DOWNEY — St. John Bosco High School wrestler Nathan Haas isn’t just successful; right now, he’s the cream of the crop.

It’s been quite a year for the 17-year-old Haas, who has been turning heads on the wrestling mat.

“This past year I’ve had a lot of success in wrestling,” said Haas. “I started placing at a lot of national tournaments…this past season I won a state title for California, and I’ve just been growing from there.”

Haas’s wrestling career began in middle school, when after taking an interest in the sport, he says his mom “searched the internet for the closest wrestling club.”

“Team Tribe at St. John Bosco popped up, and we checked it out,” said Haas, who wrestles in the 182 lb. weight class. “It’s been history ever since.”

Haas says that he was confident going into the recent California State Title tournament.

“I was very calm. I faced pretty much everybody in California throughout the preseason,” he said. “I was pretty confident. I just performed, and I won it.

“Throughout the season I was ranked number two throughout the state, and like I said I pretty much faced everybody and I beat them. I went in pretty confident knowing I could potentially win this pretty easily.”

Haas is now ranked No. 1 in the state, and No. 4 in the nation.

“It feels good. It feels like a lot of my hard work has paid off,” said Haas. “I worked very hard and very long for this, so it seems to be all coming together.”

And as he is still only a junior, there’s plenty of time to add to his accomplishments before establishing himself in a bigger venue.

“I definitely see myself going to a big university and continuing on wrestling in college,” said Haas. “My next goal is winning a NCAA title.”

Until then, Haas has his sights set on the World Team Trials, which will take place later this month.