Johnny Pardo’s accomplishments on the mat are quite impressive – 141 career wins, two-time state qualifier, 2026 regional champion, Downriver League champion and Wayne County champion – just to name a few.

Off the mat, the Southgate senior was equally as impressive and perhaps even more impactful for a program that has been elite for several years.

“Johnny is a wonderful young man who is one of the most hard-working and dedicated kids in our program,” said Southgate wrestling coach Ian Norscia. “He is very kind to everyone on the team and is super supportive of everyone. He always did an amazing job leading by example. He was not always the most talkative, but if Johnny ever said anything everyone took it seriously and they knew to follow whatever he said.”

Pardo, a senior and two-year captain, pushed everyone to be better and took the role seriously, helping lead the Titans to back-to-back Downriver League titles and a third straight district title.

“Some of the reasons we have been so successful include the coaching and the determination of the wrestlers we have,” Pardo said. “After we lost in regionals as a team, we still had kids that didn’t make it to regionals or states, but still showed up and wrestled to get better.”

Johnny, 18, is the son of Starr Billingsly and Kenny Pardo, and pins down a 3.8 GPA in the classroom. He started wrestling when he was 6 years old.

“What I liked about it was that, to succeed in this sport, it would have to come from me, not anyone else,” he said.

And he was very good for the Titans. He was league champion at 285 pounds and was one of eight Southgate wrestlers to qualify for regionals during his senior year. He finished the year at 52-11 and earned a trip to the state finals after winning regionals.

“I became a regional champ after beating the guy I lost to at districts 2-1 in triple OT,” he said. “My keys to success on that day were to be strong and not let him get a blast double, which I defended every time. When I won it all, I was ecstatic to finally get a bracket and be on top of the podium.”

Pardo went 1-2 at states, losing in the blood round 5-2.

He went 30-22 his junior year and qualified for regionals, where he placed fourth to reach the state finals. He went 1-2, losing in the bloodround in triple OT 5-3.

Pardo also played football for the Titans and was a two-time All-League lineman. He also was All-League in baseball last year as a junior and will play again this year.

His future is a little in flux at the moment, but he certainly will have choices.

“I am still deciding which sport I want to do in college right now, but for my career, I plan to become either a pilot or a police officer,” he said.