Renaissance man

Oak Park and River Forest senior Gabe Townsell has the gift of performing.

When he attends Stanford, the two-time all-stater knows that his NCAA Division I wrestling opportunity will be supplemented by his love for music and poetry.

“The cool thing about Stanford is they have a random piano in all of the dorms,” Townsell said. “That was something I noticed when I visited there.”

Townsell is intent on finishing his Huskies’ career on a high note. He is 24-7 at 132 pounds with only two losses to Illinois wrestlers – two of the only three rated ahead of him by IllinoisMatmen.com.

At state, Townsell was third at 126 last season and fourth at 120 in 2014. He also qualified as a freshman at 113 and was 0-1. Only six Huskies have earned top-six, all-state finishes three or four times.

“I’m confident,” Townsell said. “I’m working as hard as I can to make sure I’m where I want to be going and then to let it sort itself out.”

Townsell probably will compete at 125 or 132 for Stanford. At 132, Townsell often faces opponents who are taller and have a reach advantage.

“I’ve kind of had to adjust. I think it’s the best and most consistent that I’ve wrestled throughout a high school season,” Townsell said. “Another thing is wrestling injured. That’s the biggest thing in the long run, not wrestling at 100 percent and still being able to perform at a high level.”

Townsell injured his hip following sophomore year. Last April, he dislocated his elbow but he returned just in time for the Greco-Roman Junior Nationals in late July through a qualifying waiver.

Townsell won at 126, his second championship at the event.

“He knows his body. He’s doing a great job of monitoring himself and allowing himself to push a little harder,” OPRF coach Paul Collins said.  

“Obviously he’s a very talented young man. He’s already a personable, vocal guy. He’s really taken ownership over being a leader and a guy that can guide the younger guys on how to take care of business, being a good person, good student and getting most out of themselves.”

At 10, Townsell began wrestling under his father, Richard, who still coaches for the Little Huskies feeder program. Gabe Townsell’s first name also is Richard, but he generally uses his different middle name.

Townsell took piano lessons at an early age but “I didn’t like the teacher too much and I didn’t learn too much but how to read scales.” In eighth grade, he became determined to play.

“I taught myself between reading music and playing by ear. I picked it up pretty quickly,” Townsell said.

He’s also expanded his writing talents. Last year, he joined the school’s Spoken Word Club and now is a captain and plans on having two performance showcases.

“It’s almost the same kind of nerves, but it’s a lot different from wrestling,” Townsell said. “The thing that’s similar is the aspect of competition. In the same way you have to prepare for tough competition, you have to do the same thing, depending on the length of the poem,” Townsell said.

“They help with each other. With poetry, I used to get nervous. I used to be super nervous in wrestling matches, but I realized it’s not that different being in front of people during a wrestling match or on a stage. Now, after doing poetry a little while, I don’t get nervous talking in front of people at all.”