A UNITED FRONT
Two-time state champion Bailey, now ‘the big dog,’ returns from Texas ready to lead Rich Township’s program
Junior Nasir Bailey is a two-time wrestling state champion in two different states. He’s won a national championship. Now, his goal is to become the first Raptor to win a state title.
Bailey, who won a state championship at T.F. North as a freshman and another at Martin in Arlington, Texas, as a sophomore, is back in Illinois at Rich Township and looking to make history for a new athletic program.
“It feels like every school I go to, there’s always something new and a different type of accomplishment to go after,” Bailey said. “I want to be the first to start a trend here.”
Although Bailey is new to Rich Township, his pride for the school runs deep.
“My parents came from Rich East,” he said. “They grew up here. Winning a state championship here would mean a lot. It’d just be nice for the school and for the community.”
Making history is nothing new for Bailey. He and his brothers, Bilal and Sincere, became the first trio of siblings to win Illinois High School Association state titles in the same season in 2020 at T.F. North.
T.F. North had not had a state champion in 51 years before Bilal Bailey won his first title in 2019.
While the Baileys helped revitalize the wrestling program at T.F. North, Nasir now has a chance to start a new legacy at Rich Township.
The athletic program began last year after the consolidation of Rich Central, Rich East and Rich South. The wrestling team was limited to four dual meets in the spring, making this season essentially the debut of the Raptors on the wrestling mat.
“We’ve had some great champions in the past, but now we went from three schools to one and we have this united front,” Rich Township coach Alex Pell said. “We have the opportunity to potentially have the first state champion in our program’s united history. That creates a lot of energy in the room.”
The Baileys moved to Texas in the midst of the pandemic, and Sincere and Nasir both won state championships at Martin last season, which was Sincere’s senior year.
Nasir then won the 132-pound freestyle title at the USA Wrestling Junior National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota.
When the family moved back to Illinois
over the summer, they settled in Park Forest.
Nasir’s dreams of being a four-time state champion in Illinois were dashed, but he has a new goal.
“Instead of four times in Illinois, I could do three in Illinois and one in Texas,” he said. “That’s all the same to me. If I can go through three years of high school in Illinois never losing at state, that says a lot and that’s a big accomplishment either way.”
Bailey is looking to set the standard in the Raptors’ wrestling room.
“I’m trying to become a leader on this team,” he said. “I’m like the new kid on the block, but I guess you could say I’m a veteran.
“I’m just trying to lead by example really. Showing them what it takes to become a champion and just working hard in the room every day to keep improving.”
Senior Jovan Jones has been inspired by
Bailey.
“He makes me want to push myself 110 times harder,” Jones said. “Seeing him go hard makes me want to go hard and makes me want to keep competing.
“He’s helped me improve my defense, how to avoid shots, how to get lower, all those things.”
Wrestling on a high school team without at least one of his older brothers for the first time, Bailey knows all eyes are on him.
“It’s new, but I’ve pretty much been in the spotlight my whole life, so I know how to handle it,” he said. “It’s definitely fun, though, seeing everyone look toward me as like the big dog.
“But I’m just trying to win.”