Alli Vacek is a woman of many diverse talents.

The Warrenton senior wrestler, who recently won her 100th career match and now has pushed that career record to 103-39 by winning the Fort Zumwalt North Tournament on Friday in the 170-pound weight classification, says that while wrestling is an integral part of the person she is, it paints just a small part of the picture of her life.

While she has always worked toward success in athletic, school and musical pursuits, they’ve each wound up being successful thanks to Vacek pouring her soul into each.

“My parents have always believed in hard work,” Vacek said. “I took piano lessons for 12 years. I can play five instruments and have dabbled in others. I took martial arts from the time I was eight until I was a freshman. It taught me discipline.”

The discipline Vacek learned from the martial art of Hapkido has served her well on the wrestling mat, Vacek said. 

She added that, combined with one of her favorite subjects in school – Physics, has helped her work her way to wrestling success. It was a success that ended last season with her taking sixth in Class 1 at 155 pounds.

“I got my black belt in Hapkido before my freshman year and it really has helped me on the mat,” Vacek said. “It was so intense, but it was totally worth it. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Something possessed me to try wrestling and it’s been amazing. Hapkido has been a huge part of my style. How is wrestle has a lot to do with what I learned in Hapkido. The tricks (I use in wrestling) are from what I’m familiar with in rolling around with others (in martial arts). Physics has also taught me a lot about angles and momentum, and it shows that I’m not crazy bringing this all into wrestling.”

Vacek’s father, Tommy, who, along with his wife, Amy, has a second-degree black belt in Hapkido, said it’s always been important to them as parents to see their children continue learning and growing.

The idea of continued growth is important not only for Alli but also for her older brother, Ian, who is a senior at Missouri S&T. The entire family has trained at Hapkido Plus in Warrenton.

“I like the idea of them getting exposed to different things, hobbies they can carry on someday when sports won't be there,” Tommy Vacek said. “We’ve always challenged our kids to do things beyond their comfort zone. We want them to do physically and mentally challenging things. We’re so proud of her for getting out there, setting goals and achieving them.”

While Wrestling and Hapkido have done a lot to shape who Vacek is, she’s also had the chance to broaden her horizons, thanks to softer pursuits.

The 12 years of piano lessons have fostered a love of music for Vacek that has extended into playing five instruments – piano, bass, flute, guitar and violin – while dabbling in a series of others, she said.

“Piano and bass are my faves, I love them,” Vacek said. “Piano was first and it made everything else easier. Base is just a feeling (it provides). (It’s) calm and perfect.”

She performs as a bassist in the Warrenton High School jazz band and is even a member of a band on her own with some of her friends.

“We’re called ‘Dogs out’,” she said. “One day, one of the guys in the band didn’t have any shoes on, so that’s just what we started calling ourselves because he had his dogs (feet) out.”

While martial arts, family and music have played important roles in Vacek’s life, wrestling has become just as important for two reasons.

It’s given her an extended family and a sense of what she wants her future to be.

Vacek said that she has spoken to schools such as St. Ambrose in Iowa and Millikin and she hopes to speak with Millikin and Quincy in the coming days.

“I 100 percent want to wrestle in college, it’s a requirement,” Vacek said. “This is special. If you’d told me as a freshman that wrestling in college would be something (on the radar), I wouldn’t have believed you. I want to study something that will help me give back, such as athletic training, because wrestling has given so much to me. I think coaching is something I would also love to do.”

Warrenton wrestling coach Clayton Olsson said he knows Vacek will excel in college, as a coach, in her chosen profession, or in life, based on the type of person she is.

“She’s the type of senior a coach wants on their team; she leads by example and offers insight,” Olsson said. “We do our pre-tournament breakdown, and she gives the talk about the girls doing their best. Overall, she is just a fantastic leader.”

While college isn’t that far off for Vacek, she does have her gaze affixed on what’s right in front of her – more wrestling success.

“A big goal for me would be to make it to the state finals,” Vacek said. “I just want to stay humble and wrestle my best. You get out of things what you put into it, so I’m just going out there to put my heart and soul into wrestling.”