Elgin senior wrestler instrumental in helping Owls soar to new heights this season
By Michael Kinney
Nino Vidic had a smile on his face.
The Elgin senior stood surrounded by his teammates as he hoisted up the Class 5A Dual State Championships trophy earlier this month and he was proud of what they had been able to accomplish.
“The whole team's performance (that) week was really good,” Vidic said. “We came out, we battled every dual. We put our all into this. We've been working for this for years.”
At dual state, Vidic went 3-0 during the two-day competition in the 132-pound weight class. That includes earning an 8-3 victory in the title match against Coweta.
While Vidic was upset he didn’t pick up the pin, he was still happy with how he performed.
“Since I'm a senior, it's something that's very special and means very much to me,” Vidic said. “This is my fourth year here and this is the first year we've made it past the quarterfinals.
"And this is Elgin's first dual state championship. To be the first really means a lot to me.”
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However, when the season began, there was no way Vidic could have imagined he would play such a pivotal role in helping the Owls claim their title. He admits he wasn’t ready.
“My conditioning at the beginning of the season wasn't too good,” Vidic said. “Some matches, my mentality wasn't there. There's a lot of things I could have changed, but I think I'm re-training up these past few weeks.”
He gives Elgin coach Cody Rowell credit for the turnaround Vidic had during the season.
“Honestly, I think it was my coach. He's always been there; he's always been talking to me,” Vidic said. “He's really brought me this far. If it wasn't for him and him coaching me, I don't think I would be here.”
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Rowell admits Vidic’s time at Elgin hasn’t been a walk in the park. But when times got tough, that is when Vidic showed him who he really was.
“Nino's been a kid that I got when he was a freshman and he just kind of decided to try wrestling and then immediately bought into us and works his butt off every single day,” Rowell said. “And he's had his ups and downs, but wrestling's taught him to come back and persevere, and I can't wait to see what he does throughout his life and just to see what wrestling's instilled into him.”
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According to Vidic, even more than the coaching, it’s the personal touches that have enabled his relationship with Rowell to grow.
“You know he’s a good coach and he's so like pure,” Vidic said. “He cares about you, he really cares about you. And you can tell something like that.
"It's not just like he'll come and check on you. He'll make sure you're doing fine. He'll give you tips and stuff you got to work on. He is a really good coach.”
Rowell appreciates Vidic’s sentiments.
“It means the world, man. A lot of coaches say it, but these relationships mean the world to me," Rowell said. “These kids come back and bleed back into our program after they graduate and they turn into good, productive citizens, good young men of the world. And that's what I'm proud of the most.”
With his last week left in his high school career. Vidic hopes to go out with a bang.
At last weekend's Class 5A West Regional at Midwest City Carl Albert, Vidic finished second in the 126-pound class, qualifying him for the state wrestling championships Friday and Saturday. Elgin also won the team title at regionals, finishing with a score of 236.5 points.
Now that he's made it to state, Vidic knows he can’t have any letdowns. He will have to be on his game from here on out.
“This year, it has had some ups and downs. It started off very rough,” Vidic said. “But, hopefully, I can keep this momentum from dual state rolling to the championship and hopefully place or win state.”
