Wrestling: Scouting the Fox Valley
BartlettCoach: John O'Brien (3rd year).
Conference: Upstate Eight Valley
Last season: 14-9-0.
Graduation losses: Anthony Zipparro (132, 29 wins, Purdue University), Ben Wiley (220, regional champ, sectional qualifier, 35 wins, playing football at North Central College), Nathan Baer (285, playing football at North Central College), Ryan Hennessey (145, 22 wins), Joey DiSanti (195, 18 wins), Alec Delgado (138, sectional qualifier, 21 wins), Jon Cruz (120, 16 wins), Kolin Steele (182, Nathan Dary.
Key returnees: Seniors Sam Valenzia (113, 13 wins), Devin Scrivner (145, 11 wins), Jordan Bickelhaupt (152, 8 wins); juniors Josh Fernandez (106), Jake Cannata (170), Alex Montbriand (182, 20 wins).
New faces to watch: Senior Antonio Rodrigues (190); junior Dan Flores (113); sophomore Brad Wozniak (126).
Outlook: The Hawks lost over 160 wins to graduation, while returning just 77, making John O'Briens' job a little more of a challenge this season. "We've lost a lot of very good wrestlers during the past two years, and with the addition of West Aurora and Glenbard East to our conference, things won't get any easier for all of us, but in the end, I still expect us to be a part of an extremely close conference tournament when it's all said and done," said O'Brien, who led the Hawks to back-to-back 14 win seasons with just a handful of sectional qualifiers in his lineup. Bartlett will clearly miss three-year veteran Zipparro as well as Wiley, whose breakout year, brought him this close to an appearance in Champaign.
Burlington Central Coach: Vince Govea (3rd year).
Conference: Big Northern East
Last season: 11-14-0 (4-1-0).
Graduation losses: None.
Key returnees: Seniors Christian Quiles (160, 15 wins), Kyle Blankenburg (182, 14 wins), Matt Overstreet (220, 11 wins); juniors Nick Maldonaldo (126, sectional qualifier, 18 wins), Brandon Spinato (138, 11 wins), Adam Mengel (132, 13 wins), Ray Coklan (152, 13 wins), TJ Titock (170, 16 wins); sophomore Bret Lopez (285, 9 wins).
New faces to watch: Junior Ray Rushing (138, transfer from St. Charles North); freshman Austin Macias (106).
Outlook: It's taken awhile, but Vince Govea's club is finally on the front foot after his program went through some growing pains during his first two seasons in charge of the Rockets. "We took our lumps with so many young guys in our lineup in my first two years here, but it appears it's finally paying off for us," says an optimistic Govea, who welcomed back his entire starting lineup from 2013, including his lone sectional qualifier (Maldonado) and his teammate Coklan, who was one win away from placing at the frosh/soph state tourney. "Nick looks like he's ready to make a big jump forward, as is (Coklan) and it appears we have a real legit talent at 106 (Macias) who was a qualifier at Fargo, and has already shown he can be a leader in the room." The Rockets' season opening victory over Dundee-Crown avenged a blowout loss to the Chargers at this time last November to jump-start what hopes to be a highly successful campaign.
Cary-GroveCoach: Ryan Ludwig (4th year).
Conference: Fox Valley
Last season: 3rd FVC tourney.
Graduation losses: Logan Hanselmann (126, FVC champ, state qualifier, 34 wins, wrestling at UW-Whitewater), Josh Dermont (170, sectional qualifier, 30 wins), Matt Hughes (152, 21 wins), Emerson Kersten (160, 21 wins).
Key returnees: Seniors Michael Cullen (126, 3-time state place winner, 3-time FVC, regional champ), Michael Gomez (285, regional champ, 29 wins), Dale Charlier (138,145, 18 wins), Michael Altendorf (138,145); juniors John Cullen (138, state qualifier, 32 wins), Sean Cullen (132, 15 wins), Grant Glueck (145,152, 12 wins).
New faces to watch: Freshmen Adam Pinter (106), Nick Gerstbrien (106), Cadin Koeppel (170).
