Dergo Loses Scholarship?

[justaguy]

I don't want to start rumors, so I will say that I HEARD this and have no proof whatsoever, but this is what I heard.

SOmeone said it was in a Morris newspaper?

[white dog]

Found this from June 29th. Nothing else in the Morris Herald.


6/29/2006 1:35:00 PM
Dergo set to dash to U of I
After receiving numerous national and state awards

By Mike Cunniff (mcunniff@morrisdailyherald.com)
Herald Sports Reporter
John Dergo says the awards “don’t mean that much right now.”

But they will.

Honors like Player of the Year for football by School Sports magazine.

Chicago Sun-Times All-Area Player of the Year.

Chicago Tribune Player of the Year.

Player of the Year by the National High School Coaches.

“I don’t get into it (winning awards) that much,” Dergo explained Wednesday afternoon. “I just like to play sports.”

And play them well enough as a high schooler to earn a full-ride scholarship to wrestle at the University of Illinois.

“I leave (for Champaign) on Aug. 19,” Dergo said. “Classes start on Aug. 23.”

Dergo intends to major in kinesiology at the U. of I.

Kinesiology, the scientific study of human movement, has interested Dergo while in high school.

“I plan on studying kinesiology because I plan on becoming a physical therapist,” Dergo said. “Or I could become a P.E. (physical education) teacher and a coach. Or I could go to medical school. Studying kinesiology will enable me to pursue a lot of different options.”

The Redskins claimed the IHSA Class 6A football crown last fall.

“Football-wise, I was really satisfied with the way the year went,” Dergo said. “Going in, I didn’t know what to expect. We had a whole new coaching staff but we had a good group of captains and things fell into place.

“Wrestling, what happened didn’t surprise me too much,” added Dergo. “I knew what I was capable of. I won state my junior year and it was just a case of repeating. It took a lot of work but I was able to do it.”

So, which sport is your favorite?

“I love football but I play it just for the fun of it,” answered John. “And everyone knows that Morris is a great football town. I was just trying to help out all my buddies. But wrestling is what I love to do and what I want to do at the next level.”

University of Illinois wrestling coach Mark Johnson began making in-roads with John early.

“Coach Johnson started talking to me my sophomore year,” said Dergo. “He told me he was going to keep an eye on me and I knew then I had a good shot to go there. And the U. of I. interested me because I knew they had a top (collegiate) program. And they have a lot of wrestlers from Illinois. I know I will feel very comfortable when I walk into the (wrestling) room because I will know just about everyone there. I have been wrestling against some of those guys since I was real young.”

Dergo will redshirt this season, while trying to recover from a torn (medial) meniscus in his knee.

“They have told me they want to wrestle at 184 (weight division), which is a tough weight in college,” said Dergo. “Coach Johnson wants me to bulk up, so I have to get lifting (weights).”

Dergo currently weighs 196 or 197 pounds.

John said he had several schools interested in signing him to wrestle in college.

“To tell you the truth, Illinois contacted me two weeks late last July,” pointed out Dergo. “You could make contact the first of July and I heard from Michigan State, several Ivy League schools, Nebraska, Indiana and Purdue.

“When Michigan State contacted me, I was very interested because I have always liked Michigan State since I was a young kid,” Dergo added. “But then Coach Johnson called and told me he couldn’t get through to us. He said he was ready to come up and offer me a scholarship and when I heard that, I knew I couldn’t beat it.”

Dergo typified himself as “an A-B student. I never got a ‘C’ in high school,” he said. “I worked pretty hard.”

It was a memorable senior year in high school.

“But now, it’s time to move on,” summed up Dergo. “It’s tough because I know I won’t have football now. I have been going over to football sessions because I like the sport. I am almost a little jealous of the guys who are still getting to play. But I have to let it go. And I will.”