Dreams don’t always come true.

For wrestlers Tristen DeShazer and Bryan Deutsch, their dreams of becoming an All-American and possibly an NCAA Champion came to an end Friday. At the NCAA Championships in St. Louis, DeShazer and Deutsch combined for a 3-4 record and a 43rd place finish with 9.5 points.

“I think they did a great job,” said NIU head coach Dave Grant. “Tristen was two matches away from being an All-American and Bryan was three. They came out and competed hard. That’s what we want our guys to do. We’re really proud that Tristen got two pins and Bryan got one. We were impressed with the way they wrestled.”

Day one brought jubilation and disappointment for both competitors.

Redshirt sophomore DeShazer opened up his first NCAA tournament with a victory over Darius Little of North Carolina State and his 16th fall of the season.

The 133-pounder fell one match short of the quarterfinals after his 9-6 loss to No. 5 Daniel Dennis of Iowa. DeShazer had the upper hand early in the match with a 5-2 lead after two near falls. A tweaked elbow was an issue for DeShazer during the match, but nonetheless, Dennis rallied and won.

“He was on top of me, and he cranked it back,” DeShazer said. “It really rekindled some flames. It’s been hurting after that match.”

Redshirt sophomore Deutsch lost his opening match to No. 10 Cyler Sanderson of Iowa State by fall in 4:46.

Later in the day in the consolation bracket, Deutsch won his first match against Anthony Jones of Michigan State by pin in 1:11.

On day two, DeShazer began in the consolation bracket against Rick Deubel of Edinboro. He took the match by fall in 2:06. It was DeShazer’s 17th win by pin of the season.

DeShazer’s run ended with a 9-2 loss against No. 11 Steve Bell of Maryland. After being taken down early in the match, DeShazer could never recover.

Deutsch was finally upended in a 15-5 major decision loss to Thomas Scotton of North Carolina.

The tournament was able to show him where he was as a wrestler.

“I realized that I am on the same level as a lot of the wrestlers,” Deutsch said. “This summer I will be working hard and hopefully working to get to an All-American status next year.”

DeShazer finishes the season with a 23-13 record with 17 pins while Deutsch finished at 21-12 with a MAC Championship in the 157-pound class.

A possible return to the spotlight for this program has been strengthened thanks to these two.

“I’m grateful because I got to this one, but hopefully over the next two years I can come back again and show them what I’m made of,” DeShazer said. “Next year I can hopefully be an All-American, and senior year, I think I’ll be ready to take that title.”

While DeShazer preps for a possible championship, Deutsch looks to simply learn from the experience of being the underdog.

“I’m looking at it now as more of a learning experience,” Deutsch said. “You don’t have very many opportunities, and you need to take advantage of them. I feel like this was considered a lost opportunity, but I’m not going to sit here and worry about it. I’m going to use this as motivation for next year.”