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player ready...Barrington sent five wrestlers to last weekend’s Class 3A state meet in Champaign. Nobody’s participation was as surprising as 195-pound senior John DePersia.
The five Broncos finished a collective 3-9. Two of those victories came from 170-pound senior Julius Smith. The other belonged to DePersia.
“You have to win one at a time, as wins are hard to come by,” Broncos coach Dave Udchik said.
DePersia did not start out well. In the preliminary round on Feb. 19, DePersia was pinned in the first period by eventual state champion Timothy Young of Aurora East. The loss threw DePersia into the consolation bracket, where wrestlers are forced to reboot mentally.
“It’s kind of strange. I feel like there’s a lot of pressure but there’s zero pressure,” DePersia said.
There was certainly no pressure on DePersia before this season. As a junior, he wrestled at 170 pounds while not cracking the varsity lineup. Determined to compete his senior year, DePersia transformed his body.
Weightlifting sessions at Barrington and at Grande Fit in Palatine added bulk to his 6-2 frame. Motivation came in the form of Smith, who lives close to DePersia in Barrington. Late-night runs around their neighborhood and sprint workouts on the basketball courts at Sunny Hills Elementary School built the cardiovascular base needed to compete in six-minute wrestling matches.
“[Smith] was the one who grabbed me and said, ‘We need to do this to go downstate,’ ” DePersia said. “If it wasn’t for him, I probably wouldn’t have been as prepared.”
Senior 145-pounder Connor Boundy added: “[DePersia was] Julius Smith’s project. They worked all offseason, motivating each other. He got confidence from Julius, and that helped drive him.”
When the high school season stated in November, DePersia had added 15 pounds of muscle on his bony, 170-pound physique. Still underweight in the 195-pound division, he made up for the lack of size with refined technique and finer tactics.
DePersia’s 35 wins before the state meet included Mid-Suburban League runner-up, regional third-place and sectional fourth-place finishes. Barrington teammates were drawn to his dogged style of wrestling, inspired by his tenacious work ethic.
“He’s our unsung hero, our Cinderella story. The guys circled around him,” Udchik said.
On Friday, DePersia found himself in the wrestlebacks. DePersia seized the moment. He defeated Geneva senior Austin Chaon by a 5-4 decision. The result left him one victory shy of guaranteeing a state medal (top six).
In Saturday’s wrestleback quarterfinals, DePersia trailed Neuqua Valley senior D.J. Warkenthien 12-7 in the third period . DePersia went for a shot. His head collided with Warkenthien’s nose.
“I’ve never seen a nose bleed like that,” Udchik said.
DePersia added: “He was gushing blood everywhere. It gave me time to think.”
After a two-minute injury timeout to tape Warkenthien’s nose, action resumed. DePersia cut the deficit to 12-10, but Warkenthien was able to add two more points and ride his opponent out for a 14-12 win.
DePersia fell one victory shy of a state medal (as did Smith). But he won’t soon forget his final high school match or unlikely run to the state tournament.
“That [loss to Warkenthien] was one of my favorite matches. I did everything I could,” DePersia said. “I have no regrets.”
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Jon Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.