Joel VanderVere had to overcome one significant hurdle to reach his primary goal.
The Warren junior is widely considered one of the top wrestlers in the country in the 138-pound weight class. He entered the Class 3A state meet ranked seventh nationally by InterMat.
But there was one thing missing in VanderVere’s quest to be among the best in the nation: He had yet to win a state title.
“Being No. 1 in the nation has been the goal for a long time, but I had never won a state title, even in middle school or high school,” he said.
VanderVere changed that Saturday night at the University of Illinois’ State Farm Center in Champaign. The Northwestern recruit capped a dominating weekend by defeating DeKalb’s Fabian Lopez with an 18-3 major decision to claim his first individual state championship.
VanderVere (33-1) immediately celebrated his achievement by striking a double-biceps pose and pointing his fingers upward.
“We finally did it,” he said. “There have been years in middle school and high school where I got this close, was supposed to win it, and I don’t win it. I finally got through it and did it. I’m thinking once all seniors get moved on, I’ll be No. 1. … I’m so glad that I can finally bring it home.”
By winning all four of his state matches, VanderVere became just the third state champion in program history and the first since Craig Murphy at 103 pounds in 1965-66. Teammate Isaiah Parker (33-13) collected a fourth-place medal at 152 pounds.
Grayslake Central junior Adrien Cramer also had a two-part goal driving him throughout the season. Cramer is laser-focused on besting his older brother, Alex, by winning two state championships. Alex Cramer, a freshman at Old Dominion, set the standard by becoming the first state wrestling champion at Grayslake Central in 2018.
Adrien Cramer (39-1) pinned Aurora Christian’s Alex Knauf in the 182-pound state final on Saturday night to double his family’s count of first-place state medals.
“It’s great because I had everything to prove, and I put in the training,” Cramer said. “I had crisp shots and scored my points in the final. It’s pretty sweet to win this. I have to beat my (older) brother in every way. He won by points in his final. I won by pin. I have to double up (state titles) and do what he never did.”
With freshman Aaron Cramer winning one of his three state matches at 152 pounds, Adrian Cramer said it was a special weekend for his family and the school.
“It’s the lineage,” Adrien Cramer said. “Everything is cut out for (my younger brother) with partners, and he just has to pick it up. It was great to make my dad proud by winning state.”
Grayslake Central nearly added a second state championship, but junior Joey Jens (40-7) dropped a 5-0 decision to Marian Central’s Dylan Connell in the 170 final. Connell (44-0) won his third straight state championship.
Zion-Benton senior Jordan Chisum closed out a six-match weekend by defeating Evanston junior Ricardo Salinas in the third-place match at 170.
Antioch seniors Danny McPherson (132) and Niall Schoenfelder (195) earned third-place medals in Class 2A.
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“I was just happy to be here and get another medal,” Chisum said. “I was doubted the whole year and finally got to make my point.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.