Outlook: You won't see the real Trojans until the Dvorak in late December when Ryan Ludwig gets his club back in form after the return of several players from the football team that lost in the Class 7A state football title game. "We're excited and proud of the young men who were part of that football team, and we know it will take some time for all of them when they get back but when they do, we feel like we have a very good season ahead of us, both in the FVC, and around the state," Ludwig said. It obviously begins with the Trojans' top man, Michael Cullen, who recently committed to attend and compete at Wisconsin, and there's no reason why the three-time state medalist cannot take a big trophy with him when he travels to Madison next fall. John and Sean Cullen are terrific compliments to their big brother, particularly John, who had a marvelous sophomore campaign last winter. If you're looking for a breakout star this season, look no further than heavyweight Michael Gomez. An unfortunate injury robbed the Trojans' big man of a trip downstate, but the senior may be the best at his trade in and around the area come season's end.
Crystal Lake SouthCoach: Ross Ryan (8th year).
Conference: Fox Valley
Last season: 15-7-0 (6-0-0).
Graduation losses: Nick Gil (two-time state medalist, three-time state qualifier, three-time FVC champ, 44 wins, Navy), Brian Pence (195, state qualifier, FVC, regional champ, 27 wins, Lindenwood University), Casey Callahan (152, two-time sectional qualifier, FVC champ, 30 wins, UW-Whitewater).
Key returnees: Seniors Eric Barone (145, two-time state qualifier, 2014 state medalist, two-time FVC champ, regional champ, 41 wins), Garrett Dziedzic (132, 32 wins), Roland Gastfield (220, 23 wins); juniors Ethan Weinandy (160), Frank Woods (138); sophomore Dan Castablanco (126).
New faces to watch: Buddy Gabric (285), Joey Reiss (113), Bubba Garbric (195), Joel Bennett (106), Justin Kanter (152).
Outlook: It will be strange not to see Nick Gil checking into the scorer's table prior to putting away one of his 150-plus victims during a brilliant four-year career for the Gators, but coach Ross Ryan and his staff had to finally wave goodbye to one of the classiest, and most respected wrestlers in the state when Gil moved onto Navy this fall. "There is absolutely no way you replace a young man like Nick, we won't even try. But you move on with what you have, and fortunately, we have someone like Eric Barone, who took his lead from Nick, and will be the guy who leads by example, in and out of the room, so we're very lucky to have him for one more year," said the Gators' head coach. The Illinois-bound Barone is capable of winning a state title in late February, and his killer-attack attitude will enable him to be a favorite to do so as the postseason draws closer. His teammate Dziedzic has grown leaps and bounds during the offseason, and his chances to get back downstate, and medal, appear to have increased thanks to his offseason work rate.
Dundee-CrownCoach: Matt Wahl (1st year).
Conference: Fox Valley
Last season: 21-4-0
Graduation losses: Jeremy Marshall (285, state qualifier, FVC, regional champ, 42 wins), Christian Johnson (220, sectional qualifier, 29 wins, NIU), Tim Schanmier (152, sectional qualifier, 36 wins), Martell Thompson (138), Elijah Velez (145).
Key returnees: Seniors Christian Brunner (182, state runner-up, FVC, regional champ, 46 wins), Armando Gutierrez (160, sectional qualifier, 21 wins), Jarrod Rapp (170, sectional qualifier, 31 wins), Diamond Flynn (106, 26 wins), Adam Gutierrez (126, 18 wins).
New faces to watch: Seniors Brett Peters (220), Taborist Robinson (138); junior Christian Rodriguez (285); sophomore Quinton Willingham (113).
Outlook: A sparkling 2013-14 season rekindled the Chargers' historic run to a fourth-place state trophy in 2004 when Wahl starred for D-C Hall of Fame coach Al Zinke with 40 victories, and a trip downstate during his senior year. "That was a memorable season to be a part of, and although we've had a few good years since then, last year's wins (21) was our best in a long time, and one to be proud of," admits Wahl, who was Robert Skillman's lead assistant before taking over this winter. During his brief three years in charge, Skillman turned around a struggling D-C program, and with the help of its new head coach set the table for a serious run at a division title, and later, Christian Brunner's brilliant run to a second-place state medal. "We lost a number of very good seniors, but we're coming back with (3) sectional qualifiers, and a solid JV team which will now get their chance," Wahl said. "It will be a tough group to replace, but guys like Gutierrez, Rapp and Flynn appear ready to make that big jump forward, just as Brunner did a year ago."
