Luke Geog breaks through with individual state title to end decorated St. Edward career
LAKEWOOD, Ohio (BVM) – Luke Geog’s wrestling career has been nothing short of impressive. However, up until this past winter, the one thing missing from his resume was an individual state championship.
Geog thought that moment might come in his junior year. Despite the season being impacted by Covid, Geog and his St. Edward High School teammates still had the opportunity to wrestle at state.
“We weren’t sure if we were even going to have a season to be honest,” Geog said. “We ended up getting our first two weeks of the wrestling season canceled that year. We only wrestled like 15 matches that year, and we went to the state tournament and that was kind of the money maker, it was the only tournament we had.”
Although his team would bring home a state title, Geog fell excruciatingly short of his first individual state championship, losing by just a single point in the state title match to Logan Messer of Wadsworth.
“Obviously, it didn’t end the way I wanted it to,” Geog said. “That one hurt a little bit. I’ve probably replayed that match in my mind about 150 times and it hurts more the 151st time than it did the first time, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
An individual state title would have been another strong addition to an already impressive wrestling resume. When he was little, Geog was introduced to the sport by his father, a former wrestler himself.
“He didn’t accomplish everything he wanted to back then, and he always said when he had a son, he wanted him to wrestle so he could help his son reach his goals,” Geog said. “When I was a young kid, I got introduced to it, I grew up in it and kind of just fell in love with it over time.”
Geog’s love has only increased over his decade-and-a-half of competing. He saw plenty of success during his youth, particularly at the end of his middle school career. In eighth grade, Geog took home a title at the Super 32 Challenge, and also competed in the high school division at Junior Nationals in Fargo, taking second at his weight class.
It was at that tournament in Fargo where the Columbus, Ohio native was first introduced to the coaches at St. Edward High School. Soon after, he came to a realization that if he wanted to accomplish his dreams in the sport, heading north to Cleveland would be his best option.
“That’s kind of where it clicked,” Geog said. “I wanted to surround myself with like-minded people, a school that was going to support my dreams and my goals. I just decided that this is where I want to be. St. Ed is a premier wrestling school not just in Ohio, but in the country, and I knew that if I wanted to do this long term, that would be the best place to be.”
Moving two hours from home for high school isn’t necessarily easy, and Geog admits that he wasn’t always fully committed to the move at first, struggling with the change initially. But thanks to those around him, he was able to adapt.
“The transition wasn’t easy,” Geog noted. “We have an apartment across the street from the school. For the first two-and-a-half years, my parents lived with me, commuting from Cleveland to Columbus to go to work and be with me at night. It’s a pretty unique situation but it paid off in the long run. The amount of people that I’m surrounded with is unmatched. Wrestling is a sport where you have to have a good support system to be successful.”
That support system helped Geog through more tough times in his freshman year. Joining an elite program, Geog wrestled in just 25 matches, and did not get to compete at state as the Eagles went on to win a state championship.
“This sport can be difficult,” Geog said. “I didn’t even make the team my first year. For the major tournaments, the state tournament and all the national tournaments, I didn’t get to compete. That was hard for me, being a 15-year-old kid, making the decision to come up here and not make the team. It’s unheard of being a Fargo finalist and not making the team. But it’s something that I take pride in. A lot of people at that stage would quit or transfer out … I would say it was the best decision of my life, I didn’t leave when it got hard.”
Still, the wrestler holds on to several fond memories from that season in which he was able to take away a lot for the remainder of his time at St. Edward, propelling him to future success.
Geog would get more time on the mat as a sophomore. However, he would have to deal with some nagging injuries, including an ankle ailment that required a minor surgical procedure after the season. He also was denied the chance to compete at state once again. As the team was packing the van to leave for state in 2020, the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.
“Going into my sophomore year, we had a great team,” Geog said. “I was ready to do some damage. We came out and had some great matches … Covid just kind of messed it up. Both my sophomore and junior year, Covid impacted it pretty good.”
Covid remained a factor into Geog’s junior season, and of course, the heartbreaking finish at state ended the season on a sour note. Yet, one of the wrestler’s greatest strengths in the sport is his mental mindset and poise, and that shined through the following summer.
“I knew my time would come someday and if it didn’t, then I was okay with it,” Geog said. “That’s just who I am. I prayed about it a lot, hoped that something good would happen and I was just going to keep my head down and keep working until the day came.”
