Wawasee Wrestling: No Doubter For Dilley
SYRACUSE – He was a force at the high school level, and looks to keep the ball rolling at the next level. Wawasee High School senior Jeremiah Dilley has chosen to continue his wrestling career at Marian University in Indianapolis in a signing ceremony held at Wawasee Wednesday afternoon.
Dilley made his second run to a semi-state appearance this past wrestling season, going 1-1 at East Chicago with a win over Highland’s Sammy Perez then a loss to Justin Akers of Crown Point which ended his high school career. Dilley finished his senior season 31-11 wrestling in the 220-pound weight class throughout the state tournament. He finished third at regional, second at sectional and fourth in the Northern Lakes Conference tournament during the 2016-17 season.
It was at East Chicago that the college connection was made, when Marian University wrestling coach Steven Bradley was at the tournament scouting and saw Dilley wrestle. Needing to fill the 197-pound weight class for the Knights, Bradley felt Dilley had a lot of potential, and the next chapter has begun.
“One of our needs in the program is the weight class, and he is a good-sized kid to fill that need,” Bradley said at the signing Wednesday afternoon. “Traditionally, Wawasee has a very good wrestling program and had some good kids throughout the year. When I wrestled back in the day (at Beech Grove High School), we knew the Wawasee name and that caught my attention at East Chicago.
“As I talked to (assistant) coach (Jamie) Salazar about him, he spoke of his work ethic, his work in the classroom, and that became the reasons why we picked him up.”
Added Dilley, “I feel confident at (wrestling 197). I know the first year is going to be a learning curve, but once I get into the swing of things, I feel really confident that I will be a threat.
“When I went for a visit, I already knew some of their programs at Marian were competing at the national level. The wrestling program was in its second year and already doing well with the bigger schools. I know we are going to be good. It’s going to be good.”
The senior caption for the Warriors and head coach Frank Bumgardner, Dilley is planning on majoring in business at Marian. Ranked No. 101 in his senior class, Dilley carries a 7.87/12 GPA.
“They have a pretty good business school, and they are building a new business building there, which is really cool,” Dilley said. “I know they have a lot of opportunities in the business department. That spoke out to me a lot. It caught my attention. I just want to work myself up the ranks and get my future a little more clear from that aspect.”