The 2005 Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune football player of the year awards were not won by Juice Williams. But they were awarded to an Illini.

John Dergo won the prestigious award as a senior at Morris High School, but he does not play football for Ron Zook – he wrestles and starts in the 184-pound weight class for head coach Mark Johnson and the 11th ranked Illini.

Dergo and fellow true freshman Jimmy Kennedy (133) have stepped into an experienced starting lineup and have helped the Illini to a perfect 6-0 record, 2-0 in Big Ten competition.

“(Dergo’s) a great athlete,” Johnson said. “He’s a kid who has a smile on his face the whole time. He’s one guy who has fun all the time.”

As a senior, Dergo scored 52 touchdowns and rushed for over 3,000 yards for the 2005 6A state champion Morris Redskins. But his high school wrestling record was equally impressive. Dergo won his last 86 matches and won consecutive state championships his junior and senior years in the 171-pound weight class.

Dergo said he had more collegiate offers for wrestling than for football, and he said the decision to wrestle was an easy choice.

“I think I had a little more love for wrestling,” Dergo said. “I thought I had a brighter future (in wrestling).”

And his decision to wrestle is beginning to pay off.

Dergo started the season unsure whether he would redshirt. But after starting a perfect 11-0 in open tournaments, including a first place win at the UNI Open, the decision was made to lift Dergo’s red shirt and enter him into the lineup.

Johnson said he and his coaching staff have an obligation to put forth the best lineup, even if that means starting a true freshman. And he pointed out the coaching staff, including himself, all wrestled as freshman in their collegiate careers.

The first opportunity for Dergo to compete in a team competition came in December at the Midlands Championships. Dergo placed sixth and was handed his first collegiate loss by Michigan State’s 14th ranked grappler, Joe Williams.

Dergo entered the conference season ranked 15th in his weight class and faced the best in his first Big Ten opponent – a 11-3 loss to Northwestern’s top-ranked Jake Herbert in the Illini’s conference opener. Dergo then failed in his second attempt for his first conference win last Sunday against the Hoosiers.

Dergo’s next chance to win his first Big Ten match comes this weekend when the Illini travel to East Lansing Friday to face the No. 23 Spartans. If not Friday then Sunday when the Illini travel to 12th ranked Penn State. “(The trip’s) a grind of a trip just getting to these places,” Johnson said.

The Spartans will enter their Big Ten opener 1-4 and have three wrestlers ranked in the top 10 of their weight classes. Kennedy will have the biggest test for the Illini wrestlers when he puts his perfect conference record on the line against top-ranked Nick Simmons. Eighth ranked and one of two Illini still undefeated on the season, Gabe Flores (125), will wrestler sixth ranked freshman Franklin Gomez. And Dergo will have an opportunity to avenge his first collegiate loss when he rematches 10th-ranked Williams.

“I feel my conditioning is better since then,” Dergo said. “I’m just trying to improve, win or lose.”

The Nittany Lions have five starters ranked in the top 12. Flores and Kennedy will again face top-10 opponents, 5th-ranked Mark McKnight and 8th-ranked Jake Strayer respectively.

“The team has really come together,” Johnson said. “They’ve shown the coaches the toughness we’ve asked for.”

Tirapelle wins Big Ten Wrestler of the Week

Illini sophomore Troy Tirapelle (149) became the second Illini wrestler this year and the third Tirapelle brother to win Big Ten Wrestler of the Week for the Illini. Tirapelle’s older brother, Alex won the award three times, and his oldest brother Adam won the award once. Tirapelle won both matches last week against Northwestern and Indiana. He leads the Illini with seven pins and is undefeated in dual matches this season. He shared the award with Wisconsin’s Zach Tanelli (133).

“It’s a great honor,” Tirapelle said. “With the Big Ten just starting, it only gets tougher from here. We’ve set goals for ourselves, both as a team and individually, and we’re working hard to get them done.”