After taking second, Northwestern recruit Eddie Enright finds another gear for Mount Carmel. ‘Pushing myself.’

Few things sharpen the mind more than what Mount Carmel’s Eddie Enright experienced.

Last February, Enright stood one place beneath the top rung, finishing in second place at 152 pounds in the Class 3A state meet at the State Farm Center in Champaign.

“I had the perfect mindset going into the state championship match,” Enright said. “I was wrestling the best I could. I fell a little bit short in the finals, and I thought to myself for a week or two. I wondered what I did wrong.

“I was pushing myself as hard as I could.”

Now, as a senior, the Northwestern-bound Enright has discovered another level.

“I came to the conclusion I needed to push past my limits and work even harder,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to break myself or anything — just do the best I could out there.”

Enright (23-2) has turned into one of the best wrestlers in the state at 157. He’s ranked No. 2 in Class 3A by Illinois Matmen and remains undefeated against Illinois competition.

Enright went 6-0 in matches Tuesday at Mount Carmel in Chicago and Wednesday at Providence in New Lenox.

Wrestling is an intuitive, natural thing for the Mount Greenwood resident.

His father, Edward, is a varsity assistant coach at Mount Carmel. His younger sister, Ava, is a freshman wrestler on the girls team at Marist.

As a youngster, Eddie took up art and drawing as an outlet for his creativity.

“They have become these stories that are my gateways to help me relax,” he said.

Perspective is crucial. Senior 175-pounder Colin Kelly, who also finished second in the state last season at 160, has a natural kinship with Enright.

“Eddie’s a great and highly skilled wrestler who uses technique to just pick apart whoever he goes up against,” Kelly said.

The other striking characteristic of Enright is his height.

At a shade under 6-foot-3, he’s angular and long — and virtually impossible for the opposition to get into his body.

“Growing up, I was always a lot taller than the kids I’d run into during a match,” Enright said. “It’s definitely an advantage.

“The thing is, I never try to wrestle with my length. I try to wrestle the way all great wrestlers do by staying in great positions.”

Just as different styles make for intriguing battles in boxing, Enright has that ace in his back pocket when the moment arises.

“When I do get into a bad position, the length helps me even more with the leverage,” he said. “That plays a big factor in my top game and ability to ride guys out and also hold on the bottom as well.”

Seth Mendoza, already a two-time state champion as a junior for the Caravan, has witnessed Enright’s physical transformation.

“I’ve known Eddie probably since the fifth grade,” Mendoza said. “We trained a lot because we used to be more or less the same size.

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“During the pandemic, he was a freshman and I just saw him start to grow. Seeing where he was then to where he is now is really something else.”

Mendoza said Enright has learned to harness his physical attributes.

“The thing that stood out was just how he practiced every day,” Mendoza said.

If Enright has an intellectual curious and artistic nature, his sly and easy manner masks a fierce competitiveness.

“Losing is my least favorite thing,” he said. “I almost hate losing more than I like winning.

“The guy I’m up against is human like me, and there’s nothing he has on me. It’s all a mental game, and once I start pushing the pace and see them break, I know it’s a whole new game.”

Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.