Freeport wrestler motivated by his heartbreaking loss in the state title match

FREEPORT — Senior Markel Baker and the entire Freeport Pretzels wrestling squad are on a mission as they head into the postseason, which kicks off with Saturday's NIC-10 tournament at Guilford.

Why?

"I think about that loss all the time," Baker said of his last loss in an Illinois High School Association match, a 4-3 loss in the 2020 Class 2A state finals at 113 pounds. "All the time."

And the Pretzels, the two-time-defending NIC-10 champs and the deepest team in the conference again this season, are ready to ride Baker's leadership to another strong postseason.

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"He's our leader and there's just a different feel to it when he's not there," Freeport coach Anthony Dedmond said of Baker, who missed a stint late in the regular season because of COVID-19 protocols. "And now, he sure is ready. He's one of those rare athletes that doesn't need anybody to hype him up: he's his own hype man."

Baker's hungry

Baker got second in the conference as a freshman and seventh at state, and then went on to win the conference title as a sophomore, and fall one point shy of grabbing the state title.

He went 19-0 and was the NIC-10 MVP last season, but it was cut short due to the pandemic, and there was no IHSA postseason. He did claim the IWCOA state title back in June, and has come into his senior season hungry, rolling to 15 wins without a loss as we hit the postseason for his final go-around.

"It's time to put an exclamation point on it all," he said. "It's time to claim what's mine."

He's ranked No. 2 in the latest 2A polls at 126, behind only Washington's Kannon Webster, the undefeated state champ at 106 in 2A two years ago. But he's looking to reach the top, in as many ways as possible, before he graduates from Freeport and moves on to wrestle at George Mason University.

"My goal is to be the best version of myself that I can be," Baker said of his time left at Freeport. He earned straight A's his last semester. "In school and on the mat. I want the best grades, and I want to just beat everybody I face; everybody."

Freeport is deep

Joining Baker as a ranked wrestler headed into the postseason is Freeport senior Tarrone Jackson, ranked fifth at 152. Jackson (17-3), along with Baker, 138-pounder Tyler Calam (10-3) and sophomore 120-pounder Cadence Diduch (13-3), have all been on tears since the new year. Not one of them has more than one loss this month.

Diduch, who was the first female to ever win a Rockford East Giardini Invitational title back in December, is still undecided on whether she will wrestle the boys or girls postseason after the conference meet. But she is certainly on a roll, and is ready to help the Pretzels to another league title.

"I'm going to just take it one match at a time," said Diduch, who played soccer instead of wrestle her freshman year, but has now won nine of her last 10 matches. "But this has been such a cool experience so far, being a big part of a team like this. I don't want it to end."

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Who else to watch for

Belvidere's Tony Alvarado is the lone area wrestler to show up in the 3A rankings, slotted 10th at 145. Led by Alvarado, the Belvidere co-op is one of the teams expected to be looking to dethrone Freeport on Saturday. East, with a trio of ranked wrestlers coming in hot, is another of those teams, as is Harlem and Auburn.

East's Lee Smith comes in behind Baker as the next-highest ranked wrestler in the league, sitting fourth at 285. His teammate Joey Pineda is ranked seventh at 220 and Sam Young is at ninth at 138.

Still, it's Freeport's title to lose.

"It's been a long season already, but we're getting healthy and ready at the right time," Dedmond said. "We are 100%, we have no holes, and we are excited for Saturday."

The NIC-10 tournament will be held at Guilford starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the first- and third-place matches expected to begin around 2 p.m. Live results can be found on trackwrestling.com.

Jay Taft: jtaft@rrstar.com; @JayTaft

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Freeport's Markel Baker inspired ahead of IHSA wrestling playoffs