Dedication to excellence expected at Grant
Whenever a great or legendary athlete graduates from high school it brings up the age old question in sports: where do we go from here?
That is the question now facing the Grant wrestling program as the Lee Munster era ended last winter in Champaign with Munster becoming one of only a handful of wrestlers in IHSA history to win three individual state championships.
Now with Munster in his first year as a 184-pound red shirt freshman at Northwestern competing only in “open meets” as an unattached wrestler, the Bulldogs’ team is in a totally new position as they will try to replace 10 starters at the varsity level.
So who will be the “next Munster” in the Grant program?
According to Grant coach Ryan Geist, who wrestled at Illinois State, there have already been a few “Munsters” before the Lee Munster era ever got rolling.
In fact, the Grant wrestling program has a long history of great individuals in its past with a whopping total of 42 state placewinners (top six) dating back to Steve Welter’s runner-up finish in the 1963 state meet.
Welter went on to win the state title in 1964 and 1965, but the Bulldogs’ program would not have another state champ until Jimmy Kennedy won state crowns in 2004 and 2006. Kennedy is the only four-time state placewinner in school history.
Then along came four-time state qualifier Munster, who would win it all in 2007, 2009, and 2010 for a total of seven state champs in school history. Grant has 11 second-place state finishers, seven third’s, eight fourth’s, two fifth’s, and seven sixth’s overall.
The Bulldogs’ have also had at least one state finalist in each of the last nine seasons. But with sophomore Cameron Kennedy (6th in state in 2010) out of the lineup that streak will probably end this year.
So how does Grant and company do it? Former standout Izzy Montemayor, who is a junior wrestling at 133 at Northern Illinois University gave some insight into “the machine” at a recent dual meet against Libertyville over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Montemayor was a three-time state qualifier who placed second in the state in his senior year.
“When I was in the wrestling room I had tough kids beating me down like (Daniel) Dennis, Kennedy, (John) Deneen, and Munster, and I have to thank coach Geist because he has been with me throughout the whole process to get me to NIU,” said Montemayor, whose younger brother Jason is a red shirt freshman wrestler at NIU. “I think he (Geist) truly believes in his kids, and I think he’s one of the best coaches in the state of Illinois.”
“He (Geist) taught me what he learned and now everybody knows a lot about Fox Lake wrestling,” added Montemayor. “I think Jimmy Kennedy is going to be national champ with his work ethic, he takes it seriously, and he is just on another level.”
The Grant program looks like a who’s who among Division I programs as Kennedy, who is already a two-time all-American, is currently ranked No. 1 in the country at 141 as a senior at the University of Illinois.
It also seems like each time a great wrestler graduates, it is only a matter of time before the next star grappler does them one better at Grant.
Deneen and Joe Barczak are also former Grant wrestlers who are seniors at Illinois with Kennedy.
Dennis, who had a fourth and two second’s at state for Grant, was a national runner-up last winter as a senior at 133 for Iowa’s two-time defending national championship team.
After earning junior college all-American honors at Harper last year, Mike Dace is currently a junior wrestling at SIU-Edwardsville to add to Grant’s rich tradition of powerful individuals stepping up to the next level.
The Bulldogs’ do have one wrestler on their current roster who has state meet experience as senior Jose Jimenez qualified for the state meet when he was a 103-pound freshman at Round Lake in 2008.
After taking his sophomore wrestling season off and transferring to Grant where he wrestled last year, Jimenez hopes to make a return trip to the Assembly Hall this year at 152 in his final season.
Like so many wrestlers who have come before him, Jimenez knows just how valuable being a part of the Grant program has been to him, and he has made the most of his opportunities.
“We work hard in practice, but we all work hard with our conditioning outside of school and Lee (Munster) told us we had to work outside of school,” said Jimenez. “Him and Geist know what wrestling is all about and when I hear them talk they speak the same because they’ve been through it.”
So just how does Geist get so much out of his individuals? The answer to that question it two-fold, but part of it goes back a long way.
“It’s definitely been the parental support and a good staff, and Jeff Walls is an assistant who has really helped in the off-season,” said Geist, who attended Grant as a freshman before transferring to Grayslake. “It’s really coach Walls and myself were taught the secrets of success when were were kids like running in the morning and lifting weights after practice. Those are the things coach (John) Welter taught us as kids and he is the one who got us started.”
Welter coached for perennial power Waukegan while both Geist and Walls were two-time state qualifier’s as teammates at Grayslake. Geist placed fifth in the state as a senior.
Grant’s team heads into this season with 10 straight Prairie Division crowns and they have never lost a dual meet in the history of the division.
The Bulldogs also have four trips to the Elite Eight team tourney and a third-place state trophy from 2006 as a part of their legacy. Current wrestlers can dream of the greatness that has come before them.
“The bar was set pretty high, and the kids knew they could be successful as long as they followed the gameplan and bought into the system,” said Geist. “We’re rebuilding this year a little bit, but I’m pretty excited what the future holds.”
So now is the time for the young Bulldogs to take a small step back, see where they have been, but always keep an eye on the future. Because based on their history, nobody will be too surprised when the next Munster or Kennedy comes around.”