Burlington’s Wichman headed to Freeport

Aaron Wichman, who resigned as Burlington Central’s football on March 7, has accepted a teaching position and the head football job at Freeport High School.

“This gives me the chance to do exactly what I did (at Burlington) and it’s an hour and a half closer to my family,” Wichman said Monday.

Wichman is a Forreston High School graduate and his father and uncles are Freeport grads.

“He’s very familiar with the area and he has a lot of family,” Freeport athletic director Trevor Leopold told the Freeport Journal-Standard. “He put that this was his dream job on his application when he applied. I think he will be an excellent fit.”

Wichman was 32-35 in seven years at Burlington Central, a job he got after going 3-6 in one season at Elgin High. His Burlington teams made the playoffs three times but not since 2007. His last three teams went 2-7, 3-6 and 3-6 but endured major injuries every year.

“It was really frustrating these last three years,” Wichman said. “The years with kids like (Justin) Lee, (Zach) Morrison and (Paul) Duykinck were really fun but there last three years we’ve had a major injury every year that really hurt and it’s been frustrating.”

At Freeport, Wichman will take over a program that has gone 19-27 the past five seasons under Terry Werntz, including 4-5 this past season. The Pretzels last made the playoffs with a 5-4 team in 2008 and Werntz, who at 62 is retiring from teaching this year, was forced to give up the football job as well, according to published reports.

Prior to Werntz, the Pretzels were coached by current Streamwood coach Cal Cummins for 17 years and made the playoffs 10 times.

“I always thought about the (Freeport) job,” said Wichman, who will also teach English at Freeport. “It’s the exact same routine.”

Wichman, who has been replaced at BC by Rich Crabel, said he enjoyed his time at Burlington and that it helped further his career.

“It was a great experience overall,” he said. “I matured as a coach. When I took that job I was 30-31 years old and I’ve learned a lot.”

Wichman’s departure will also leave the head girls track job open at the school. The Rockets just completed a successful weekend at the Class 2A state meet in Charleston.

“The girls were extremely excited and they did a great job,” Wichman said. “It was a good way to end our season.”

And Wichman’s coaching career at Burlington Central.