Lake Catholic wrestler Parker Pikor juggles sports, music, 4-H, family farming
Feb. 21—It's a brisk Sunday afternoon in southern Ashtabula County as Parker Pikor slips off his barn boots after feeding his family's flock of 80-some sheep.
The Division III sectional wrestling tournament in which Pikor and the Lake Catholic wrestling team will participate is less than a week away. Yet the oldest of Joe and Lindsay Pikor's four children — barely older than fellow triplets Sutton and Cooper — isn't allowing himself to be stressed over the upcoming tournament in which he hopes to one-up his performance of a year ago when he finished the season as the state runner-up at 106 pounds.
Sitting down at the family's grand piano, he glances out the window at his family's 32-acre farm and smiles at the life he is leading.
"I'm very fortunate to have parents that want me to succeed and experience a lot of things," he said before starting to tickle the ivories.
Pikor is certainly doing that.
While most know Pikor as one of the top wrestlers not only in the area, he also helps raise sheep and bale hay on his family farm. He participates on 4-H with projects in both sheep and chickens, is musically fluent in multiple instruments, is a member of a traveling Bluegrass band and is the president of the student body at Lake Catholic High School.
If it sounds like a busy life, it is. But as his senior year both wrestling and high school wind down, Pikor would have it no other way.
"When I get older, I'll look back and be jealous of my younger self," he said, "because I got to do so much in so little time."
Grassroots work ethic
Lugging a bale across the hayloft, Pikor looks down to the flock of sheep a level below him and considers the life of a farmer. It's a life he knew way before he pulled up the shoulder straps on his first wrestling singlet.
"This is everything," he said. "This is me. It's literally me. I can do so many other things besides wrestling because of my work ethic and because I put my mind to do it — and I won't stop until it's 100 percent correct."
When he's not on the wrestle mat, Parker Pikor of @LCCougarWrestle enjoys helping his family raise sheep and bale hay in the Ashtabula County farm. pic.twitter.com/18qZXQgY6h
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) February 21, 2024
A point to which his mother, proud as she is, will roll her eyes.
"We'll hear him downstairs playing the banjo until midnight 'til he gets it right," she said with a laugh.
But that's the life of a farmer. When you start a job — you go until you finish it. And you do it right.
It's that way with the sheep or baling hay. He bales thousands upon thousands of bales of hay every summer; hay for not only his family's animals, but hay that is sold locally, across Ohio, and in neighboring states.
"A lot of hay. A LOT of hay," he said with a laugh. "It's not kickers and wagons. It's Bobcats and trailers. That much volume is more than doing 60 acres on your grandfather's piece."
In between it all he and his siblings — fellow triples Sutton and Cooper, as well as sister Kendall — take care of the family's flock and prepare both their own 4-H animals as well as selling others to area youngsters wishing to be part of the 4-H experience.
"4-H is a program to teach kids the business of agriculture," said Pikor, who takes his animals to the Geauga County fair where his father, Joe, took animals during his 4-H years. "When we sell lambs to other kids, we clip them, wash them, teach them how to show them. It's all part of the process."
Music for the ages
On a warm, sunny day a few summers ago, Pikor leaned on a doorway at a neighbor's garage sale and picked on a ukelele. The music brought an older gentleman up who inquired if he had ever played the banjo. Pikor smiled. Just a few days prior he had started to teach himself how to play that instrument.
I'm guessing @LCCougarWrestle Parker Pikor — a returning state runner-up -is the only wrestler in @OHSAASports who can play a piano like this. pic.twitter.com/UMQcw2vboE
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) February 21, 2024
Music has always been part of the Pikor family. Lindsay was an accomplished cello player at Wheeling Jesuit College in West Virginia. That's where she, who was also an athletic trainer there, met her husband while he was running track at the college after his hall-of-fame track career with the Madison Blue Streaks.
"I've dabbled in a lot," Pikor said. "I'll only tell you what I'm fluent in. When I tell you I can play an instrument, that means I can sit down and play without music or an idea and just, you know, play it."
For most, that would be a short list. Pikor said he is fluent in the alto saxophone, banjo and piano. He was a member of Lake Catholic's jazz, concert and marching bands before giving that up this past year.
