CNY spotlight athlete of the week: Homer wrestler Sam Sorenson (video)

Syracuse, N.Y. -- After taking a brief but productive break from Central New York wrestling last season, Homer junior Sam Sorenson is continuing to remind everyone around here just how dominating he can be.

Though it’s unlikely anyone could have forgotten that to start with.

Sorenson spent last winter at a high school in Wyoming, which, unlike New York, plowed through the pandemic on its regular athletic schedule. He put that detour to good use by piling up a 30-0 record and winning the Wyoming state title at 220 pounds.

The move back east hasn’t tarnished that perfection. Sorenson has steamrolled to a 36-0 mark and a No. 1 state ranking in Division II. His first official New York state title this winter seems inevitable.

“I’m bigger and stronger, and I feel like that’s the most difference,” Sorenson said. “Maturing a year from last year just really helps a lot with high school wrestling. It’s just going into matches having the mentality that you’re going to win this match. You’ve got to think you’re going to win every match. And if you’re scared of losing, you’re probably going to lose.”

Sorenson is this week’s Syracuse.com spotlight athlete of the week in large part because of the work he’s put in to make sure that doesn’t happen. The higher weight divisions are usually the territory of upper-classmen, but Sorenson has been staking out that ground since he was a freshman when he won the Section III tournament at 220 pounds.

“That’s really what my mentality has been since I was an eighth-grader wrestling varsity. It’s always been, ‘I’m going to make (my opponent’s) life as difficult as I can.’ And eventually, through what I do, I’m just going to come out on top. And really as a junior that really came through more as I’m a bigger, stronger kid.

Before he left for Wyoming last season Sorenson claimed his class at the Journeymen/Rudis NYS Wrestling Championships in Pennsylvania. That was considered an unofficial New York state meet because most of New York’s best wrestlers competed there. Last spring, Sorenson was second in the sophomore division in a meet that featured the best scholastic wrestlers in the country.

This season, he returned to Homer’s mats as a wrestler more comfortable taking the initiative and showing the skills required to implement that approach.

“I’ve always been a really defensive wrestler. And I’ve really tried to improve on that and become a more offensive wrestler, shooting more and creating more offense for myself,” he said. “You’ve got to set your mentality to I’m going to work hard to score takedowns. The right takedowns win you the big matches. So that’s where it really came from. If you want to be the best you have to open up your offense a little bit more.”

Sorenson’s bullishness showed on the Trojans football field this fall, where he sparked the team to a Section III Class B title as a 240-pound running back/linebacker. He scored 15 touchdowns in the team’s final five games, including six in a sectional semifinal win over Vernon-Verona-Sherrill.

Then, the chicken wings had to go.

Sorenson knew he had to cut 20-25 pounds by the start of winter, which meant a better diet. Sorenson may not have many weaknesses on the mats, but chicken wings could be a glaring one at the dinner table. Sorenson said he has pushed aside that treat along with a few others to achieve and maintain the conditioning level expected of a state contender.

“(It’s) just a healthy diet and working out hard every day with wrestling practice. It just comes off pretty easy. It just makes you feel good and healthy,” Sorenson said.

Sorenson, who plays lacrosse in the spring, said his goal is to finish his high school career with something of a two-sport sweep. He envisions taking a state wrestling title this winter, challenging for that same honor as part of Homer’s football team next fall and then circling back for a repeat wrestling title in 2023.

Yeah, that sounds a bit challenging.

Which is exactly why wrestling has such a stronghold on Sorenson.

“It’s OK to be nervous. Just go into it confident that you can win and do everything you can do on the mat to win,” he said. “Wrestling is just hard. And getting over that difficulty in matches and practice, overcoming it in your head, is just really kind of satisfying for me.”

Contact Lindsay Kramer anytime: Email | Twitter

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