There's an old saying of "never judge a book by its cover", that very phrase can be used to describe Radford High School's Sean Donnelly.

Donnelly, a senior and member of the school's wrestling team, would never appear to the average eye, as a top-notched wrestler in the 120 pound weight class.

"When I was in the seventh grade and on the middle school team, everyone called me "chemo" because my mother gave me a bad haircut and they said I looked like a cancer patient," Donnelly said.

Head wrestling coach Chris Vicars described his team leader by saying, "If you saw him on the street he would stick to you...he wouldn't look strong, or athletic or at all like a wrestler. But on the mat he is strong with his style of wrestling and he is athletic."

Donnelley's style has led to the young man earning his 100th career-victory with a pin last Saturday (Jan. 14). He is currently sporting a 27-2 mark this season and a 107-31 overall, after going 4-2 in this past weekend’s Big Blue tournament held at Christiansburg. The senior finished seventh after winning a 12-0 major decision over Sawyer Barksdale of Lee Davis in the consolations.

"I'm probably the most nervous undefeated wrestler in the state of Virginia," the senior stated. "I always think that I'm going to lose every match that I'm in. That's probably what motivates me to win I think."

So far this season, he has finished first in the Craft Classic, the Northwood and Highlander Invitational. In 2011, he was the individual champion in both the Three Rivers District and Region C, while finishing fourth in the state Group A meet in the 119 pound weight class. In 2010, he was third in the region and once again fourth in the state in the 103 and 112 pound division.

"My biggest goal is to win the state this year," Donnelly said. I also want to win 40 matches this year. That number would put me at 120 and second all-time at Radford and I want to win the Big Orange, which is coming up at William Byrd High School."

"He is a gifted wrestler that knows what to do in any given situation," said Vicars. "However, with his body type he can't always do what he wants. He has a unique style that works for him.

Donnelly, who is a huge Hokies fan, said he got into wrestling by his first-grade teacher Susan DeHart. "Her husband used to be the coach of the high school team. Without her, I would've never gotten into the sport."

Coach Vicars sees Donnelly as the Bobcats team leader. "He is always at practice and has been the hardest worker in practice of anyone on our team this year. He did not end the season last year the way he wanted to and has worked very hard this year to try to finish up the way he wants...by getting his name on our Wall of Champions."

The coach further added, "We have a very young team (two seniors, one junior, seven sophomores and five freshmen) and Sean has been around a long time. He knows how we like to run things and a lot about the tradition of our program. Our young kids look up to him and he is a solid leader for our team. All of our kids have great confidence in him and believe that he is going to do very well in all of our matches."

Donnelly, who starting wrestling in the Bobcat program during middle school, said the hardest thing about wrestling is, "Cutting weight and keeping it down. Especially with the new Cook-Out Restaurant in town."

And speaking of food, the veteran wrestler listed eating, eating and eating as his favorite hobby. "I also like everything at Five Guy's, he added.

Coach Vicars echoed those same thoughts, "He loves to eat."

Donnelly, who has 3.57 grade point average, listed Government class with Wayne Pridgen as his favorite class.

As for the future, Donnelly said, "I plan to attend either Virginia Tech, UNC-Wilmington or the University of Georgia."

Photo: Radford's Sean Donnelly defeated Christiansburg's Jacob Bonds 24-8 in a 2nd round 120 lb match. Donnelly went on to finish with a 7th place overall in his weight class. (Photo by Jon Fleming)