Jan. 27, 2012
Coming in to the 2011-12 wrestling season, most of the attention on Northern Illinois was focused on defending Mid-American Conference champion Brad Dieckhaus, freshman sensation Nick Smith and the highly-touted incoming freshman class.
Yet, the one Huskie who has surprised the most is sophomore Kevin Fanta, a scrappy 141-pounder who possesses more grit than flash on the mat.
Fanta’s rise, though, has been one of relative obscurity.
The Lake Zurich, Ill., native actually was not on the radar of many schools during his senior year at Lake Zurich High School. Despite setting school records for most career wins and most takedowns, Fanta thought that the Illinois state finals may have been the last wrestling meet of his career.
“I didn’t really think about it until afterwards,” he said. “I went in ranked eighth in the state, so no one was calling me.”
It wasn’t until he won the Illinois Class 3A title at 135 pounds in 2009 that any schools even paid attention to him.
“After I won it, I had to think about where I was going to wrestle because coaches were calling me and it was hectic for the short time I had to choose,” Fanta said.
Among the calls he received, the schools at the top of his list were Michigan State, Illinois and Northern Illinois. However, after taking a visit to DeKalb, Fanta knew that he wanted to be a Huskie.
“I liked the atmosphere here,” he said. “They had a good facility and a good wrestling room. The Yordon Center was brand-new. It was close to home, so it all kind of worked.”
In a recruiting class that included nationally-ranked prospects, Fanta’s late signing with NIU did not garner a lot of attention in the wrestling world. He would be redshirted during his true freshman season, but quietly earned a 3-1 record during that season and a second place finish at the Michigan State Frosh/Soph Open in the 133-pound weight class.
Combined with a strong offseason, he earned himself a spot in the starting lineup at 133 the next season despite only being a redshirt freshman. Fanta, though, wasn’t fazed by the quick promotion.
“I think I was used to wrestling at that caliber,” he said. “It seemed like an easy transition from my redshirt year to last year.”
His season would end with an 8-8 record and a fourth place finish at the MAC Championships – hardly impressive for someone who expected much more in his first year starting. Undeterred, Fanta used this past offseason to his advantage by primarily working on his technique. He would also receive news that he would be moving up a weight class to 141 pounds with the addition of 2011 NCAA qualifier Rob Jillard to the roster.
“Getting off bottom was my big thing,” Fanta said. “I got better at that, but the thing that I thought was going to help me most was moving up a weight class and being comfortable having energy during my matches.”
That desire to improve was also noticed by head coach Ryan Ludwig.
“Kevin Fanta has been working on his weaknesses that he had in the past and they are becoming his strengths for him now,” Ludwig said. “Bottom position is tough for guys coming out of high school, especially for guys who are good on their feet like Kevin.”
That hard work has paid off for Fanta so far in 2011-12, as evidenced by his 8-3 record so far this season. In addition, he leads the team in conference record (3-1), tied for the team lead in dual victories (eight) and tied for second on the team in dual points scored (27).
All of this, though, came as no surprise to the sophomore 141-pounder.
“I expected it, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise,” Fanta said. “I actually thought that I should have a better record than that. I’ve lost some close matches. We had a really hard preseason, so I felt like I was in great shape coming in.”
On top of that, two of Fanta’s three defeats on the year have come to nationally-ranked opponents (Kent State’s Tyler Small and Maryland’s Frank Goodwin), while the third came virtue of a late reversal against Northwestern’s Colin Shober.
Yet, in his eight wins, Fanta has methodically dominated his opponents. Even though he only has one non-decision on the year, he has held his opponents to three points or less on all but one occasion, while the Lake Zurich, Ill., native averaged eight points per match.
“Kevin is very tough to score on,” Ludwig said. “He is extremely powerful. When he attacks, he usually scores and when the opponent attacks, he is very tough to score on.”
None of that, though, has earned him a regular spot in the national rankings. That will hopefully change soon, according to Ludwig.
“We’re looking for him to get back in there pretty soon,” he said. “As long as he bears down, doesn’t worry about the rankings and just focuses the next match in front of him, eventually, he will get the respect he deserves.”
For Fanta, the lack of respect is something he uses for motivation in practice and in competition.
“It definitely motivates me,” he said. “Every time I go out and wrestle someone ranked, I feel like I should beat them and I should be ranked higher than them.”
For the remainder of this season, Fanta hopes that any continued success will bring him a spot in the top 20 at 141. However, he and the coaching staff also know that he has what it takes to reach the ultimate goal – a trip to St. Louis for the 2012 NCAA National Championships.
“We think he is someone who could do that,” Ludwig said. “If he wrestles well and to the best of his abilities, then we expect to take him on that trip.”
