PALATINE, Ill. – In most years, Harper College wrestling coach Dan Loprieno likes to see what he has in his new wrestlers very early on in their careers.  Often times, Loprieno will test the freshmen and force them to battle and work hard to make the transition from high school wrestling to college wrestling. Steven Dewitt (Sterling, Ill., Sterling) describes his freshman year of wrestling as being thrown to the dogs.
 
“No one is ready for the college wrestling experience, if you're a high school wrestler, until you actually practice in college,” Dewitt said.  “There's no amount of advice that can get you ready.  You just have to do it.”
 
But the experience has been invaluable.  One season after going 14-10 at 149 pounds, Dewitt has taken his game up another notch, in terms of weight class and in record.  This season at 157 pounds, Dewitt is currently 19-5 and has made the finals in five tournaments.  Most recently, he placed first at the Non-Scholarship Invitational, hosted by the Hawks.  For his efforts, Dewitt is Harper College's 13^th Athlete of the Week for the 2012-13 school year.
 
“That's how Steve wrestles,” Loprieno said after Dewitt's title.  “He gets after it, and it's non-stop for seven minutes.  That's what I'm hoping other guys see and pick up on it.  He's what you want to have as a college wrestler.  He's physical, he gets after it on his feet and he wrestles the full seven minutes.”
 
Dewitt, who was a state qualifier at 152 pounds in high school, was initially drawn to Harper because of the school's proximity to his hometown (about two hours) and their pedigree of success (most recently won nationals in 2010).  But there wasn't an immediate rush of success.  Dewitt had to take his lumps from older, more experienced wrestlers.
 
“Last year we had all of the talent in the world,” Dewitt said.  “I was not talented, just an athlete out there.  The talent that I was surrounded by last year made me who I am today.  They did beat up on me, so I learned from that.”
 
This year, Dewitt saw a break in the Hawks' lineup and volunteered to move up to 157 while Josh Tardy (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) moved from 141 pounds to 149 pounds.  Lacking the size of some of his fellow competitors at 157, Dewitt has focused on weight lifting to build as much strength as possible.  And it's that relentless work ethic, both during matches and in practice, that Loprieno hopes rubs off on the less-experienced wrestlers.
 
“Most of the matches we lose are because we take a break and give up points,” Loprieno said.  “You can't do that.  At this level, you make a mistake and you will pay for it.  And these young kids are finding that out, so.  You have to work yourself into shape so you can go that seven minutes.  I don't think Steve has missed a practice or weight session all year long (when healthy).  Those are his goals.”
 
After Harper, Dewitt plans to take his talents to an NAIA school  and earn a wrestling scholarship.  Before then, though, he has some unfinished business to take care of.  Dewitt estimates he will be seeded second at regionals, which is all part of a process of excelling at the national meet coming up in February.
 
“It really doesn't matter how I did in the tournaments that I lost in, or the tournament that I won,” Dewitt said.  “It just matters that I'm facing kids that I know I'm going to have to see at nationals and for me to come back better, stronger, faster and fix whatever I screwed up on.  There were opportunities that I missed because I didn't know how to handle it.  Right now, this period in time is for me to focus on how to get takedowns on that kid.”