ElginCoach: Jordon Bakley (1st year).
Conference: Upstate Eight River
Last season: 6-12-0 (1-4-0).
Graduation losses: Zach McCullough (120, two-time sectional qualifier, 28 wins, wrestling at Harper JC), Abel Barraza (220, 18 wins), Isaac Shennum (195, 14 wins).
Key returnees: Seniors Matt Gedritis (182, 18 wins), Nate Romero (132, sectional qualifier, 24 wins), Victor Balcazar (120), Ariel Barraza (220).
New faces to watch: Senior Dan Easter (120); juniors Ricardo Alba (195), Ricardo Gonzalez (285).
Outlook: The Maroons came back from nowhere under coach Tom Stewart two seasons ago, but heavy graduation losses and transfers stretched the depth of the big club to its limits, ending in a six-win season last winter, after an even dozen the year before. With plenty of coaching experience on the youth level, all the way up to college, Jordon Bakley takes over this season, bringing his varied expertise, with the hope of turning things back around. "Our main goal as a team this year is to improve our dual-team record, and to get closer to a team regional championship," says Bakley. "The biggest strength is the guys' work ethic, led by Matt and Nate and it's their great attitude, along with the other returning seniors who will set the example of how to perform on the mats, and in the classroom as well." Co-captain Gedritis was one win from advancing to sectionals, as was Ariel Barraza. Romero, a three-year veteran, was fourth at the UEC tourney.
LarkinCoach: Steve Hoyt (3rd year).
Conference: Upstate Eight River.
Last season: 11-11-0 (4-3-0).
Graduation losses: Duke Bogicevic (state qualifier, UEC champ, 37 wins, wrestling at Harper JC), Alex Duran (160, sectional qualifier, 26 wins, playing rugby at St. Mary's (CA)), Pierre Stanford (106, 10 wins), Edgar Trejo (113, 10 wins), Dan Horist (160), Victor Cuevas (170, 13 wins), Bonifacio Lara (182, 13 wins), Victor Young.
Key returnees: Seniors Jacob Quintanilla (132, 13 wins), Ramon Vargas III (182, 9 wins); juniors Leo Martinez (152, 13 wins), Luis Guadarrama (120,126); sophomore Hector Perez (160,170).
New faces to watch: Junior Aaron Marshall (220); sophomores Hugo Barraza (120,126), Kevin Villabos (113), Jorge Martin (106), Terrence Dyson (285).
Outlook: Royals' coach Steve Hoyt did a magnificent job to turn around the program from just three wins two years ago, to 11 last season, which included a memorable run from Duke Bogicevic, who two weeks after winning a UEC title advanced into the state tournament, the first for the Royals since 2012. "That was quite an accomplishment for Duke, and our program, and it really said a lot about a guy who only started to wrestle as a freshman," said Hoyt. "This year we clearly do not have that go-to workhorse in our room like Duke, and we're a little light in leadership and experience (Royals lost nearly 125 victories to graduation) especially with he and Alex Duran gone. But overall, we'll be a stronger team in the end after some of our new guys get some experience in the first half of the season."
Harvest Christian Academy
Coach: David Lockwood (1st year).
Conference: Northeastern Athletic.
Key returnees: Sophomores Ricky Lattanzio (119, 8 wins, conference champ, 4th at regionals), Matt Hannan (132.
New faces to watch: Freshmen Trevor Tellschow (132), Dominick Olech (138).
