Coach Tim Cysewski's 2007 recruiting class featured a trio of high school All-Americans. One was the top prospect in Illinois; another was the best prep heavyweight in the nation. But the one addition that received easily the least attention is the one making the greatest impact.
Adil Kolovic, 23, spent last year as a volunteer assistant at his old high school, Niles West, in Chicago. Before that, Kolovic wrestled at Division III Elmhurst College, serving as captain his senior year.
But with one year of NCAA eligibility remaining and an accepted application into Northwestern's applied mathematics graduate school, Kolovic seized an opportunity to compete at the Division I level.
After initiating contact with Cysewski last July, Kolovic reached an agreement to join the team and compete for the 184-pound weight slot vacated by former national champion Jake Herbert, who is redshirting to prepare for this summer's Olympics in Beijing. Herbert plans to be back next year, but by that time Kolovic will have exhausted his eligibility.
"I just wanted to give wrestling another shot, whether I got to compete as a starter or not," Kolovic said. "Definitely once I found out (Herbert) was redshirting, it did help the decision (to come to NU)."
Kolovic won his first Division I match in his first dual meet, on Nov. 30 against Northern Illinois, and he made an equally seamless transition fitting into a close-knit team with a variety of personalities.
"He's been contributing all year, which is great, and he's been a very pleasant surprise," Cysewski said. "He's fit right in - it's like he's been here four years already. It's been an easy transition for him, even though he's been in grad school."
Added senior 174-pounder Nick Hayes: "His personality, his wrestling skills, he brings in a lot of stuff in the room that we're just not used to seeing, coming from a different school.
"Every team has a specific style, and his style gives us different looks and shows us stuff that we're not used to seeing, and it's good for everybody."
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