Herron: Knights wrestling continues tradition of quality coaches

There are individuals who stick out during your reporting because they represent the type of athletes that are common in certain programs.

One of those that I recall well from the early years following the split of the Lincoln-Way program into Central and East campuses was Jason DePolo, who not only was a good upperweight wrestler, but also an all-area linebacker at Lincoln-Way Central.

DePolo certainly embodied the types of competitors that were common in both coach Mark Ruettiger’s wrestling program and on coach Rob Glielmi’s football teams. They were tough, hard-nosed kids who made other teams earn whatever they achieved.

As a result, whenever opposing teams were going up against the Knights in those two sports, they usually were assured that they would be in for a real battle.

I enjoyed interviewing DePolo whenever I got the chance, which was fairly often since I saw a lot of both programs while writing at the Star Newspapers and he always was a good quote.

That’s why I was happy to see him return to his alma mater as a teacher and coach, and he took over the successful Knights wrestling program from his coach, Ruettiger, in 2009, and within a couple of years, he had the program back among the state’s best.

From 2011-12 to 2014-15, Central’s record was 79-18 in dual meets, good enough for an impressive 81 percent win rate. The Knights qualified for the dual state finals for three straight years from 2013 to 2015 with the highlight being a fourth-place finish in 2013. They were eliminated by the eventual state runner-up on all three occasions.

But Central’s fortunes have changed in the past few years. Different schools now are feeding into the original Lincoln-Way campus and the longtime pipeline that sent many individuals directly from football to wrestling has dwindled considerably in recent years.

I saw Jason recently as he supervised an event at the school. That’s when he informed me that he was stepping down in order to spend more time with his family. I told him that it was a good move, even though I was disappointed to hear about it. I’ve listened to too many tales of woe from coaches who regret that they missed out on seeing their kids grow up.

Just as I enjoyed trying to get the always serious-looking Ruettiger to crack a smile during a Knights meet, I would try to get a good laugh from DePolo to lighten some of the pressure.

He’s an excellent coach and a good man with a big heart, and I hope that we get the chance somewhere down the road to again see him back in a corner chair or helping out on the sideline, while instilling some of that passion in athletes that he possessed in his playing days.

And while I’m disappointed that DePolo is stepping down, I’m pleased that he’ll be replaced by another class act in the sport, Tyrone Byrd. The longtime Lincoln-Way East coach will be moving over one school since his children figure to be future Knights.

A graduate of the University of Illinois, he was a four-time NCAA qualifier. After making a couple of coaching stops as an assistant, he has coached at the Frankfort school since 2008 and has led several individuals who have finished their seasons among the state’s best.

Hopefully he can put together the same type of football-to-wrestling relationship with Jeremy Cordell that he had at East with Rob Zvonar’s perennial gridiron power.

I also hope that Byrd is able to continue the great tournament concept that he came up while coaching the Griffins. His Illini Classic, which features coaches who competed at the UI, is a one-of-a-kind event and has served as a fitting tribute to one of the most influential men in Illinois wrestling, former Illini coach Mark Johnson.

This past Sunday, I attended the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association Spring Convention and Awards Presentation in LaGrange. The new-look event featured clinics, including one by new Michigan coach Sean Bormet, as well as talks on officiating, financial aid information and diet and nutrition.

Sam Knox, the IHSA administrator for wrestling, also was there to talk about what were termed some of the sport’s “hot topics.” One was the timetable of a likely girls tournament, another was having a full wrestleback at state and another was going to a 40/30/30 percent breakdown in classes to ensure that more regional weights get filled, especially in Class 1A.

Several area individuals were finalists for the IWCOA’s major awards and Morris senior Cody Baldridge was selected as the Class 2A Outstanding Wrestler of the Year.