DeKALB – The way teammates and coaches talked about DeKalb freshman wrestler Fabian Lopez, it made him out to be a mythical figure.

After a decorated youth career coming up through Clinton Rosette Middle School, Lopez now has made his mark at the high school level for the Barbs and has racked up a 32-5 record heading into today’s Class 3A Jacobs Regional.

“We’ve been following him for a long time,” DeKalb first-year coach Sam Hiatt said. “Trust me, everyone in the state knew about Fabian. We’ve known about him. ... We were very excited that he went to DeKalb.”

DeKalb senior Ethan Engleson started the wrestling season late because of the Barbs’ long playoff run during football. It didn’t take long – his first practice was on a Thursday, and the Barbs wrestled that Saturday at the Conant Invite – for the elder wrestler to come away impressed by Lopez, whose reputation preceded him.

“I never met him personally, but I always heard of Fabian,” said Engleson, who is 28-11 on the season. “I heard about him through the middle school coaches, and they’re like, ‘Fabian’s pretty good.’ When he came in and started wrestling, I was like, ‘OK, this kid is pretty dang good.’ ”

Lopez, who wrestles at 120 pounds, took first at the Conant Invite.

Adding to the mystique of Lopez’s story, he came into the season after being sidelined by a dislocated elbow that he suffered at the Schoolboy National Duals in June in Indianapolis. Hiatt said Lopez didn’t get cleared medically until right before the season.

In his first high school match – and his first match back from the injury – against Oswego East’s Tyler Eby, Lopez dominated his way to a win.

Part of his success might have to do with the endurance he built up, he said, calling it a silver lining of being sidelined with the injury.

“A lot of what I did this year is to get the guy tired,” Lopez said. “A lot of the guys lifted weights in the summer and I couldn’t because of my arm. My endurance was a lot better. When I got the guy tired, he wasn’t even able to stand, that’s when I ended up winning. That’s how I ended up beating a lot of the good kids.”

He’s done plenty of winning this season and heads into today’s regional as honorable mention in the Illinois Matmen Class 3A individual rankings, which ranks the top 12 in each weight class.

At the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference tournament Jan. 21, Lopez picked up one of the biggest victories of the season, knocking off Kaneland senior and defending Class 2A runner-up Austin Kedzie, 14-4.

“You could hear people, ‘Wow, he’s only a freshman?’ You wouldn’t think that,” Hiatt said. “He’s experienced. He’s wrestled in a lot of national tournaments and a lot of offseason tournaments.”

It was a little bit of payback for Lopez, who had lost, 5-4, to Kedzie earlier in the season.

“When I lost to Kaneland’s Austin Kedzie, I really doubted myself there – what am I going to do at state?” Lopez said. “Later on, I beat him. After that happens, it’s a lot of rebuilding confidence. That’s what I did, slowly rebuilding my confidence. Right now, I feel really good heading into [the postseason].”

Lopez said although there isn’t much expectations for freshmen in the postseason, he has his sights set on making it to the Class 3A state tournament. Despite the season full of wins, it was a loss that gave Lopez the most confidence.

Facing off against No. 5-ranked senior Charles Faber (Glenbard West) earlier in the season, Faber came away with an 8-6 victory, but Lopez left with the feeling that he could hang with anybody in the state.

“It’s weird,” he said. “I’ve had good wins, but sometimes losses can tell a lot about a person, too. I held my own in that match. ... He did a lot of backing up. I held my own.”