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After more than three decades of being a part of the Bellwood wrestling program, Mr. Tim Andrekovich has stepped down from his position.

His resignation was made official at the board meeting on Tuesday.

“I’m nearing the end of my teaching career and I’m starting to scale back on things that I’m involved with,” explained Andrekovich.

As head coach of the Bellwood wrestling program for the past four seasons, Andrekovich accumulated 23 wins, 17 of them in the past two years, leading the team to a record of 12-6 finish during the 2019-2020 season, with four competitors (Dominic Caracciolo, Aiden and Alex Taylor, and District 6 runner-up Evan Pellegrine) qualifying for regionals and three competitors qualifying for states (Trentin Whaley, Evan Pellegrine, and Alex Taylor).

“Our two trips to regionals and states were a lot of fun,” said Andrekovich. “Getting to go to Hershey with Tretin, Evan, and Alex was really special.”

This past winter in the COVID-19-shortened 2020-2021 season, he lead the team to a record of 5-6. Senior Alex Taylor went undefeated (9-0) before missing the remainder of the season due to concussion protocol, and his brother, Aiden Taylor, also a senior, finished 14-2, placed fourth in the District 6 meet, and came up a win shy of qualifying for regionals.

All in all, Andrekovich enjoyed his time within the program. “Working with the wrestlers and seeing their growth throughout the season and over the course of their high school career was great. handing out a medal at a tournament when one of our guys made it to the podium was also special.”

However, Andrekovich won’t be completely disappearing from the program.

“I’ll be there to support and recruit kids to wrestle and help with the transition with the next coach,” said Andrekovich. “There are a lot of things to do as a head coach besides just showing up for practice and the matches. I’ll do what I can to help the next coach and the program.”