Five years ago, wrestling was more of an afterthought at Benilde-St. Margaret's, where hockey and basketball draw much of the attention during the winter sports season.
A second-tier sport that held its practices in a school hallway, wrestling wasn't taken seriously by anyone but the four athletes who made up the team.
But since coach Larry Allar took over the program five years ago, he has more than 20 wrestlers, including five ranked in the top seven of their respective weight classes. Also equipped with a new wrestling room, the program continues to gain the school's respect.
"This is in an environment that did not understand wrestling and was resistant to improving the conditions," Allar said of Benilde-St. Margaret's. "This was mostly due to the lack of participation by students and not understanding the sport here at BSM."
The school's attention was focused on the hockey and basketball teams. The boys' hockey team is the defending state champion, and the girls' hockey team might be the top squad in Class 2A this winter. The girls' and boys' basketball teams have combined for three state titles in the past seven years.
Allar's small group of wrestlers hasn't produced nearly as much hardware but is well on its way to joining their more successful schoolmates as North Suburban Conference champs.
"We have five guys capable of winning their weight class at the state tournament," Allar said proudly, talking about his wrestlers like sons, including one who actually is -- eighth-grader Jake Allar. "It's fun to coach several state-champion-quality wrestlers on one team. We are close and starting to peak at the right time."
Jake Allar is ranked seventh in the state at 106 pounds. Jarred Oftedahl is No. 1 at 113 pounds, Logan Kass is No. 6 at 126, Jake Deutschlander is No. 6 at 152 and Christian Dulaney is No. 3 at 182 pounds. These wrestlers --known as the "Fab Five" to Allar -- form the backbone of Benilde's future. Oftedahl is the only senior.
