At 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, NIU heavyweight wrestler Jon Lovrich is one of the biggest guys on the team.

What role could a guy that size have on a wrestling team?

“Big guys tend to lead because no one wants to mess with them,” NIU wrestling coach Dave Grant said.

Lovrich’s size, however, has nothing to do with him being a team leader. One aspect that makes the 22 year old a leader is his experience. In his first two years at NIU, he wrestled in 54 matches.

As one of eight returning starters, Lovrich wants to set a good example for freshmen Seth Livingston and John Stern, the other heavyweights on the team.

“All of the upperclassmen have to be [leaders] to incoming freshmen,” Lovrich said. “What they see the upperclassmen doing, they’re going to perceive that, and they’re going to take after that.”

Setting a good example for Livingston started during his recruiting visit to NIU, when Lovrich was the freshman’s host.

“He’s going to be a good workout partner for me the next two years,” Livingston said. “We’ll push each other and make each other better.”

With Livingston being an Illinois high school wrestling champion and a highly regarded recruit, his acquisition helps the future of NIU wrestling.

Aside from being a leader, Grant says that Lovrich is also a hard worker, dedicated to the sport and driven to win.

Entering his third season at NIU, Lovrich has a career record of 28-26 with four pins. He says his first two seasons enabled him to get accustomed to collegiate wrestling. Now, he’s looking to go to the next level.

“I want to be a (Mid-American Conference heavyweight) champion,” Lovrich said. “I’ve beaten pretty much every guy in my weight class, so it’s just a matter of me getting it done, going out there and winning the one-point matches.”

Lovrich was ranked third in the preseason MAC rankings among heavyweight wrestlers.

Last season, Lovrich was the only heavyweight wrestler on the team, and as a result had to practice with lighter wrestlers.

“The bottom line is we have better guys for him to work out with than we did last year,” Grant said. “I think we’ve seen bigger improvements with him because of it.”

Also, Grant was looking for Lovrich to be in better shape coming into the season, which Lovrich has done by dropping 15 pounds. Grant feels this will make him a more tenacious and aggressive wrestler.

After finishing second in the 2000 Stevens Point Open, Lovrich wanted to finish first in this year’s Open, which was held Nov. 10. Not only did he accomplish his goal, but he also redeemed himself.

The need for redemption started for Lovrich on Nov. 11, 2000, when he was beaten by University of Wisconsin heavyweight wrestler Justin Staebler in last year’s final. Staebler, who was ranked 20th in the nation going into the tournament, met Lovrich again in this year’s semi-final with Lovrich winning 2-1 in what was viewed as an upset.

“It felt good to know that a year later I was able to beat a guy that had beaten me,” Lovrich said. “I’m getting better all around. It helped my confidence out a lot.”

When Lovrich came to NIU in 1998, he hoped to participate in both football and wrestling. He was a reserve defensive end for the football team in the ‘98 season and also was a redshirt in wrestling.

Realizing that he wasn’t going to be able to do both, Lovrich had to make a decision.

“It was a little bit tough,” Lovrich said. “But my sophomore year I wanted to wrestle. I really enjoyed it, and I just came to the conclusion that I was going to do one or the other.”

Lovrich earned a letter in his only football season. He enjoyed the experience and said it taught him to be disciplined.

In his first wrestling season at NIU, in 1999-2000, Lovrich went 12-10, with one pin and 35 team points. He earned MAC wrestler of the week for winning four of six matches in the Midlands Championships.

Last year, as the only member of the team to compete in every match, Lovrich was 16-16 with three pins.

Lovrich enjoys wrestling for Grant and assistant coaches John Stutzman and Jason Hayes.

“Every morning when we’re lifting, they’re lifting with us,” Lovrich said. “When we’re practicing, they’re in there practicing with us, doing the things that we’re doing.”

Lovrich’s goals before he leaves NIU don’t end at a MAC championship

“I’d like to leave here an All-American,” he said.

Big expectations coming from a big guy.