Outlook: The Lions spent last season getting their feet wet in and around the area in anticipation of jumping into the Northeastern Athletic Conference to compete for the first time, and head coach David Lockwood feels he has the right mix on his club to have a good showing when HCA plays for real this winter. "We have eight wrestlers, many first-timers, but all with a lot of potential and energy, so the focus will be on fundamentals first, then the rest will fall into place. We have two guys (Lattanzio and Hannan) who have the skill to help put us on the wrestling map, and hopefully the others will follow," Lockwood said. Hannan's season ended abruptly last year with a shoulder separation, but the former IKWF state qualifier has been pronounced ready to go for the Lions' season opener.
HampshireCoach: Terry Wilkinson (7th year).
Conference: Fox Valley
Last season: 14-11-0 (2-5-0).
Graduation losses: Omar Perez (126, sectional qualifier, 10 wins).
Key returnees: Seniors Anton Krocko (170, two-time state qualifier, 36 wins); juniors Kyle Szlenk (120, state qualifier, FVC champ, sectional qualifier, 36 wins), Wylie Allen (138, state qualifier, 27 wins), John Jimenez (285, sectional qualifier, 16 wins); sophomores Jake Szlenk (113, sectional qualifier, 33 wins), Max McGowan (145, 13 wins).
New faces to watch: Senior Mason Fleury (182); freshmen Casey Allen (126), Christian Puente (120).
Outlook: The Whip-Purs can line up with just about any opponent at the lower weights with the trio of the Szlenk brothers, plus Allen and when you throw in the two-time state qualifier Krocko at the other end, head coach Terry Wilkinson has a formidable group to take in and away from the FVC this season. "Years of wrestling young kids is beginning to pay off as we finally have experience with our upperclassmen this year, coupled with some real talent from a strong core coming back," Wilkinson said. The Whips' head coach knows he can count on another 100 victories from the state qualifying trio of Krocko, Kyle Szlenk and Allen, and it now appears Jake Szlenk, Jimenez and McGowan, all national team members during the offseason, are each ready to make a big step forward.
HuntleyCoach: BJ Bertelsman (4th year).
Conference: Fox Valley
Last season: 20-4-0.
Graduation losses: Nick Meyer (113, two-time sectional qualifier, 32 wins, wrestling at University of Dubuque), Matt Kitsis (145, sectional qualifier, 26 wins, wrestling, and playing soccer at Harper JC), Trevor Symbal (152, 22 wins, playing baseball at Milwaukee School of Engineering), Austin Schofield, (160, 16 wins), Nate Urban (120, 14 wins), Mark Caridai, Chris Jaggers.
Key returnees: Seniors Ricky Vigil (132, state qualifier, regional champ, 32 wins), Chris Gamboa (138, 27 wins), Brandon Meyer (145, sectional qualifier, regional champ, 33 wins), Mike Walker (195, 220, sectional qualifier, 19 wins); sophomore Josh Stenger (106, 113, sectional qualifier, 32 wins).
New faces to watch: Senior CJ Darby (170, 182); junior James Gaynor (152); sophomores Joey Armijo (106), Riley Brands (126); freshmen Zach Spencer (106), Juan Quiroz (120), Brad Zibilski (152).
Outlook: Huntley is off and running by going 5-0 in the first week of the season, fueled by the considerable talents of the foursome of Stenger, Vigil, Gamboa and Meyer, who went a combined 18-1 during that time to hopefully set the tone for another record-setting year under head coach BJ Bertelsman. "We're going to be tough from (106 through 145) but some of our young guys will have to step up because of the lack of big guys after losing three heavyweights due to transfer, early graduation and injuries," says Bertelsman, who has turned the program into one of the best in the FVC, while leading the Red Raiders to a sparkling 52-15 record over the last three seasons. Never one to shy away from quality tournament opponents, Bertelsman added a trip to the prestigious Granite City Invite during the holiday break to get a first hand look at Class 2A power Washington, among others, and the chance for the aforementioned quartet (all state-ranked) to measure their talents on the eve of what promises to be a most exciting and successful second half of the season.
JacobsCoach: Gary Conrad (3rd year).
Conference: Fox Valley
Last season: 12-7-0.
