Wheaton Warrenville South junior Zach Turner was named the DuKane Conference's Outstanding Defensive Lineman, headlining a sweep of individual defensive awards for the Tigers.
Turner earned first-team all-conference honors at defensive line along with the conference's top individual award for his position, according to Shaw Local's all-conference report. He was one of three WW South players to claim a named defensive award.
Senior Clark Jensen was selected as the DuKane's Defensive Team Captain. Sophomore Drew Maletich took home the Outstanding Specialist honor. WW South was the only school in the conference to claim multiple individual awards on the defensive side of the ball.
The Tigers loaded the first-team defensive roster beyond the award winners. Junior Cole Elste and senior Chris Riggs joined Turner on the first-team defensive line, giving WW South three of the eight all-conference defensive linemen. Jensen made the first team at linebacker, Eric Hecker at defensive back and Maletich at specialist.
Six first-team defensive picks. That total gave WW South the largest defensive contingent of any DuKane school.
The Daily Herald's all-conference listing confirmed the same selections and individual awards.
WW South's presence extended to the offensive all-conference team. Junior AJ Rogers and junior Blake Ittersagen earned offensive recognition, giving the Tigers representation on both sides of the ball.
Turner is a junior, meaning the Outstanding Defensive Lineman award winner has at least one more season of eligibility with the Tigers. Elste and Ittersagen are also juniors, joining Rogers as underclassmen who earned all-conference nods.
Jensen, Riggs and Hecker are seniors. Their departures after this season will leave Turner, Elste and the returning underclassmen to anchor the WW South defense in 2027.
Across both sides of the ball, WW South placed at least eight players on the DuKane all-conference team and claimed three of the conference's individual defensive honors.
