Providence Catholic’s ‘Rudy’ to be All-American

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Jason Bryant (TheMat.com)
07/24/2003


The story is legendary. The bench warmer, the walk-on, the golden dome of Notre Dame. Dan Ruettiger isn't a name that rings a bell, but his determination spawned the movie "Rudy."    "Oh yeah, Rudy, I know about Rudy," people will say, failing to recognize his name.    There's a Dan Ruettiger in Fargo this week at the Cadet and Junior Nationals, wrestling 125 pounds in the Cadet Freestyle division out of Illinois.     Yes, they're related and wrestling is deep-rooted in the Ruettiger camp.    Ruettiger, a rising junior at Illinois powerhouse Providence Catholic, was rolling along in his pool until a Mat 1 match with defending national champion Garrett Scott of Pennsylvania.    He's gangly, long and flexible and was battling Scott close for the first period, taking a 2-1 lead before Scott tied the match with a takedown and scored a two-point gut-wrench.    Scott went on to win the bout 13-4 and remain undefeated in the pool, but at this point in the tournament, Ruettiger's clinched All-American status by being one of the remaining four wrestlers in his pool.    Named after his uncle, Ruettiger hears comparisons and questions about his uncle.    "Sometimes people ask me about it, and I'm like yeah, that's my uncle," Ruettiger said.    Then again, it's not like he doesn't have another uncle… he's got six in all.    Ruettiger wrestled 112 this past year at Providence Catholic and is growing into his wiry frame, giving opponents fits in his first year out in Fargo. However, he didn't place in his state tournament.    According to Rob Sherrill, high school columnist for W.I.N. Magazine and Illinois wrestling guru, Ruettiger was ranked up and down during the year.    "After Tony Pretto, it was like musical chairs. One week he'd be up to No. 2 and the next he'd be at No. 5 and the next he'd be out of the rankings," Sherrill said.    As far as wrestling, Ruettiger's pretty low-key.    "I'm wrestling pretty decent, at least I made All-American," moments after he stepped off the elevated mat.    "At one point in time, there were five Ruettiger's coaching high school teams across Illinois," Sherrill said.     There isn't much to drill him about, other than wrestling.    "I'm hoping to go to the University of Illinois or Michigan or someplace like that after high school," he said.    As far as his uncle, he's also low-key.    "It's not that big of a deal, I mean it's my uncle Danny," he said.    Ruettiger isn't going after the cult-status style of story out here in Fargo this week, it might make for an interesting sequel should the cards fall differently and he makes the finals after the loss, but he's not looking to be carried off the field by his teammates.    "I'm not really a Notre Dame fan," he said.    Young Dan Ruettiger roots for his Fighting Illini.