Decorated IHSA Official Don Mekeel made history this year when he stepped onto the mat to officiate his 13th total IHSA Wrestling State Final at the State Farm Center in Champaign. While few officials have officiated more combined individual and dual team wrestling state tournaments than Don, the historic element came in the fact that his son Ryan was also on the whistle just a few mats over.

Don, a native of Sterling, and Ryan, now working out of Chicago, became the first father-son tandem to officiate the IHSA Individual Wrestling State Finals in the same year. Following Saturday’s state championship matches, they took a moment to reflect on the historic moment: