One word that has become popular throughout Michigan recently, thanks to the Detroit Lions, is “grit.” Grosse Pointe South senior Josh Lemanski has perhaps as much grit as any high school athlete. Courtesy photoSouth senior Josh Lemanski finished the 2024 season as one of South football’s defensive leaders, recording the second most tackles on the […]
One word that has become popular throughout Michigan recently, thanks to the Detroit Lions, is “grit.” Grosse Pointe South senior Josh Lemanski has perhaps as much grit as any high school athlete.
Courtesy photo
South senior Josh Lemanski finished the 2024 season as one of South football’s defensive leaders, recording the second most tackles on the team.
On the gridiron, he just completed his senior season as a varsity starting linebacker with South’s football team. Now, he is back to competing on the mat with South’s varsity wrestling team. He was an All-State wrestler last season, but football was his first love. However, wrestling has grown into another sport Lemanski loves because of his competitive drive as an athlete.
“I was always playing football and then waiting for the football season to come again through the winter and spring,” Lemanski said. “My dad wrestled at Purdue, so he was always trying to get me into it. I thought it was kind of weird and I didn’t like the singlets they had to wear. … I thought that was kind of tacky. In middle school, I joined the Grosse Pointe wrestling club run by Tony Cimmarusti. … I wrestled for a year in middle school and still didn’t like it, but I loved winning. I’m super competitive, so winning a match just felt incredible.”
Lemanski has become used to winning over the years. Last wrestling season, he advanced to the Division 1 state finals at Ford Field and finished eighth overall in the 165-pound weight class.
He also is used to winning on the football field. This fall, while helping the Blue Devils achieve a historic 10-win season, Lemanski finished second on the team in tackles with 101, while recording two sacks and two interceptions.
Even though the season ended earlier than Lemanski and his football teammates wanted with a district final loss in the playoffs, it still was a special fall. As he starts to focus on wrestling, Lemanski already knows his senior football season will be one he remembers forever, especially since he had the opportunity to be one of the team’s leaders alongside some of his best friends.
“There’s a few who I’d been playing with since like fourth grade back on the Red Barons,” he said. “To have that chemistry and the way we clicked, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, but it was a phenomenal season. Being in a leadership position and having a great group of guys looking up to me was very motivating and kind of made me realize that I always have to be on top of things because people look up to me now.”
Lemanski’s presence was felt in every football game he played in this season. Now he wants it to be the same with wrestling. Some may say the two sports go hand-in-hand and Lemanski is far from the only wrestler at South who also is a football player.
The techniques Lemanski learns in one sport often translate to the other. Being a wrestler has helped him become a better football player and being a football player has helped him win matches on the wrestling mat.
“From a defensive standpoint, wrestling is going to get you so prepared to play defense,” Lemanski said. “… Wrestling, you’re going out there trying to tackle the guy and they’re doing their best to not get tackled. Now, when I go up against a running back and I have three years of wrestling and all he’s done is football, I’m going to know how to tackle him. … Wrestling adds a discipline to your life that can permeate through other parts of your life and to other sports.”
The last few seasons, Lemanski feels like the effort he has put into becoming a better wrestler has increased tremendously. It was largely sparked by watching his wrestling and football teammate Wyatt Hepner become the first Blue Devil to ever compete for a wrestling state title in 2023. Seeing his friend and teammate help take South’s wrestling program to new heights inspired Lemanski to work to do the same.
“Leading up to my junior year, we got a wrestling mat in my basement and my dad and I did drills and I was staying in shape during the summer and football season to get ready for wrestling,” he said.
That work paid off his junior season when Lemanski reached the state finals at Ford Field. As he begins his senior season, all of his focus is on getting back there and this time reaching the podium. There is belief in everyone around him from his teammates and his coaches that he can make it there.
“(Josh) is a stellar leader and teammate always leading by example,” South varsity wrestling coach Dave Salazar said. “His perseverance through adversity is tremendous and his will to win is unmatched.”
While his athleticism will help him get there, a part of it also is confidence. Lemanski feels he has become much more confident in himself as an athlete in the past couple of years. Especially coming off what he achieved last season, Lemanski knows what he is capable of and that he has the ability to go above and beyond that now.
“My freshman and sophomore years, I was a bit timid and nervous about going out on the mat,” he said. “I still get some pre-match jitters, but having last season under my belt and knowing that I’m one of the best guys in the state is super encouraging. I go onto the mat with a lot more confidence and having the idea that I’m out there to win and have put in the work for the past three years and will keep working until I get to where I want to be.”
