football player, and he was good enough to help Judge.
But he wanted more, so sophomore year, he decided to try his winter sport to see if it would help make him a more well-rounded lineman.
“My mom told me that since I started playing football that I should wrestle, too,” Walker said. “I thought, ‘Why not?’ Try it out and see what happens. I thought it would be more just to help with football.
“I fell in love with it. I think it’s just the whole individual aspect. Football you’re used to being on a team, but wrestling is one on one the whole time. I feel like it’s different from football, but also you know, you get that pride when you get a win. Proud that you won. In that way it’s a lot like football. It feels good to win.”
Walker was right.
Ever since he started wrestling, it has helped him become a better football player, and this year he served as one of the offensive tackles for Judge, and went up against some of the toughest defensive linemen in the area while playing against teams like La Salle, St. Joe’s Prep and Roman Catholic in the Catholic League Red Division.
“I used to think football was my sport, but now that I’m wrestling, I really love wrestling, I love both of them,” Walker said. “I really liked playing football at Judge, too.
“Football, I think we played hard all season. We had new coaches. It was a great experience. Coach (Ryan) Nase was our head coach, and he’s a great guy. I’m really excited to see what they do with the team going forward. I’m proud of what we did, we played hard.”
That’s the same attitude Walker has when he’s on the mat.
Not only is he giving the Crusaders a solid wrestler at the top of the lineup, he’s doing his best to set the Judge program in the right direction.
The Crusaders advanced to the Catholic League playoffs this year, and in the first round defeated Cardinal O’Hara 67-7. Walker earned a win by tech fall in the first-round match. The Crusaders went on to wrestle in the semifinals against St. Joe’s Prep, coached by former Judge coach Jim Savage. The Hawks eliminated the Crusaders 44-19.
It was the final PCL match for Walker, who is now a leader on the team.
When Walker was starting out, Shane Kilbride was the Crusaders heavyweight, and he would take his lumps from the experienced wrestler.
Now, Walker is the wily veteran. He makes sure as he’s working to make himself better in practice, he’s doing what he can to help the younger wrestlers learn.
He likes it because it gives him someone to work out with.
“We have some big guys who are heavyweights, and they help me a lot,” said Walker, who has 20 victories on the season. “It’s great, nice to teach them moves, especially kids who are in their first year.
“We have a JV guy, I got to see his first day when he didn’t know anything. He’s now at JV tournaments pinning kids, he gets wins, it’s really good to see that. It’s good for him and it will help Judge in the future. We have a great coach and they’re going to keep getting better.”
Because of Walker’s desire to help the future football and wrestling teams, he’ll be keeping an eye on the Crusaders in both sports. But this year is likely his final year both playing football and wrestling.
Next year, Walker is bound for Penn State. He plans on majoring in nursing, and he can’t wait to get to Happy Valley to start learning about the job.
“Yeah, I’m really excited for that,” Walker said. “My cousin (Jeffery Walker) would always talk about how much he loved it. My mom always talked to me about it. My mom and my grandmom would.
“I thought about it for a while. It was always in the back of my mind, I just decided on it. I haven’t figured out what kind of nurse I want to be.
“And I’m excited about going to Penn State. I’ve wanted to go there since I was in eighth grade, I met their football coach. And our football coach, (Joe) Grimes, he’s a big Penn State guy and always talking about how great it is. So I looked into it, went on a visit and I loved it. The atmosphere, it was such a warm place. I went there and I could imagine myself being there. It’ll be hard going away from home, but I think I’m going to enjoy it.”
