Four-year letterman Payton Ragona left the Mahomet-Seymour wrestling program early to serve in the United State Army late on June 7.
Prior to heading to bootcamp, Ragona amassed 62 career victories, 23 of which ended by fall. He earned the Brent Johnson Ironman Award in 2018, was a member of the Illinois Top Dawg Disney Duals Team in 2019 and was a member of Mahomet-Seymour’s 2020 State Dual Elite 8 Team.
Ragona also shined off the mat, too. He completed the Parkland Early College and Career Academy (ECCA) Program for Automotive while receiving the Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) in Basic Mechanic and Technical Certifications. While still in high school, achieved his welding certification and his electrical certification.
Over the last year, Ragona attended the Future Soldier Training and was promoted to Private E2 for his excellent physical fitness, scoring in the best 1% of the country.
Ragona plans to serve in the Army for six years, and wants to pursue a career in firefighting.