"I've been seen playing the guitar," he said. "But I don't claim to play the guitar. I've just dabbled in it."
And yes Parker Pikor @LCCougarWrestle can play the banjo too, not just the piano and alto sax. pic.twitter.com/AiWFinAip0
— News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) February 21, 2024
He is a member of the Bluegrass band "Young and Blue," which has performed at multiple venues.
"Fred Burazer at Jefferson, he's a great instructor," Pikor said of his former band teacher where he went to school before coming to Lake Catholic before his freshman year. "I would not be where I am without him."
Wrestling returns
Pikor has never been the biggest dude in the world. As an eighth-grader, he weighed 84 pounds. As a 92-pound freshman, he wasn't even big enough to be labeled as a fabled "98-pound weakling."
That he is at this point in his life wrestling is a surprise to him because back in sixth grade, he walked away from the sport. He just didn't enjoy it.
"I was tired of it," he said.
Until Jefferson coach Cody Lewis talked him into returning in seventh grade. But that didn't mean Pikor was good at it.
"If you looked at me back then, you'd be like, 'Man, that kid is awful. Absolutely AWFUL,' " Pikor said with a laugh. "I was unathletic. I'm STILL unathletic. That's why I have to work twice as hard to be where I am."
The move to Lake Catholic kicked things up a notch wrestling-wise. Squaring off daily against classmate Joey Romano and current Ohio State starter Brendan McCrone had its benefits. The hard work paid dividends last spring when Pikor finished the season 44-7 as the Division III 106-pound state runner-up after a loss by pin to Delta's Adam Mattin in the championship round.
"Joe and I were both in tears," mother Lindsay said. "It was such a special moment to see him out there. You could see it on his face when we saw him in during the parade of champions. What an experience to share as a family."
Heading into this week's sectional tournament, Pikor is the third-ranked Division III 120-pounder in the state per Josh Lowe of IntermatOhio. He trails only Eli Campbell (Legacy Christian) and Logan Dean (Bethel-Tate) in Lowe's rankings. Since last year's state final, Pikor said he has worked on moving better and changing levels. Finishing shots is also more in his wheelhouse this year. He credits new Lake Catholic head coach Nate Skonieczny and the staff for taking his talents to the next level, which have him thinking big.
Much bigger than six years ago when he walked away from wrestling.
"As Brendan McCrone used to always says, 'Just let it fly,' " he said of his goals from here through the state tournament.
"The goal? Yeah, state champion," he continued. "That's the only thing left to do, right? I'm not going to settle for second place. That's not my goal and it shouldn't be my goal. My goal is to be on the top step. The biggest step. The man."
Heart of gratitude
When an entire family is as involved as the six members of the Pikor family are, time can be tight. For instance, the hour-long drive to Lake Catholic when school is in session means the parents usually take care of the morning feedings. But everyone pulls their weight.
"We all lean on each other as a family," father Joe said. "When Parker has something to do, maybe a brother picks up the slack. We feel it is important to be well-rounded and everybody is capable of doing many things."
Such as Cooper, who is three minutes younger than Parker, with his commitments to concert, marching and jazz band at Lake Catholic, 4-H (sheep and chickens) and his spot on Lake's tennis team. Then there is Sutton, three minutes younger than Cooper and six minutes younger than Parker, who is taking part in this weekend's state swim meet. He also had swine and chicken projects in 4-H. Sister Kendall, a sophomore, plays tennis at Lake Catholic and has 4-H projects of swin and chickens as well.
"They're family. They're your friends who will always be there with you and for you," Parker said.
Following graduation — and hopefully a state championship in wrestling next month — Pikor said he plans on attending college to someday be an operations manager and operations engineer. College wrestling is still in cards if the situation is right.
"I want to solve the problems that other people can't," he said of his career ambition.
Considering he's found a way to be an elite wrestler, 4-H member, musical aficionado and school president all while working on his family's farm, it appears as though he's well on his way.
"I love my life. I do," he said. "My dad always says to be the most well-rounded, best version of yourself. I think I've achieved that thus far."
