When Brad Dieckhaus first joined the NIU wrestling program, he never imagined he’d be introduced to an angel in disguise.

As a freshman, Dieckhaus was not intimidated by then-senior Will McDermott, and the two became close in their time as teammates.

Dieckhaus called McDermott his big brother, the man he would approach whenever he needed help with anything.

McDermott changed the path of his life in many ways. To Dieckhaus, he must have been an angel on Earth, because McDermott did things to help others that people just do not do anymore.

The influence McDermott left on Dieckhaus is permanent. As a freshman, Dieckhaus started attending Athletes in Action meetings, a campus organization aimed at increasing athletes’ connection with God. Attending weekly with McDermott, Dieckhaus said he started feeling a connection with God.

Dieckhaus now has a holy cross tattooed on his chest. Without McDermott he doesn’t feel religion would be a factor in his life.

With such a strong relationship, hearing the news on Friday morning of McDermott’s passing was more than Dieckhaus could handle.

NIU head coach Dave Grant informed Dieckhaus of McDermott’s passing. The day before Dieckhaus was to compete in the MAC Championships, the junior didn’t know if he could go forward.

But after conversing with Grant, Dieckhaus determined there was one thing to do: win the MAC Championship.

And win it for McDermott.

“At first I said ‘Coach, I don’t think I can do it,'” Dieckhaus said. “Then I said, ‘you know what, if this isn’t a sign to win the MAC, then I don’t know what is.’ I told coach that I was going to win it for Will McDermott. I knew this was God’s way of saying to me, ‘you’re going to win this thing. You’re really going to do it.'”

Dieckhaus displayed his respect for McDermott by writing his name on the tape on his right hand, and by drawing a cross on the tape of his left for both days of the tournament. Before every round, Dieckhaus would look at his hands and remember what his purpose was on the mats.

When Dieckhaus won a 3-2 decision in his championship match by riding his opponent for the entire final round, he was in a state of shock. Dieckhaus remembers McDermott as one of the best wrestlers NIU had when it came to riding opponents, and thinks he must have had McDermott by his side.

“When you look at how he won, it took guts,” Grant said. “He kept a guy down… you just don’t win like that in championship matches.”

Dieckhaus’s emotions ran high after the match; his first words to Grant were that the win was for Will. Soon after, Dieckhaus looked up in the sky and spoke to McDermott.

“Will, I can’t believe it. Will, I love you so much,” Dieckhaus said. “I lost my breath, and I got chills. I had to win it for him, and I think him and the Lord gave me the strength to do that.”