Windsor Owls senior wrestler Ryan Yarnell ended his high school career in movie-like fashion, recording more than 50 wins without a single loss in his final campaign.

Even after a remarkable high school career, there is still plenty to look forward to for the Owls 182 pound standout. Yarnell has decided to continue his days of wrestling at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. SIUE is a Division-I school that participates in the Southern Conference.

With the legacy he’s left behind at Windsor, it would be tough to imagine that he’d have small goals for himself at the collegiate level.

“My goal in college is to become an All-American and national champion,” he said. “I don’t think it’s too much different than high school. National champion has always been the goal.”

When deciding where he wanted to wrestle in college, there were certainly many factors that played into the final choice. For starters, SIUE is only a 45 minute drive from Imperial.

“I think the biggest thing was just distance. My family has been a big part of my support system so that was huge,” Yarnell said.

His teammates were impressed with Yarnell throughout the season.

“Watching Ryan is pretty cool. It’s like watching some Greek God animal, and he just dominates,” Drew Kinder said.

Yarnell does more for the team than just bring wins as well–the influence Yarnell’s work and confidence has on others is infectious and allows others to thrive as well.

“Ryan has a huge impact on those around him. His work ethic that he brought into the room every single day definitely brought the intensity level of the whole team up,” assistant coach Ryan Bollinger said.

“Ryan was a great leader,” Kinder said.  “He really helped coach everybody, sat mat-side and helped everyone improve.”

The coaching staff certainly seems thankful to have been able to see the growth over the past several years.

“Wrestlers like Ryan don’t come around very often. It takes a special person to work as hard all year long to reach their goals like Yarnell has in his high school career. I am very proud to have been able to coach such an outstanding individual, both on and off the mat,” Bollinger said.

Bollinger is excited to see what Yarnell can accomplish at the next level.

“My expectations for Ryan are very high as he continues his career at the college level. I expect him to keep his work ethic high and never settle, both on the mat and in the classroom.   I am excited to watch Ryan at the next level and I know he will succeed as an individual as well as help his whole team get better,” Bollinger said.