DeKALB – "The cupboard is full."
That's how Huntley Middle School wrestling coach Pat Kiley describes the wrestling programs at Huntley and Clinton Rosette, the two middle schools that feed into the DeKalb High School program.
The two schools combined to send 19 wrestlers to the Illinois Elementary School Association's state wrestling tournament, March 11-12. Twelve wrestlers came from Clinton Rosette, seven from Huntley and nine placed in the tournament.
"That's the most (DeKalb has) ever had," Kiley said.
Coached by Dan Weller, with assistance from Tom Waters, Shay Sticka and Justin Waters, Clinton Rosette won the state title with 160 points, edging out Darien Eisenhower by eight points. Clinton Rosette also won the title in 2006.
Huntley, with assistance from Matt Hiatt, tied for 17th with Freeport, with 47 points each. Huntley won the state title in 1991, 1998, 2001 and 2004.
"I'm just really impressed with the way the kids did," DeKalb High School head wrestling coach Mike Pater said, adding that he knew they were talented but they still had to work hard. "Talent only takes you so far in this sport."
According to the IESA website, the two DeKalb middle schools combined have produced 21 individual state champions.
This year, Clinton Rosette had seven state finishers: eighth graders Logan Chase (3-1), second, 155-pound class; Raymony Williams (4-1), third, 145; Brad Green (4-2), fourth, 105; and Caleb DeWeese (3-2), fifth and seventh graders Parker Stratton 3-1), second place, 80-pound class; Nick Roach (3-1), second, 155; and David Long (4-2), fourth, 167.
Two Huntley wrestlers placed. Derek Kyler went 5-1 to take third at 75. Jackson Montgomery, 5-2, was fourth at 95.
A three-time state qualifier, Montgomery had to wrestle seven times in two days.
"Jackson really wrestled through it," Kiley said.
A total of 456 wrestlers from 113 schools competed in the two-day tournament, which saw 703 bouts in 19 weight classes.
"We had a good season," Kiley said. "We had great parent support, which you need when you travel as much as we do."
A relatively even mix of grade levels should keep both the middle and high school programs going strong for at least the next several years, he said.
Although it "was nice" to see Clinton Rosette win the state title, Pater said the young wrestlers have to realize it's a whole different story when they reach high school.
Overall, the fifth-year Barbs' coach said it took a little while to rebuild, but he is impressed with the way the feeder system is developing. Wrestlers learn fundamentals early, many of them in Mike Roach's DeKalb Kids' Club, which has about 80 wrestlers in first through fifth grades, he said. As they get older and enter the middle school programs, wrestlers continue to build on that foundation.
One of the beauties of wrestling, Pater said, is that a wrestler doesn't have to be the most talented to succeed so long as he is willing to work harder than his opponent.
In the DeKalb middle schools, it looks like that effort is paying off.
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