Lincoln-Way West’s Brandon Bavirsha has grown accustomed to being underestimated.

As a senior with limited varsity experience before this season, Bavirsha has certainly been flying under the radar.

The fact that he’s not even 220 pounds and is competing at heavyweight against some guys nearly 70 pounds bigger than him? Well, that just fits in perfectly with his long-shot story.

“I love being the underdog,” Bavirsha said. “Some of my best matches this year were taking the No. 2-ranked guy to overtime and losing by one point to the No. 5 guy.

“Me getting no recognition is OK. I like that they don’t know what they’re about to face.”

Bavirsha isn’t as much of an unknown anymore after he won the heavyweight title Saturday in the 24-team Illini Classic at Lincoln-Way Central.

Bavirsha (27-8) fought his way through four tight matches and won three of them in overtime, including a 2-1 victory in the finals over Jackson Reilly from Clovis North from California.

This time, Bavirsha was actually in a position he’s unaccustomed to — being the favorite. He earned the top seed for the tournament.

“I knew I was given an amazing chance with the one seed,” he said. “That’s one of the first times I’ve had that where usually I’m having to come out and face the best kid in the bracket in the first round.

“I had that earlier in the year where I had to face (third-ranked Mateusz Nycz) from Marmion in the first round and I got pinned in the first round. But now, I just fight no matter what and I’ve gotten myself in a position to get a good seed at a tournament like this.”

Early last winter, Bavirsha won a challenge match at practice to take the 215-pound spot on varsity but he was in and out of the lineup until he suffered a back injury in the middle of the season. When he returned, he spent the rest of the time on the junior varsity team.

“There was a lot of hunger coming into this year,” he said. “I worked on getting bigger and stronger. I’m still not much bigger. I weighed in at 215 (Saturday), but I’ve learned how to wrestle these heavier guys.”

Lincoln-Way West coach Brian Glynn said Bavirsha’s intelligence on the mat allows him to craft a winning strategy.

“He’s a smart wrestler and a hard worker, but the season he’s had has gone way past the anticipation of how good I thought he’d be,” Glynn said. “And he’s still getting better.

“He could be on the podium (at state), there’s no doubt.”

Senior 215-pounder Nate Elstner, who’s ranked No. 10 in Class 3A by Illinois Matmen, finished second Saturday. He’s had an up-close view of improvements made by Bavirsha, his practice partner.

“It’s awesome to see,” Elstner said. “It’s always good to see those types of guys who have been working hard in the room for three years and who might not have been seeing the lights a lot now get their shot.

“He works out with me every morning before school. It’s really starting to pay off for him, and I’m proud of him for that.”

Bavirsha, who also was a tight end and fullback for the Warriors in football, did not wrestle growing up and planned to play basketball in high school.

He did not make the freshman basketball team, which has worked out for him in the long run.

“After I tried out for basketball and failed, coach Glynn begged me to death to wrestle,” Bavirsha said. “I had tried it in fifth grade and it didn’t last long. I thought, ‘This sucks. I don’t ever want to do this in my life.’ But coach Glynn convinced me.”

And now, Bavirsha is an Illini Classic champion.

“Not a single person believed in me from the start of the season until now,” he said. “It feels absolutely amazing to prove everyone wrong.”