Mega-successful outing for Round Lake
After losing to Stevenson on Friday night in a North Suburban Conference dual meet, host Round Lake wanted to bounce back strong Saturday in its own megadual meet.
And the Panthers did just that as they opened the day with an impressive 57-19 nonconference victory over St. Viator, before winning twice again for a 3-0 day.
Round Lake (14-5) followed up their win over the Lions (9-11) with a 51-18 victory over Lake Forest (7-9) in the second round, before pulling away from Johnsburg (7-12) in capturing a 45-25 decision.
The Skyhawks went 2-1 with a 51-16 win over Nazareth Academy (3-12), before adding a 51-12 victory over St. Viator. The Lions finished with a 40-16 victory over Clemente, while Lake Forest beat Clemente 41-21 in the first round.
Lake Forest added a 39-12 triumph over Nazareth, while Clemente went 1-2 with a 42-24 win over Nazareth in the second round.
Starting at 132 pounds, Round Lake struggled against Johnsburg most of the way. A pin by 182-pounder Joey Greenhill (21-5) and decision by 195-pounder Ryan McCord gave the Panthers a 24-15 lead. But the Skyhawks got a major decision at 220 and pin at 285 to take a 25-24 edge.
Round Lake was not to be denied in the end as 106-pound sophomore Juan Arteaga (21-5) posted a 10-6 decision to give the Panthers the lead for keeps at 27-25.
Forfeit wins by 113-pound freshman Noah Castillo (18-10) and 120-pounder Sergei Wawryzniak made the score 39-25 to clinch the Panthers victory with only one match left.
Round Lake’s Danny Arteaga (22-4) pinned his 126-pound opponent in 3:39 to account for the final score against the Skyhawks.
Juan Arteaga, Castillo, Wawryzniak, Danny Arteaga, 152-pounder Nick Moore (22-6) and Greenhill (21-5) all picked up three victories for Round Lake. Moore moved up from his normal 145-pound weight class for the meet.
“I felt sluggish at first, but I just needed something to wake me up,” said Moore, who recorded 3 pins after almost missing the meet due to illness. “I was just looking to score off whatever they gave me, and I just wrestled to win.”
Round Lake coach Mike Hruska was happy with his squad’s effort as the Panthers prepare for an even more challenging triple-dual meet next Saturday with Fremd and Crystal Lake South among the teams entered in the field.
“We’re about a month from the postseason so you have to fine-tune yourself, and this is just preparation for them,” Hruska said. “I’m happy for the kids getting three wins. It’s nice to come back after a tough dual meet (Friday) t night.”
St. Viator’s effort was led by 145-pound junior Brandon Suchyta (17-4), who picked up 3 victories, including a 9-7 decision over Round Lake sophomore Dimitri Vityk (15-10).
The Lions also got 3 victories from freshman James Valentino, who had a pin against the Panthers at 285, and an 11-1 major decision against Clemente at 220.
With 9 wins in 2013-14, St. Viator has already won twice as many dual meets this season as the Lions have won in the past five years.
“It was a great end to the day (against Clemente), and we lost some key matches against Round Lake by walking into pins,” said first-year St. Viator coach Jason Churak, whose team trailed Clemente 16-12 after six bouts. “I thought we would have lined up better against Johnsburg, but our lower weights struggled. Our bigger guys really came out and wrestled hard and (Mike) Baxendale moved up to 195 all day and he’s a light 182-pounder.”
Baxendale closed out his day in style as he recorded a pin in just 39 seconds to give the Lions a 24-16 advantage against Clemente.
Valentino’s 11-1 major decision at 220 extended the lead to 28-16 before a forfeit victory by Sean Falbo at 285 clinched the St. Viator team win with a comfortable 34-16 lead and only one match remaining.
St. Viator 126-pounder Tim Cullinan closed out the meet with a pin in 1:59 to send the Lions home on a positive note.