Roncalli sophomore lives his dream of becoming a state champion

A referee raises the arm of Peyton Schoettle, signifying that the sophomore from Roncalli High School in Indianapolis has won the 106-pound match in Indiana’s state wrestling championship meet on Feb. 17. (Photo courtesy of Pure Impact Studios, LLC)

By John Shaughnessy

Walking between two flaming towers of fire and smoke, 16-year-old Peyton Schoettle strode toward the center of the arena, literally feeling the heat as he headed toward the wrestling mat for the opportunity he had worked, sweated and dreamed of for years—winning a state championship.

At the same time, the sophomore from Roncalli High School in Indianapolis felt no pressure or any intimidation about wrestling a senior from Lake Central High School who was undefeated and favored to win the championship in the 106-pound weight class.

After all, Peyton’s approach to every match has always flowed from a rare perspective toward competition.

“I try not to worry about winning and losing too much. I feel that’s kind of a negative thing to focus on. I just focus on putting my best wrestling out there,” he says. “Whatever the outcome, I was OK with it. If I lose, so be it. I’ll keep working to get better. But, of course, I wanted to win. I felt I had put the work in during the season, and I was ready to perform.”

Wrestling under the lights of the Ford Center in Evansville on Feb. 17, Peyton delivered a performance that ended in the spotlight focused on him. In a tight, intense match of moves, wits and skills that came down to the final second, Peyton won the state championship 3-2.

“I was speechless,” Peyton recalls. “This is something I’ve been wanting to do for so long—to be an Indiana high school state champ. All the work has paid off. All the extra practices. All the people I’ve worked with over the years. To do it is so amazing!”

A short time after his win, Peyton rushed into the stands where about 30 of his extended family members greeted him with huge smiles, hugs and tears, including from his parents, Jason and Amy Schoettle.

“It was an emotional thing for my family,” says Peyton, a member of St. Roch Parish in Indianapolis who attended grade school at Our Lady of the Greenwood School in Greenwood. “My dad was crying. My uncles were crying. Tears of joy.”

Wrestling is in Peyton’s blood—a grandfather, his father and his uncles all wrestled, a sport that Peyton started in kindergarten.

“I love everything about wrestling,” says Peyton, whose parents named him after former Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning. “It’s all up to you in wrestling, and I like that part a lot. If you lose, it’s on you. The work you put in in the off-season, that’s on you. The work you do during the season, that’s on you, too.

“I also like the relationships you grow with your teammates along the way. Because you’re all working for the same thing. You’re all trying to get better together. If I didn’t wrestle, it would be a missing part of me.”

Peyton’s commitment to wrestling reflects his approach to other parts of his life, says Roncalli’s wrestling coach Shaun Richardson.

“No one is more deserving of being crowned a state champ,” his coach says. “Peyton is an extremely hard worker. I can always count on him to push himself and others. He is a great person in the classroom, in the wrestling room and outside of school. I can’t wait to see what he can do in the next two years at Roncalli.”

Even as he savors reaching his dream, Peyton is focused on the future, too.

“I’ve gotten so many congratulations, and my teammates were super pumped for me,” says Peyton, who finished the year with a record of 43 wins and one loss. “It means a lot knowing I have a great support system, and everyone believed in me.

“With each day, I get more of a realization of what I’ve done. It makes me feel happy, but it also makes me feel motivated to get back to work. Anytime I have success, I know I have to keep working or that success won’t keep happening.” †