Before this season’s Class 3A state wrestling meet, Deerfield junior Andrew Mehrholz said he had never felt more prepared.
“I feel like my match sense and maturity on the mat is on a different level,” said Mehrholz ahead of his third appearance at state. “If you watch how I stay in position the entire match and not get out of position. That’s a goal of mine, to not give up easy points. Nothing’s given up easy.”
Through the sectional meet, Mehrholz’s season results matched his mat philosophy. He had totaled 42 wins (against two losses), achieving a No. 4 ranking by illinoismatmen.com. He swept Central Suburban League, regional and sectional tournaments, winning titles in all three.
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Mehrholz’s achievements were made all the more exceptional by the way he underwent a body transformation prior to the season.
“He was at 120 [pounds] last year and he was cutting [weight]. We made the conscious decision that cutting all that weight would not be best for him as a student-athlete,” Deerfield coach Marc Pechter said.
Through heavy weight lifting, Mehrholz had put on enough muscle to compete in the 138-pound weight class. Numerous times this season, Mehrholz was strong enough to wrestle up a division at 145.
“It’s not so much how strong you are but how long you can go,” Mehrholz said. “You can go a full six minutes and have full strength for the six minutes.”
Pechter added: “Leverage is a big deal in wrestling, and he handled moving up really well. He never backed down.”
Mehrholz had two state tournament appearances prior to this season. He did not win a match as a 106-pound freshman in 2012-13. At 120 pounds last year, Mehrholz won four matches on his way to a third-place medal.
He began the 2014-15 state tournament in Champaign in dominating fashion. Mehrholz scored an 8-0 major decision over Granite City senior Devon Simpson. Up next was Wheaton South senior Qarin Johnnic. Mehrholz could not muster up enough offense against the stout Johnnic. He lost a tight 6-4 decision, throwing him into the wrestlebacks.
To earn a second consecutive state medal, Mehrholz would have win two consolation matches.
“Coming off a tough loss, you have to be pretty resilient. Some kids could have gone in the tank,” Pechter said. “He was locked and loaded.”
Mehrholz won three matches. He concluded his state tournament with a 2-1 decision over Downers Grove South junior Tyree Johnson in the fifth-place match.
Out of six Deerfield wrestlers at the state tournament, Mehrholz was the lone medalist. At 170 pounds, senior Brady Glantz was the only other Warrior to win a match.
Optimism for the future lies in Deerfield’s youthful roster — four of the six state participants were making their first tournament appearances. With the exception of Glantz, all of the state qualifiers can return in 2015-16. Deerfield is also still alive in the dual team state series after beating Jacobs 48-12 on Tuesday. The Warriors will wrestle in the state quarterfinals Saturday.
“We had a young team downstate, we had some tough draws. It was good for our team,” Pechter said. “I feel like hopefully they will have an opportunity to come back.”
Jon Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.