Callisto Kraus is one stubborn wrestler. The Oakcrest sophomore 132-pounder battled injury and illness all season long, but pinned his way into the finals at the District 32 tournament this weekend, then scored a heart-pounding 6-3 victory over top-seeded Colin Donahue of St. Augustine Prep to win his first district title. Kraus was trailing Donahue 3-1 with less than 40 seconds left in the third period, but got one point for an escape to cut the deficit to 3-2. With time winding down, Kraus scored a takedown and near fall, racking up four points in the final five seconds to grab the victory. “He’s a very determined and very driven type of athlete,” said Oakcrest coach Drew Muzslay. “His injury wasn’t something he wanted to hold him back.” 
Oakcrest 132-pounder Callisto Kraus, top, scored four points in the final five seconds to pull out a miraculous 6-3 win over top-seeded Colin Donahue of St. Augustine Prep and capture the District 32 championship on Saturday at Absegami High School. (Glory Days Magazine photo/Dave O’Sullivan) For his efforts, Kraus has been named Glory Days Magazine’s Bunting Family Pharmacy Athlete of the Week. Muzslay said that despite all the setbacks Kraus encountered this season, he knew Kraus could contend for the district title. “He is someone who dedicates his offseasons to the sport of wrestling and he’s completely involved in it. His younger brother, his father, his whole family is very supportive of his wrestling,” Muzslay said. “Coming into the season, we had expectations that there shouldn’t be any surprise that he should be competing for a district title. With all the hard work he put in, we felt he would be in the running for a district championship.” Kraus said after the win over Donahue that he knew he had to just keep taking shots in the final 30 seconds because Donahue has such great defensive moves. He was able to catch Donahue off-balanced near the out-of-bounds line and quickly put him to his back to seal the victory. Muzslay said it was a huge win for a guy who has struggled to stay healthy all season. “The last 30 seconds of that match was just sheer determination. He wasn’t going to be denied,” Muzslay. “It’s the most amazing thing. It’s like a grand slam in baseball or a 30-yard touchdown pass to win a game. After a year that has probably had more downs than ups … it’s borderline miraculous when you think about all the stuff he had to overcome. But when you take a look at how motivated this young man is, it’s not miraculous. It’s something that was earned. It was without a doubt not a fluke.”
— Publisher Dave O’Sullivan
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