On one hand, Wisconsin sophomore Dean Hamiti has already realized a lifelong dream.
“To be a Big Ten champion and have exciting matches like that in big arenas with a lot of fans — that’s been a dream of mine for a while,” he said.
But on the other hand, the 2021 Joliet Catholic graduate has more fantasies to turn into realities.
“The season’s not done,” he said. “I still have to get back to work — nationals is up next.”
Hamiti’s wrestling career has always had an upward trajectory, but it’s soared to even higher levels since he entered college.
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The latest stop on this skyward journey came last weekend when Hamiti finished first at 165 pounds during the Big Ten Tournament in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Hamiti (21-3) will take a No. 3 national ranking from InterMat and a No. 5 national ranking from FloWrestling into the NCAA Tournament, which is scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day weekend in Tulsa.
Even though Hamiti won three state titles in high school — denied a perfect 4-for-4 by the cancellation of the 2020-21 season due to the pandemic — he joined a college program that typically slaps a redshirt on incoming freshmen to allow them time to adapt.
Hamiti, however, proved to be the exception to that rule, as Wisconsin coach Chris Bono explained.
“We couldn’t keep him out of the lineup,” Bono said. “The rate of his improvement has been astronomical. I told him I thought he could be an All-American if he wrestled, and he just got this big smile on his face and said, ‘I’m in.'”
Hamiti made just as strong of an impression on his new teammates, according to senior 157-pounder Garrett Model, who’s now a team captain.
“The first day I wrestled with him, it took everything in my power to ride him,” Model said. “At the end of that practice, I told him if he keeps standing up like that, no one’s going to be able to wrestle with him and he’s going to be a national champion one day.”
Hamiti lived up to that early hype with an All-American freshman season, posting a 28-4 record at 165 while placing third at the Big Ten Tournament and sixth at the NCAA Tournament.
But that season wasn’t enough to satisfy Hamiti’s appetite for success — especially at the Big Ten Tournament.
“I took third here last year and I knew I could do better than that,” Hamiti said. “And a year later, here we are.”
Hamiti’s words made it sound simple, but there was a lengthier process involved in climbing up those two additional spots on the podium.
First, Hamiti addressed his relative inexperience in college by developing more patience.
“Last year, I’d go out there and if I didn’t score in the first 30 seconds, I’d get mad and wrestle frustrated,” he said. “But now I’m keeping my composure, looking ahead at what positions I can score in.
“I’m just being smarter and more mature in every area.”
The physical aspects of the sport received plenty of attention as well.
“I got a little bigger, a little stronger and I got tighter on every single attack I take,” he said. “If I’m getting near a leg now, I’m going to score — every time.”
Combining those elements with a dash of experience from that successful freshman season resulted in the complete package that led Hamiti to a Big Ten title.
He has his sights set on more this season — and down the road.
“Coming into last year, I didn’t really know what to expect,” he said. “But I have the confidence now that I can go into those deep waters and still score points.”
That’s no accident, either.
Hamiti believes everything he’s accomplished already and in the future will be the result of his full embrace of everything it takes to compete at wrestling’s highest levels.
After receiving an endless string of hugs, high-fives and handshakes upon winning the conference title, Hamiti wants to realize dreams he’s been carrying since childhood.
“I work so hard every single day to prepare for moments like this,” he said. “I’m in the room early every day. I stay disciplined in every single area of my life.
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“There is a little bit of, ‘Wow, I just accomplished this.’ But also it’s expected.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.