BUTLER TWP — When it comes to wrestling, the only thing Christian Sequete loses is time.

The Butler junior 182-pounder is a stellar 60-6 in his varsity career. He is off to a 10-0 start this season. Seven of those wins are pins, another is by major decision.

But Sequete has undergone three knee surgeries during that time.

He had a torn meniscus in his left knee repaired during his freshman season, which cost him a month of competition. He tore it again during the WPIAL tournament at the end of his sophomore campaign.

Prior to this season, Sequete had surgery done for a torn meniscus in his right knee.

“I guess that one was a gradual thing,” he said. “I have no idea when it actually happened.”

But it cost him the first month of this season. Sequete was 35-4 last year while winning the section championship at 170 pounds.

“Where it gets him is in conditioning,” Butler coach Scott Stoner said. “It’s so hard to catch up that way.

“Once these tournaments begin, you’re wrestling multiple matches in a day against high-caliber competition .,.. The conditioning needs to be there.”

Sequete competed in the Clearfield Duals recently — his first tourney action of the season — and went 5-0 for the day.

“But I was pretty gassed at the end,” he admitted. “By the fourth and fifth match, I was feeling tired. I know that can’t continue.”

Sequete has lofty goals in wrestling. He wants to become a three-time section champion, get to the PIAA meet and win a state championship before his days at Butler are over.

Stoner pointed out that Sequete will be seeing top-level competition between now and the individual section championships slated later this month.

“The (Nino) Bonaccorsi kid from Bethel Park, (Matt) McGillick of Penn -Trafford are two of the top kids in his weight class and Christian will be facing those guys,” he said. “Bonaccorsi beat him up pretty good last year.

“Christian does wrestle an aggressive style that we like. He’s on the verge of reaching that next level.”

Sequete was named most outstanding wrestler of the eighth-grade team three years ago and placed fifth in the 54-team District 7 meet that season.

“When he’s confident he’s going to beat somebody, he usually does it,” Butler Junior High coach Don Geibel said. ‘Christian is most effective when he gets the early takedown on his opponent.

“The good thing about his knee injuries is that none of them were major surgeries. He hasn’t torn his ACL or anything like that.”

While Sequete admits the repeated knee surgeries and recuperation periods have been “frustrating,” the setbacks have not affected him mentally.

“When I’m on the mat wrestling, my knee situation is totally out of my mind,” he said. “I’m locked into the task at hand.

“I know I have a lot of room to improve. I particularly have to get better when I’m in the top position. I need to score more points from there.”

Sequete recently faced a strong opponent in Moon’s Austin McConaghy and dominated the match. He scored two quick takedowns in the first period and pinned him 46 seconds into the second.

“That’s what he’s about,” Stoner said. “Christian does do a lot of club wrestling during the offseason. He’s into the sport. He may have to do some additional training on his own, outside of what we do here, to get caught up on conditioning.

“I know what he wants to accomplish. A kid can say those things. He has to do the necessary work to get there.”

One thing Sequete didn’t do this school year was play football.

“I really wanted to, but I didn’t want to risk any more injuries,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ve had enough of those.”