Heesch in line for title No. 2

BY MATT PFIFFNER

Southeast Webster senior heavyweight Dillon Heesch is looking to keep the recent heavyweight tradition at his school alive.

Heesch (pictured on top), ranked No. 1 in Class 1A, claimed the 215-pound State title last season with a perfect 42-0 record, while senior teammate Donovan Grove was pinning down his second straight 1A heavyweight crown. Heesch has made the jump to the 285-pound division this season and is the man to beat as the postseason grind begins Saturday.

The Eagle big man was 32-1 on the season after pinning his way to the Guthrie Center Tiger Invitational title last weekend. The bracket included No. 3 James Driver of Tri-Center (Neola) and No. 5 Cody Frantum of Woodward-Granger. Heesch did not meet Driver, but did wrestle Frantum in the finals and pinned him in 53 seconds.

The victory was the 150th of Heesch's career and the 101st pin. He decked Jake Nelson of Gilbert in the semifinals for pin No. 100. Reaching those milestones is nice, Heesch said, but they won't help him the next three weeks on his drive for a second State title.

"It doesn't help me win State or anything. It's good to get it behind me," he said.

As a returning State champion, Heesch said he has noticed that some kids wrestle him differently than in the past.

"A State championship under your belt helps a little. It's not so much respect, but some kids don't want to be out there. They just want to get off the mat," he said.

The lone loss on Heesch's record in the past two seasons came right before Christmas in a loaded heavyweight field at Independence.

After taking care of Class 1A second-ranked Kyle Kober of West Branch in the semifinals, 7-3, Heesch ran into the top-ranked heavyweight in Class 3A and the nation, Eric Thompson of Waverly-Shell Rock. Thompson dominated the match on their feet and claimed a 9-2 win.

Heesch has only allowed five takedowns in the past two years and Thompson recorded four of them in that match.

"I handled the 1A kids pretty well, but I got into 3A and didn't do so well," Heesch said. "I've wrestled Thompson a lot and he's always tough."

Kober, the State runner-up at 285 to Grove last season, may be the toughest test for Heesch in the postseason.

"I didn't like the score. I didn't score enough," Heesch said of his first bout against Kober."I got tired in the third period and wrestled like a heavyweight."

Heesch was disappointed in taking his first loss in two seasons, but he took it in stride.

"It would have been nice to be undefeated again, but he's the top heavyweight in the nation," Heesch said of Thompson. "So if you're going to lose, it might as well be to the best."

Heesch, who has a record of 120-5 over the past two years with a fifth and first place finish at State, will continue his football and wrestling careers at Iowa Central next year. His plan was to focus on football at the Div. I level, but that will have to wait for at least a year.

"I was just going to do football in college, but since I'm going to Iowa Central, I thought I could do both," he said.

But before he steps onto the Fort Dodge campus next fall, Heesch has some unfinished business to take care of and a second title to win.