BUTLER TWP — Weights over wrestling.

Ethan Babay made that decision during his freshman year at Butler.

Golden Tornado wrestling coach Scott Stoner tried convincing him otherwise, but Babay couldn’t be swayed.

“Ethan was a little rough around the edges in junior high and I talked with him about discipline and about how wrestling might be able to do that for him,” Stoner recalled.

“I was all about football then,” Babay said. “All I wanted to do was get in the weight room and lift all winter. I was a wild kid when I was younger. It was just immaturity. I was looking up to the wrong people.

“I wasn’t into wrestling then. I didn’t think it was for me.”

Now he can’t get enough of it.

Babay joined the Tornado wrestling team his sophomore year, but it wasn’t Stoner who convinced him. It was his fellow football lineman, Jake Pomykata, a junior at the time who had been involved in wrestling for a few years. Babay and Pomykata were both heavyweights.

“Those two lifted weights together in the annex building at 6 a.m. every day,” Stoner said. “They became close friends. They were like brothers. Jake was involved in a lot of activities here. He’s had a tremendous influence on Ethan.”

He also blocked Babay from starting varsity.

Pomykata graduated last year after putting together a 17-6 record at heavyweight his junior year and 30-9 his senior campaign, including a berth in the PIAA Tournament. Now Babay wants to follow suit.

“Jake talked me into giving wrestling a try, but my sophomore year was the COVID year and I didn’t get to wrestle in a varsity match,” Babay said. “But I did work out with Jake in practice every day and I learned a lot.

“Last year, I went 3-3, got a taste of it. I won our junior varsity tournament, which gave me a little confidence, but they were JV guys. I knew it wasn’t the caliber of wrestler I would be facing.”

While he wasn’t wrestling, Babay was working on his craft. His desire to succeed on the mat became as strong as his desire to excel on the football field.

So when his senior year arrived, he was ready.

With Pomykata now in college, Babay is 25-7 with 21 pins and 142 team points, both of which lead the Tornado.

“And he’s still learning,” Stoner said. “Ethan was too aggressive, got caught and pinned by (Lucas) Palermo of North Hills at the Chartiers-Houston tournament. He wrestled Palermo again in our dual match and pinned him.

“When he makes a mistake on the mat, he doesn’t give up. He battles and works to get himself out of trouble. His technique is improving and he has enough confidence to wrestle aggressively, That combination is a good thing.

“I could see Ethan coming on strong last year. I wished we had an extra spot in the lineup for him that season. I thought about trying him at 215 pounds, but he weighed 240 and that was just too much. He had to wait his turn. I don’t think I’ve ever had a single-season starter have the impact on our varsity lineup that he’s had,” Stoner added.

Babay expected to be successful this year.

“I can’t say I’m surprised at what’s going on because I’ve put in the hard work,” Babay said. “Put in hard work toward anything and it will eventually pay off. My goal is to wrestle in the state tournament. It won’t be easy getting there because the WPIAL has the best wrestling in the state ... a lot of tough dudes, but I think the state tournament is attainable for me.”

Looking to go into nursing as a career, Babay is visiting Fairmont State in Friday.

“They have a good nursing program and a wrestling team,” Babay said. “I’m not ruling out playing football in college, but I’m leaning more toward wrestling now. I want to continue in this sport.”

Stoner isn’t surprised.

“He’s worked too hard to stop now,” the Butler coach said.