Harper wrestlers seek second straight national championship
The Harper wrestlers are hoping for a smash-hit remake of the story, “How the West Was Won.”
Traveling to Spokane, Wash., the fifth-ranked Hawks are seeking to successfully defend their 2010 NJCAA national championship today and Saturday at the Spokane Convention Center.
“We’re always been ready to go at this time of year,” said Hawks coach Dan Loprieno, whose main concern is complacency. “I am hoping the kids are not satisfied (being at nationals).”
The tournament is hosted by North Idaho College, ranked second in the latest NJCAA poll.
“Rankings are only as good as the paper they’re written on,” Loprieno said. “We are ready. I am still very optimistic. If we go out there and wrestle well, we will be in the hunt.”
The Hawks qualified eight of their 10 starters for the tournament.
The key for the Hawks will be to earn points in every match.
“What you need to win the national title is everybody needs to go score points,” Loprieno said. “Most of these tournaments are won in the wrestlebacks. The guys that are mentally tough are going to win.”
Wrestling fans can find the tournament brackets on the NJCAA website: nic.edu/athletics/wrestlingNationals/
“I think we got a couple of good draws,” said Loprino, who cited Arber Bebo (Addison Trail) as one of the wrestlers that will benefit most from the draw. “I’m hoping a little bit of magic from last year is still in us.”
Harper women defeated:
The third-seeded Harper women’s basketball team rallied from 15 points behind in the second half, but eventual fell 59-51 to second-seeded Joliet in the NJCAA Region IV Division III semifinals at Rock Valley in Rockford on Thursday.
Joliet (16-15) advanced to meet top-seeded Rock Valley (24-7), a 72-47 winner over No. 5 DuPage (15-16), on Saturday at 5:15 p.m.
A 10-2 run that featured 8 straight points from Schaumburg grad Sarah Kellermeyer (team-high 14 points) brought Harper to within 48-43 with 4:39 to play. The Hawks’ Larissa Aguero added 12 points, Siobhan Cerney scored 11 and Anna Kirchoff had 10. Crystal Daniels led Joliet with 17 points.