Entering his senior season at Lake Zurich High School, Kevin Fanta’s name was not even a whisper through college wrestling recruiters’ ears.

In fact, it wasn’t until after Fanta had won the Illinois State championship at 135 that he made a significant splash on the national scene.

“After I won state, I was getting calls from a lot of schools,” Fanta said. “Other than NIU, Michigan State and University of Illinois were calling me a lot all of a sudden.”

Fanta was most likely not a major name on the national recruiting scene because he wasn’t a starter for Lake Zurich until his senior season.

Fanta didn’t start wrestling until his friends convinced him to join in eighth grade. Once high school came around, He still was focused on the sport he had starred in all his life: soccer. Fanta said soccer was the sport he was destined to play at a higher level.

“I always thought that in college I’d be playing soccer, if anything,” Fanta said. “Coming up through middle school and high school I always played on a travel team, we were one of the best teams in state and I was much bigger into that at the time.”

The redshirt sophomore’s progression on the mats has been documented season-by-season. During his 2009-2010 redshirt campaign, Fanta placed second at the Michigan State Open, and defeated wrestlers from Central Michigan, Michigan State and The Citadel.

Last season as a redshirt freshman, Fanta competed at 133 and went 8-8 on the year, finishing fourth in the MAC Championships.

Transitioning to the 141 weight class, a class that he feels is a much better fit for him, Fanta has reeled off a 12-3 record and has won seven straight matches, dating back to the Midlands Championships in late December.

Fanta wanted to move up to 141 last season, but then-senior Tristen DeShazer had the position locked, which only pushed Fanta to enhance his offseason workouts.

“Kevin has shown solid progression,” said NIU coach Ryan Ludwig. “A lot of times guys, what I call, ‘turn the corner’ once they hit their third year of competition, and this is that year for him. We’ve always expected big things out of Kevin and seen a lot of potential in him.”