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Grant, Prospect follow the leaders at Barrington

The wrestling teams from Grant and Prospect were within striking distance of tourney-leading Yorkville as the first day of the 24th Moore-Prettyman Invitational came to an Friday night in Barrington.

The North Suburban Conference favorite Bulldogs are currently sitting 1 point ahead of Prospect (92.5-91.50) in fourth place - 17.5 points behind Yorkville (110.00) and also trailing Lyons Township (108) and Lincoln-Way Central (94).

The action resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday with third-round consolation matches, followed by semifinals on the Barrington Fieldhouse floor.

"It was a pretty good day all the way around," said Grant coach Ryan Geist, who will have five semifinal competitors: Christian Kanzler (120), Noah Drabek (132), Cristian Coronado (138), Mike Kouvelis (152) and Jake Resnick (heavyweight).

"With a couple of guys out of our lineup, I wasn't sure coming in just exactly how we would do - but after today, I can't wait to see how things go for us tomorrow," Geist said.

The hopes of those chasing the big trophy hinge on how other teams might fare against the balanced team from Yorkville.

At 220 pounds, for instance, Prospect senior James Ford will meet Will Ferguson of Yorkville in a semifinal.

"Making it to the state tournament for the first time last season really opened my eyes as to what the level of talent and competition is like," said Ford. "It helped me prepare during the off-season for what I hope will be a long postseason run for myself, and of course, our team, which I feel has the potential to even better than we did last year."

The Knights won the Mid-Suburban East and later a regional crown before falling in its dual-team sectional last season.

Prospect's Tanner Strobel (160) and Matt Wroblewski (170) will join Ford in the semis. Strobel's will face top seed Joey Gunther (Libertyville), who came into the tourney as the No. 4-ranked 160-pounder in the state following a sixth-place finish in Champaign last season. Following Gunther's 11-3 major in the second round, Wildcats coach Dale Eggert had this say about the senior: "Joey is poised to have a big year for the team and himself, and in that last match of his, his work rate was so high and the pace and energy he kept up for six minutes just was too much for his opponent."

While nearly all of the top four seeds held form on this first day, one did not. No. 3 Jenner Hecox (Harlem) was stunned by South Elgin junior Zach Crosby (7-4). In the semis, Crosby will meet No. 2 Jake Dudek of Lincoln-Way Central.

"Everyone knows Hecox is a big thrower, but I wasn't going to let it happen with my under-over, and with my experience in Greco I knew I had the confidence to keep him from doing what he does so well," said Crosby, who was a Greco all-American during the off-season after recording 23 wins in his first full season for The Storm and coach Mark Cameron.

Waubonsie Valley junior Max Ihry nearly sprung the surprise of all surprises by taking top seed Josh King (Hinsdale South) into OT before falling to the Hornets' two-time state qualifier 7-5.

"What a great effort from Max against a real athlete," said Waubonsie Valley coach Brad Caldwell. "He had his chances, especially when Josh looked to be hurting (with a knee injury). But credit King for using his skill and athletic ability to hold off Max."

Tyler Caldwell looked sharp during his 6-2 decision over Gabe Mata (Lyons Township) to secure a spot in the semis against top seed Bryan Ditchman of Lincoln-Way Central.

"Both Max and Tyler are lucky to have each other in the room every day - and we're lucky because both are juniors," said coach Caldwell.

Wheaton North, in sixth overall with 88 points, booked Bryce (126) and Dylan Thurston (132) into the semifinals, along with Devin Donovan (152) and Micah Volle (160).

Eric Barone (Crystal Lake South) appears on course to win his first Moore-Prettyman championship after the top seed dominated a pair of opponents to advance into the semis. Last year's fifth-place state finisher next faces Hinsdale South senior Nick Carlson.

The Illinois-bound Barone, rated No. 2 in the state by IllinoisMatmen behind reigning state champ Larry Early (Oak Park-River Forest) cruised with a technical fall in his tourney opener before a 7-2 second-round victory.

"I got in two matches this week before the tournament, and I felt really good both times out today to get me ready for tomorrow," said Barone, who won 41 matches last season and claimed FVC and regional crowns.

Tourney host Barrington, in seventh place with 79 overall points, came into the weekend not a full strength. The Broncos were missing, among others, sophomore Mitch Stathakis, who as a freshman finished sixth at 106 pounds in Champaign.

Barrington senior Julius Smith, a state qualifier along with Stathakis, has so far lived up to his No. 1 seed at 170 pounds, recording a major decision and a pin at 3:02 to earn a semi bout against Juwon Anderson of Stevenson.

"That successful postseason run to get me downstate went a long way toward building my confidence," said Smith, "and I feel like that will carry over into this, my final year of wrestling at Barrington.

Barrington will also have freshmen Markus Hartman (106) and Connor Boundy (145) in the semifinals.

Finals are set to begin at about 3:15 p.m.

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