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Justen Lehr has seen a lot in his coaching career. He’s coached numerous state champions at Crystal Lake Central and led the Tigers down to the dual team state tournament multiple times.
But this year’s Tigers group managed to add a new highlight to his career. Central pulled out gritty performances throughout the season. None were more important than in the postseason.
The Tigers went 11-1 in placement matches at the Class 2A Antioch Regional to come back late and win the regional crown. Central then held on against Wheeling in a tough road environment at the Class 2A Dual Team Wheeling Sectional to win and advance to dual team state for the first time since 2017.
The group went on to lose to Mahomet-Seymour in the quarterfinals. It was the program’s eighth trip to state, all under Lehr.
Lehr admitted this season’s team wasn’t his most talented. But each wrestler stepped up in key moment when it mattered the most.
For his leadership, Lehr was named the Northwest Herald Wrestling Coach of the Year, as selected by the sports staff. It is the fourth time Lehr has won the honor. Marian Central’s Jordan Blanton and Ryan Prater, Richmond-Burton’s Tony Nelson and Huntley’s BJ Bertelsman also were considered for the honor.
Lehr spoke with sports reporter Michal Dwojak about what he’ll remember from this season, who made him laugh the most and why he got into coaching. Answers have been edited for length.
Which team accomplishment were you most proud of this season?
Lehr: One of my favorite moments was our last regional round where we went 11-1 in our placement matches at regionals. We were down and were losing to a really good Antioch team who qualified more guys for state than us. We started off, Payton Ramsey got a big win against a really good kid for third, and then we went on a run and ended up winning three matches we were losing in by fall. So it’s probably one of my favorite moments I’ve had as a coach. It wasn’t maybe my best team, but to put together a run like that to win the regional going 11-1 in those matches, that’s not usual.
What did it mean for the program to get back to state?
Lehr: My high school coach used to call them the old heads, the people that graduate, move away and talk about you on the barstool. I think there’s enough guys that we have a pretty solid community with those guys that come back and watch and support us. As much as it meant a lot for them, I think it meant a lot for [our guys] to prove that they were on the same level as some of those guys. I was just laughing with one of my friends who’s a head coach, too, people say crazy stuff like “the standard is the standard.” I don’t even know what that means. But I think we’ve had a run, at least to this point, where that kind of is what we aim for and that is our bar.
Was there a moment this season where you thought your team could accomplish something special?
Lehr: If you ask anybody, any good team, your senior leadership has to be good. I think that made a massive difference this year for us. But I also think we had a couple team moments. We beat Richmond-Burton in a dual, and they were ranked fourth in Class 1A and we were ranked seventh, eight in 2A, not that any of the rankings matter. But that’s a good dual, and we ended up beating them in the last match. It was one of our kids that wasn’t one of our studs that came through and beat a former state qualifier for them. It was that moment where it’s like, “Hey, I think we got it.” Some of these guys are going to step up, and that was a moment where it’s like, hey, one of our guys, a sophomore, got beat up a little bit as a freshman in the lineup last year, stepped up and got us a big win. Where normally it’s like, hey, we’re counting on Cayden Parks, Tommy McNeil, Tommy Tomasello, all those seniors, to get those big wins for us. I think that’s where you see a flip.
Which one wrestler did you find most inspiring this season?
Lehr: Everybody kind of did their job and got us where we needed to be. We got significant wins out of guys when we needed it. It obviously didn’t work out well for us downstate. The draw was tough. Momentum is a killer in wrestling. ... I think that’s the good teams, right? I can’t tell you one person, because that’s why you’re good. Everybody stepped up and did something significant.
What got you into coaching?
Lehr: I probably looked around and thought, geez, what could I be good at? I didn’t see much out there for me except coaching. I had such a good experience growing up in Harvard with all my coaches, whether it was youth, whether it was my high school coaches. I wasn’t necessarily going to be a teacher, but then my junior year, my [wrestling] head coach was my head coach for three varsity sports. At the end of the season, he made a comment and said, basically, “I don’t want to talk. If you see me at the grocery store, don’t look at me. Don’t talk to me after baseball. I just need to not see you for a couple weeks.” We were good and really tight. It was just one of those funny things where it’s like, man, to have the ability to have a relationship with kids like that and help people out. Then I was like, I think that’s what I want to do.
What are your three favorite movies?
Lehr: I’m a big movie guy. That’s a hard question. “The Big Lebowski, ”Office Space" and “Lords of Dogtown.”
What is one thing that people don’t know about you?
Lehr: I think most everybody knows everything about me. I’ll share with anyone, whether they want to hear it or not. I was a nerd growing up. I don’t mean that in an offensive way, but I used to do magic tournaments and play “Dungeons and Dragons” and was a big video game guy, even though I was a big sports guy, too. So comic books, all that stuff.
What would you say is your most prized possession?
Lehr: I got a lot of cool stuff. I lost my grandpa and my grandma within the last couple years. My grandpa, I was very close with him, he was a large animal veterinarian in Harvard, and I grew up hunting and stuff with him and working for him. His shotgun that I have in my basement was the only gun he ever used, last gun he used to kill his last buck. I didn’t really want a lot from the house. My dad let me have it, and that’s honestly one of my my favorite possessions, because it was with him so many times. Some of my best memories growing up was hunting with my dad, my grandpa. It’s really cool.
Which wrestler would you say made you laugh the most this year?
Lehr: We’ve got so many funny kids. Jackson Marlett, we used to do a thing where he’d let him do vocabulary, we call him Marlett Mondays, where he’d start off and teach kids a vocab word. But one day at practice we were talking about him and someone busted him out, and he’s like, ‘You know, I do be doing that.’ Anytime something would happen or somebody would get called out, that’s what they would say.
What are you looking forward to next season?
Lehr: I’m excited. I think we’ve got some kids that are sophomores or younger kids that are really invested. We have a very good group of freshmen I think that are in the next three years are going to be very good for us, hardworking, want to learn the sport. So that’s exciting for me.