Over the summer, Geog took home a national title at Virginia Beach, and finished third at Fargo. Going into his senior season healthy and with the pandemic becoming less of a factor, it was finally the wrestler’s time to shine.
Yet, that didn’t mean the senior wouldn’t still face adversity. Competing at Walsh’s annual Ironman Wrestling Tournament, Geog had to battle through an illness in which he had a 103-degree fever. Still, he would go on to place third at the event.
After a dominant stretch through the heart of the winter season, Geog’s confidence began to take off.
“I was at full sprint at that point, confidence was sky high,” Geog said. “I knew I was the best kid in the country at that point, nobody was going to stop me … Something clicked, I’d just been working so hard, putting in the time, just staying humble, putting my head down and working.”
Geog continued to roll through the postseason and eventually back to state, this time looking for a different result.
“I was mentally prepared,” Geog added. “I was ready … I wouldn’t say I was nervous, I was just anxious, I wanted to wrestle. I had four matches left on my belt for St. Ed, and the whole week I was just ready to go.”
Back home in Columbus, Geog would make sure there were no questions left unanswered this time around. Rolling into the championship match at 175 pounds, the St. Edward senior absolutely dominated La Salle’s Chase Stein in a 10-0 major decision.
YOUR D1 175lb STATE CHAMPION LUKE GEOG!!! 🦅🦅#edsup pic.twitter.com/mWK4IUGM2E
— St. Edward Wrestling (@_stedswrestling) March 14, 2022
“I’d known what it felt like to lose,” Geog said. “What I felt in my gut from that night to now, it felt awful. I told myself to just go out there and have fun, and whatever happens, happens. I went out there and took care of business.
“I got emotional on the stage a little bit, it was a surreal moment. It was an unreal experience and I wish I could do it again.”
With the win, Geog became the 117th individual state champion for the Eagles’ program, which also claimed yet another team title this past season. After the move, injuries, Covid impacts and additional adversity, the wrestler took his career to the top. His high school career may be over, but Geog is hoping to take another journey to the top at the next level.
Top-five nationally in his weight class and top-50 overall, Geog had no shortage of suitors during the recruiting process. Eventually, he narrowed his options down to a handful of schools which included Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Virginia and Lehigh. Also in the mix was Ohio State, and before long, the wrestler realized after leaving home for high school, he wanted to go back home for college.
“One morning I just kind of woke up and realized that I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I wanted to be a Buckeye,” Geog said. “It’s in my backyard. My family lives two miles from Ohio State, you can almost see the stadium from my house. I went away for high school and these last two years I’ve been by myself more than usual. I want to go home, I want to be with my family because the time that normal high schoolers have with their family for four years, I didn’t, really … I decided ultimately that I wanted my support system right next to me.”
I’m blessed to announce I am going to continue my academic and athletic career at The Ohio State University. I want to thank my family, coaches, and all those who have supported me along this journey. Time to begin a new chapter. Go Bucks🌰 pic.twitter.com/wUh73JCxUa
— Luke Geog (@geog_luke) November 9, 2021
Geog joins what is ranked by many as the top recruiting class in the country at Ohio State. With a strong 2023 class also set to join the fold next year, the sky’s the limit for the Buckeyes.
“Ohio State is known for their wrestling,” Geog said. “This recruiting class coming in is something special … This is going to be sweet. NCAA team titles are coming to Columbus, it’s going to be fun. Iron sharpens iron and to have those guys in the room and wrestle with them every day, it’s going to be something special.”
Geog will redshirt in his freshman season, but feels he will be very prepared on the mat in his second season in Columbus, in part thanks to some of the experience he has gotten wrestling at some of those national tournaments in the past.
“I always knew that I could compete at that level,” Geog said. “I know that there are always people who are out there working hard, and I have to work harder … Competing at those national tournaments, it just shows that you’re one of the best. If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”
A bright future awaits with the Buckeyes. After that, Geog aspires to someday become a doctor, but may just make one final run within wrestling first.
“That’s God’s plan,” Geog said. “However many more years he has for me, I’m going to trust in that. I’m going to try and wrestle as long as I can. Five years in college, maybe if I want to make an Olympic run after that, I will.”
No matter what happens from here, Geog knows he can hold his head high with the truly incredible journey he has already gone through these last four years.
“I’m thankful for the career I’ve had,” Geog concluded. “The ups and downs I’ve had, the rocky points at the beginning, climbing the highest mountain at the end, in my opinion being the best in the country. I wouldn’t trade a second or a minute of it because it’s all shaped me into who I am now.”
