When he looks back on his last season of high school wrestling, Logan VanDuyne certainly will remember his 41 wins in 44 matches and his state medal.

But the most enduring memory for the Wilmington senior will be something else.

“Basically, the jokes and the laughs in the practice room,” an emotional VanDuyne said Saturday night at State Farm Center,

Many of those jokes and laughs were with Nick Dziuban, the popular Wilmington teacher and coach.

But it’s been a different and more somber time since Feb. 1. A day after VanDuyne and the Wildcats competed in the Class 1A Coal City Regional, Dziuban — a survivor of multiple battles with cancer — died unexpectedly.

Grief stricken, VanDuyne soldiered on. On Saturday night, he put up a spirited fight before falling 11-10 in the Class 1A 190-pound final to Lena-Winslow/Stockton’s Eli Larson, who won his second title.

“Logan’s been through a lot these last few weeks,” assistant coach Jake Murphy said. “The last few weeks he’s been wrestling hard. And it’s tough to come down here, looking to accomplish his goals ... he wrestled probably the match of his life right there.”

That VanDuyne was able to persevere through the adversity of recent weeks did not surprise Murphy.

“Logan is one of the most mentally tough kids that I’ve had the privilege of coaching,” Murphy said. “He sets the example for the rest of the team. And after everything he’s gone through, to come out and perform at the state tournament the way he did is impressive.

“He’s definitely a huge role model for not only this team, but the community as well.”

The lesson of the last few weeks?

“Gotta live in every 10 seconds,” VanDuyne said. “Take everything in by the moment.”

VanDuyne was one of four Class 1A finalists — and four runners-up — from the area.

Coal City teammates Aiden Kenney, Brock Finch and Cade Poyner all finished second.

Kenney (47-2) lost 4-0 to Vandalia’s Dillon Hinton (43-3) in the 157 final, Finch (39-3) lost 12-2 to Hope Academy’s Arkail Hinton (46-1) at 175 and Poyner (46-4) lost 11-10 to Freeburg’s Dane Olmstead (39-4) at 215.

“I really wanted that win,” Poyner said. “That’s what I’ve worked towards all season. I came up a little short, it is what it is. It’s my last year (of high school), so just a little heartbreaking. But I gave it everything I had.”

All three Coalers have one more weekend of wrestling, at the Class 1A dual-team state tourney that begins Friday in Bloomington.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what our team can do,” Kenney said. “We’re looking for our third title.”

“We’re not looking forward too much, but we’re feeling confident,” Finch said.

The Coalers had seven placers in all. Also winning medals were Owen Peterson (45-6), who was third at 126; Brody Widlowski (38-2), who finished third at 150; Mason Garner (41-6), who was fourth at 165; and Luke Munsterman (43-9), who took sixth at 138.

Widlowski won his fourth state medal, to go with two seconds and a fourth. “So a pretty good career,” he said. “Hard to complain.”