After Mount Carmel senior Seth Mendoza won his fourth state championship, he turned his attention to the other big project that has been occupying his time in recent months — training for the Boston Marathon.

On Mendoza’s itinerary for the day after state? A 17-mile run.

“Yeah, there wasn’t much of a rest, but I don’t really want one,” Mendoza said. “I get bored just sitting around.”

Mendoza, who already has a private pilot’s license, is always up for a new adventure.

When it comes to wrestling, he never got bored while making it look easy against high school competition, but he’s certainly looking forward to a fresh challenge.

“I think I’m ready for the next chapter,” Mendoza said. “High school went by way faster than I thought it would, but at the same time, I’m kind of happy for it to be over.

“I want to wrestle some college kids.”

Mendoza, the 2024-25 Daily Southtown Boys Wrestler of the Year, will get that chance at Missouri.

After so many years at the top, he’s excited to start over as a freshman with something to prove.

“I knew it was my last year of high school and I probably wasn’t going to have these kinds of matches anymore, so I wanted to enjoy them this season,” Mendoza said. “But in college, especially at big tournaments, there are no easy matches. You’re always going to have a ranked guy right off the bat. I’m definitely looking forward to that.”

First thing’s first, though. Mendoza’s marathon debut is scheduled for April 21.

Seth’s dad, Mike, is a Marine Corps veteran who has ran in the last eight Boston Marathons and raised money for the Semper Fi Fund, which provides support to wounded service members, veterans and their families.

With Mike unable to run this year, Seth was eager to fill in.

“I want to run it in place of my dad,” Seth said. “He’s done it eight years in a row and he couldn’t do it this year because of an injury, so I want to complete it for him and the organization, Semper Fi Fund, that helps wounded veterans and helped my dad a lot.”

While his schedule has not lightened up, Seth has had some time to reflect back on his accomplishments after being the 16th wrestler to win four Illinois High School Association titles.

He’s most excited to go up in Mount Carmel’s Ring of Honor, along with fellow four-time state champs TJ and Joe Williams.

And his teammate, Liam Kelly, will join him after winning his first state title.

“It’s really awesome,” Mendoza said. “I can’t wait for not just my name to go up there, but also Liam Kelly’s. He’s my main practice partner every day, and to see him accomplish his goal is pretty amazing.”

Kelly said Mendoza has made him a better wrestler.

“Seth is amazing to watch,” Kelly said. “He’s so dominant out there and he never lets up with his work ethic — he’s always trying to get better. I’ve learned so much from being around him.”

Mendoza wants that to be a part of the legacy he’s leaving at Mount Carmel.

“I hope to be remembered as the most dominant wrestler but also for my consistency,” he said. “I think that’s my favorite trait that I have — just being consistent and always trying to get better.

“I hope that’s what people at Mount Carmel would say about me and I think they would.”

As for the rest of his wrestling career, Mendoza believes we haven’t seen anything yet.

“What I’m most excited about is being able to just keep growing,” he said. “I feel like it’s a bit easier to get better with a college team because you’re wrestling with top guys every day in the room.

“There’s not really a limit to how good you can get. That’s what I love about wrestling. You can always get better.”