Senior AJ Leitten chases history this week

It’s the end of practice on a Monday and Fort Mill head wrestling coach Chris Brock has his wrestlers sprinting from one end of the wrestling room to the other as hard as they can.

Some of his wrestlers are running hard, but even the casual observer can tell others aren’t going full speed. Among those who are, it seems they’re sprinting so hard that if it wasn’t for the padded brick wall stopping them, they would just keep on going.

AJ Leitten is one of those wrestlers ready to sprint through the wall.

If anyone has the opportunity to rest on their laurels, it’s Leitten – a two-time defending state champion and the career record holder for wins at Fort Mill. But Leitten isn’t resting. Not in the least. His T-shirt is saturated with sweat and Leitten knows the sun is setting on his high school career. However, there is one more goal left to accomplish, one more mountain to climb – being the first three-time state champion wrestler in school history. He can accomplish that goal this weekend at the 5A individual state wrestling championships at the Anderson Civic Center.

“It’s really weird because every tournament is my last high school tournament,” the 138-pound contender said.

“Just thinking about it, it’s my last state tournament ever. I try to take it one match at a time. I don’t ever overlook my opponents. I just look to see who I am wrestling and try to get my name to the next line. We are all 0-0 right now. We are all going to the same place.”

For Leitten, the accomplishments are numerous, so much so, that he caught the eye of several Division I coaches before finally settling on NC State, which he will be attending next year on a wrestling scholarship. In just looking at the numbers, they don’t even seem real – but they are. In his four years at Fort Mill, Leitten’s career record is 171-6 entering his final S.C. state tournament. He has won 107-consecutive high school matches; he is a four-time region champion, four-time Upper State champion, a three-time state finalist and four-time state qualifier.

But as good as he has been, there is one number that has shown how dominant Leitten has been this year and that number is four. This year alone, only four opponents have scored against him in 44 matches. And if you really want to get technical about it, of those four, only two have actually earned a point against Leitten. The other two wrestlers were essentially gifted the points after he took them down and intentionally allowed them to get up.

Leitten has yet to be taken down himself this season.

“That is unprecedented in this sport,” said Brock, who has been coaching nearly 28 years. “I have never seen it. AJ is the type of kid that doesn’t come around often. In terms of talent and work ethic he is one of the top I have ever had.”

So the question is, what makes Leitten so good? One answer is the fear of losing.

“I hate to lose,” he said. “The losses I do have I don’t think about them, but I do keep them in my head. I hate losing more than I like winning. I don’t like the feeling of the other guy beating me on the mat. During those losses, it was, ‘what can I do if I am down?,’ but now I know I can come back.”

While it’s only happened a half a dozen times, Leitten knows what losing feels like and he doesn’t want to feel it again – ever.

“It drives him to another level,” Brock said.

“It is like a slime you can’t shake. They will never go away and AJ remembers them. Seeing AJ where he started as a young kid, what set him apart is he has an intense hatred for losing. I don’t think AJ likes chancing that. His approach to preparation and training sets him apart.”

The Leitten family is originally from New York and his dad, Joe, ran a youth club up North before they moved South, so naturally Leitten and his older brother, Nick, a past state champion wrestler for Fort Mill in his own right, were always around the sport. The younger Leitten said Nick has helped him become the wrestler he is today after having been the forerunner of good and bad times on the mat. Knowledge he passes on to his brother to this day.

“A lot of my success goes to my brother,” Leitten said. “He pushes me and gets me through those tough times like when I lost. He knows what to say to me and how to get me to be the best I can be.”

Leitten practically lives on the mat practicing seven days a week, sometimes twice a day to work on technique and perform drills.

“Wrestling is one of those sports where you can ask yourself, ‘what are you doing when the other guy is at home?’ he said. “It’s more mental stuff. When there is nothing to do, just going for a run to get that little extra edge on the other guy when he is doing nothing.”

Getting that extra edge and the hatred of losing has paid off for Leitten.

“We are very excited to have AJ become part of our program,” said NC State head wrestling coach Pat Popolizio. “He is successful on the mat as well as in the classroom. He is a driven individual and his reputation speaks volumes for his character. He fits that mold of an all-around great kid and will be a big addition to our program on and off the mat.”

Leitten had his choice of colleges, but seeing where NC State has come from and where they are going attracted him to the college, plus the chance to compete in Division I against the best of the best in the country fuels him even more. Ranked No. 7 in the nation this season, the Wolfpack recently defeated Michigan and in recent seasons has taken down its share of traditional powerhouse teams such Iowa and Oklahoma.

“I feel like I can achieve my goals of being a national champion,” he said. “Their success on the mat is ridiculous now. I am truly thankful for the opportunity to go out there and be a part of that. NC State is the place for me.”

The road to get to where he is today hasn’t always been smooth for Leitten, despite how it may appear. He has admitted that his freshman through junior years were a struggle trying to get that all important mental edge.

“My freshman through junior year, I was a head case,” he said.

“A bunch of times at nationals, dudes would take me down and I would just break. It would get in my head. Now I am just getting the hang of it, what the coaches are pushing me through and believing in how they train me. If I go out there and lose and I (gave) 100 percent, there is nothing I can do. I want to go out there and dominate every single kid I can wrestle. I expect to go out there and dominate my opponent and if he scores on me, just get right back in there and keep battling.”

Leitten at times considered himself a conservative wrestler, waiting too long to figure out what his opponent can do. This year, that hasn’t been the case.

“I think that has held me back a little,” he said. “Giving the other guy too much credit and not believing in myself enough. If I am on my attack I don’t feel like anyone can stop me.”

Leitten has been anything but conservative this year, and because of that he has actually gotten better as the year worn on. He broke the school record for wins as the playoffs opened, something he wasn’t sure would be in reach when the season began. At one point, Leitten thought he had a sports hernia and was going to have to have surgery, which would have put the record and a potential third state title on the shelf. However, the hernia turned out to be something else that he ould work through.

“Going into this year I didn’t know how close I was,” Leitten said. “I am glad I achieved it. If I am winning, I am OK. It’s pretty awesome.”

So with a handful of matches remaining, Leitten isn’t about to stroll to the finish line. His drive is as intense as ever and he is still standing on the gas, ready to go full speed ahead.

“I come in here (practice) wanting to get better,” he said.

“I try to exploit my weakness in here so they don’t happen on the mat. I try to put myself in weird positions so when I do get in them I am comfortable and feel confident in what I am doing. What drives me I guess, is going out there and being the best. I have done OK at big tournaments. I have to believe in myself more. Seeing all these other successful kids in the country drives me to be the best I can be.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Senior AJ Leitten chases history this week."