Dundee-Crown's Brunner on a mission for elusive state championship

Many a decorated wrestler has passed through the Dundee-Crown wrestling room over the years.

Specifically, 11 Charger wrestlers have returned from Champaign with state medals around their necks, including state champions Larry Kaifesh (1985) and Mike Lukowski (2008). Three of the 11 wrestlers have multiple state medals to their credit. That list includes Lukowski and 2009-2010 double third-place medalist Miko Villanueva.

The third member of that exclusive club is on a mission to firmly cement himself as the greatest wrestler in the program's history.

Senior Christian Brunner has his sights zeroed in on winning the 195-pound Class 3A state championship later this month. In doing so, he would not only join Kaifesh and Lukowski as D-C state champions, but would become the only three-time medalist in program history.

And Brunner, who will continue his wrestling career at Purdue University next season, knows exactly what he has to do in order to achieve that when he steps on the mat Friday and Saturday at the Class 3A Barrington sectional where berths in the state finals will be on the line.

One thing Brunner is determined to avoid is a repeat of last year when he took third in the state at 195 pounds after finishing as the state runner-up at 182 pounds his sophomore season.

"I learned a lot from last season," he said. "I learned you must focus one match at a time and not look ahead. What happened last year hurt a lot at the time. Looking back it was a gut-check and now it's fuel for the fire. It's a good thing it happened in the sense of learning and getting motivated. But it hurt not being at the top last year."

Brunner offered a blunt self-assessment of what did occur during last year's state meet.

"I went in a little too confident," he said. "I looked way ahead and I should have taken it one match at a time. I got carried away a little and was more focused on the match ahead and not worrying about too much else."

Brunner shrugged off 2015 and got to work in the offseason, taking seventh at Fargo nationals in the Junior division (his second seventh-place showing at the premier event) and also participated in the junior dual-team event in Tulsa, Okla., as a member of the Illinois team.

"I worked hard," he said. "I wrestled a lot of freestyle and got some very good experience going against different styles. I saw a lot of faster-paced styles and that was good for cardio."

Brunner said he's improved a lot on his feet and has become more tactical with his takedowns.

"I'm getting to my shots a lot better," he said.

Brunner brings a 41-0 record into the sectional. Any wins he achieves from here on out will continue to add to his D-C program record of 158 victories. Brunner also has a shot of breaking his own single-season mark of 47 wins. He's also the career record-holder at D-C for pinfall wins and has a shot to break the single-season program record for pins.

"Christian has constantly improved throughout the season," said D-C coach Tim Hayes, himself a former wrestling standout at the school under legendary coach Al Zinke. "It doesn't always show in his matches, but he always is improving himself. Christian has added to his offense on his feet and has made adjustments on the mat. His improvements are never drastic adjustments, just fine-tuning."

Beyond the tactical skills on the mat, Hayes is even more wowed by others facets of Brunner's presence in the program.

"Christian is a great leader and person," he said. "He leads by example and is very vocal in the room. He has such a great wrestling mind and he always is helping his teammates with their technique. As a person, he is very much like his parents. If there is something he can do for you, even something small, he will do it. He is a great role model for the younger wrestlers."

Brunner doesn't mince words when talking about the ultimate end goal this season. "Winning a state title always has been the goal," he said. "This is my last chance now. I'm really motivated. I've wanted this since I started wrestling. I've put in the extra time and have focused on what I need to improve on."

But in his entire body of work, Brunner wants to be remembered around D-C for more than just wins, pins and medals.

"I would like to be remembered as a state champ when it's over and be able to bring back the bracket board to the room," he said, "but ultimately I want to be remembered as someone who went out there and competed. Having all the records is great, but I would rather be remembered as someone who was competitive and someone who went out there every time and wrestled hard for six minutes."

And that 41-0 record? Brunner has done his best to push that off to the side. "I try not to think about it too much," he said of his unblemished mark. "Being undefeated does give me confidence, but at the same time you can't think about it too much. Look at what happened last year when I thought I couldn't be beat. I got upset. You have to stay focused and not worry about things like that."

Hayes added: "The thing I like the most about him is his confidence. He is confident, but never arrogant. He knows how hard he has worked and he has enjoyed continued success, but he always is willing to learn something new and improve himself. He is always getting better. He has set goals and is not going to be satisfied with any less than those goals. This is why he is so successful and why he will continue to be successful."

But first, Brunner is ready to conquer whatever the Barrington field throws at him.

"In sectionals that are a lot of upsets," he said. "If you want to go to state, you have to get through sectionals first. Everyone is going to be coming. I have to be focused and ready. I know there is a target on my back."

And something says Brunner will tackle his latest challenges just like the 41 others before them. It's what true champions do.

Mike Miazga has been writing about sports in the Fox Valley for more than two decades. Contact him at mjm890@gmail.com.