Oak Forest’s Alex Sebek has all the motivation in the world to make the most of her senior season.
Sebek, who hopes to contend for the state title at 105 pounds, was a state runner-up her freshman season. The last two years, catastrophic knee injuries have caused early ends to her seasons.
The road back hasn’t been the smoothest.
“It was really, really tough,” Sebek said. “There were definitely times when I debated whether I should continue to do this because the process of the recovery was definitely hard on me mentally.
“But I really love wrestling and I just wanted to do everything I could to get back.”
On Nov. 20, Sebek was officially cleared by doctors to resume wrestling.
“I felt really, really happy,” Sebek said. “I was actually jumping around in the doctor’s office. In the back of my head, I’m just praying that this doesn’t happen again for a third time.”
Sebek first injured her right knee in January 2024 while competing with the Bengals’ boys team at the South Suburban Conference Tournament. She attempted to wrestle in the girls regional tournament and believes she may have made things worse.
She was diagnosed with a torn ACL and had surgery that April.
Her first comeback attempt didn’t go as planned.
“I got cleared to wrestle in January, only to re-tear it again a week later,” she said. “So, I had surgery again in February.”
The January injury was on the same right knee. This time, in addition to the ACL, she suffered a torn meniscus.
After the second surgery, Sebek spent most of the first month or so in bed, but she made it to wrestling competitions to support her teammates and her younger brother, Jacob, who placed fourth in Class 2A at 120 pounds as a sophomore last season.
“It was definitely a little rough because I want to be the one to be out there,” Sebek said. “I was like, ‘I wish that was me.’ But being there to help and watch and be around it, that all gave me a good feeling, too.”
Oak Forest coach Jamie Hubbard confirmed that Sebek became an unofficial assistant.
“She really took on a coaching role and she does really well with that,” Hubbard said. “I think our team has grown because of that. She has an ability to teach better than I do. I don’t know what she plans to do with the rest of her life, but she definitely could have a career in it.”
Fellow senior Iyobosa Odiase, a returning state qualifier, is confident Sebek will do big things this season.
“Once she comes back, she’ll be better than ever,” Odiase said. “We already know that. With everything she’s gone through, the motivation that she keeps as she goes through it all definitely inspires the rest of us.”
Now, the trick for Sebek is stay patient. As much as she wants to get out and compete in every tournament, the plan is to ease her back into wrestling.
“I’m definitely going to watch and be very cautious,” she said. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I’m OK for the state series. I won’t compete in every tournament or dual, but I’ll always be there to support my team.”
Sebek plans to wrestle in college, although she isn’t sure where yet. But she definitely has some unfinished business to take care of on the high school level first.
“My biggest goal is winning that state title because I fell short of it my freshman year and I missed my opportunities the last two years,” she said. “Now it’s just making sure I can get there.”
