BLOOMINGTON — Barrington wrestling coach Al Strobl was realistic about the blind draw the IHSA uses at state tournaments.
“It didn’t help us that we had to go against the top-ranked team right off the bat,” Strobl said after the Broncos dropped a 35-20 verdict to Sandburg in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A dual-team state tournament at U.S. Cellular Coliseum on Saturday morning. “(The blind draw) probably worked to our advantage last year and hurt us this year.”
In a rematch of the schools’ semifinal battle last year, the results were the same as Barrington won a series of close matches in the middle portion to seize command.
“Against a team like Sandburg, you have to be at your very best,” said Strobl. “They are going to take advantage of any of your shortcomings.”
The Elite Eight loss snapped the Broncos’ season-long unbeaten streak at 20 matches.
Sandburg, which later lost to Glenbard North in the semifinals, was 27-4 entering its third-place match with Machesney Park Harlem.
Barrington was far from content to be in Bloomington.
In the second match, Ryan Wilt at 189 pounds, the Barrington junior duplicated the Eagles’ match-opening major decision to knot the score at 4-4.
“I went out there as hard as I could,” said Wilt. “There were some close matches that just didn’t go our way.”
In a showdown between state-medalists at heavyweight, Sandburg state runner-up Chris Lopez tipped the Broncos’ Aaron Castagna 4-0.
It was their first prep encounter since the two 285-pounders tangled last year at the same venue.
“In the past I have been able to get my escapes against him,” said Castagna. “But his top game is much better. He ended up fooling me on (the lone takedown).”
Trailing 11-7 after the 103-pound class, Adrian Gonzalez would give the Broncos their final lead with a third-period fall at 112.
“We have been number crunching the whole week,” said Gonzalez. “Everybody needed to get bonus points (in order to win). That was the main focus: to try and get as many bonus points as possible.”
Unfortunately for Barrington, the squad would not garner any more bonus points until Cam Thomson polished off his foe at 160 pounds in the final match.
In what proved to be the defining moment of the dual meet, Sandburg won six consecutive weight classes as part of an unanswered 24-point burst.
“We knew going in that we were going to have our hands full,” Sandburg coach Eric Siebert said. “They were undefeated for a reason. A couple of the matches in the middle went our way, and that made the difference.”