Graduation losses: Mark Mamola (220, FVC champ, sectional qualifier, 36 wins), Charles Goins (182, 19 wins).
Key returnees: Seniors Cody Ferencz (120, two-time sectional qualifier, 33 wins), Michael Ricks (170, 25 wins), Cason Shoemaker (285); juniors Chris Dranka (132, sectional qualifier, 28 wins), Jacob Orth (152), Dean Lane (145, 12 wins); sophomores Beau Harrier (113, 26 wins), David Dudych (126, 16 wins), Jacob Sabella (138, sectional qualifier, 21 wins).
New faces to watch: Sophomore Michael Bujacz (182); freshman Tyler Lane (106).
Outlook: The Golden Eagles broke out of the gate with a 4-0 record, and third-place finish at the high profile Hruska Classic fueled by a lower weight unit most in the area envy for its attacking power, plus potential of bigger and better things ahead. "Through 145 we're going to be a handful on most nights," admits Conrad, who slowly has turned the program around from an easy out during weekday FVC duals. "We've got some spots we still have to sort out, and when we get everyone back at the top of our lineup, I think we're going to be in good shape to make a run at the division title." At the heart of the Jacobs offense and strength is the duo of Ferencz and Dranka, both one win away from going downstate, who along with Harrier and Dudyich are tenacious, and capable of giving their team plenty bonus points with majors and pins against the competition.
South ElginCoach: Mark Cameron (10th year).
Conference: Upstate Eight Valley
Last season: 7-15-0
Graduation losses: Diego Gonzalez (285, sectional qualifier, 25 wins), Raustin Lucas (220, sectional qualifier, 18 wins), Tyler VonEssen (120, 21 wins), Alex Garduno (132, 15 wins), Ben Abraham (182, 15 wins), Mike Wetherton (195, 15 wins).
Key returnees: Seniors Josh Menendez (138, 19 wins), Grant Saldivar (160, 22 wins); juniors Izzy Villareal (106, 25 wins), Mikey Perez (132, sectional qualifier, 27 wins), Zack Crosby (182, sectional qualifier, 23 wins), Nikiel Williby (145, 13 wins).
New faces to watch: Senior Matt Cravins (285).
Outlook: The Storm have struggled with depth and inexperience during the past two seasons, but coach Mark Cameron is about to reap the benefits of staying the course of his rebuilding project. "We were so young last year, and with a tournament schedule that really tested that youth, you sometimes don't see the progress in the guys until the end, when we put four into the sectionals, and others who showed well in the regionals where we had another four one win away from advancing," Cameron said. "We have a very good core to build from this year, and when they finally open up a bit, we'll be that much better, and hopefully ready for a run in February." The experience and talent from the Perez-Crosby duo is a big asset to the club's chances in the postseason, as each appear on the cusp of something special.
StreamwoodCoach: Bill Peach (10th year).
Conference: Upstate Eight River.
Last season: 1-10-0.
Graduation losses: Alex Rader (285, UEC champ, sectional qualifier, 27 wins, Harper JC.)
Key returnees: Juniors Sunny You (126), Jeremy Gumila (132), Charles Crumlett (138), Emilio Lopez (160), Tae Raetz (170); sophomore Jordan Ryan (220).
New faces to watch: Senior David Villareal (152); sophomores Andrew Luna (106), Juan Ramirez (113), Arin Klimek (285).
Outlook: Sabres' coach Bill Peach knows that he cannot replace Alex Rader, but the head coach figures he has a nice returning group of now seasoned veterans who performed well during the Sabres' rebuilding year last winter. "For the first time in awhile, we have seven wrestlers back with us with plenty of varsity experience to build a solid team going forward, and although we still will be a work in progress, I feel like in the end, there will be several individuals here who will taste and enjoy success before it's over," offered Peach. Rader, the Sabres' pride and joy after earning the first UEC title for the program since 2004, leaves a big hole at heavyweight for the club, in addition to the nearly 30 wins the big man collected. Peach figures to lean on the duo of You and Gumila, who each are capable of 20-plus wins, while expecting the other five returnees to double their win total along the way.