BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Deerfield had its string of 26-win seasons snapped this year, but the Warriors weren’t feeling down.
That’s because their 25th victory — 45-12 over Conant in Saturday’s Class 3A quarterfinals at U.S. Cellular Coliseum — was the most important in program history.
Why? Because it assured the Warriors (25-4) of some state wrestling hardware. They finished fourth after losing 41-27 to Montini in the semifinals and 39-15 to Lincoln-Way West in the third-place match.
“It’s kind of crazy to think we finally got ourselves a state trophy — the first ever for our program,” said 132-pounder Holden Heller (43-6), who finished fourth in the individual state tournament a week earlier..
“It’s just like the (individual) state tournament, win your opener to set yourself up for a medal, and that’s what this first one here meant,” Heller said. “So beating Conant was huge for us.”
“We knew how our side of the bracket would shake down, so our goal was to get past Conant, earn a trophy, then take our chances with the big boys afterwards,” Deerfield coach Marc Pechter said.
“We didn’t just settle, but there’s a point of reality when you advance in a 3A bracket that’s just loaded. But our guys did what they had to do early on, and after that competed hard, just as they have all season long.”
In the Conant victory, Holden Heller, Aaron Brailov, Kenny Kerstein (40-11) and sophomore Brock Emmerich helped the Warriors build a 12-0 advantage.
Cody Goodman, Petar Runac, Jonathon Bloom, Matt Templeton, Reece Heller and Kyle Clough fueled a 26-0 match-ending run for Deerfield.
Deerfield fell behind Montini 21-0. Alexander Burns won a decision for the Warriors at 170, while Robby Wyatt and Runac sandwiched decisions around a pin by Goodman.
Kerstein and Emmerich had decisions against Lincoln-Way West, while Reece Heller earned a major decision.
“The last two duals of the day do not define our season at all,” said Clough, who will wrestle at Luther next season.
“We had a great season, so many new guys stepped in to make valuable contributions, and along with the veterans on this team, we made Deerfield wrestling history today.”
Michael Garofola is a freelance report for the News-Sun.
