Wrestling: Stevenson jumps out to an NSC Lake win

Visiting Stevenson couldn't have asked for a much better start to its North Suburban Conference wrestling season Thursday night at Mundelein.

Starting at 170 pounds, the Patriots (3-0, 1-0) quickly jumped ahead of their long-time rivals 15-0 after three matches and they never looked back after that point in rolling to an impressive 51-14 NSC Lake Division victory over the Mustangs.

Mundelein (0-4, 0-1) fell behind 6-0 when Stevenson senior Juwon Anderson recorded a pin in 5:24.

Then 182-pound junior Michael Kordek posted a 7-1 decision over Alex Edmonds before 195-pound teammate Tyler Harrington (7-0) won by forfeit to stake Stevenson to that early 15-point lead.

The Mustangs got on the scoreboard when 220-pound junior Cesar Obispo (4-0) captured a 5-1 decision over Stevenson's Zach Horwitz, who was a sectional qualifier last season.

Then came another forfeit victory for the Pats as heavyweight Nick Grujanac's win boosted the lead to 21-6.

Mundelein did have quite a few bright spots in its young lineup as 106-pound freshman Dane Durlacher got a late third-period escape to pull out a 3-2 decision over Stevenson junior Alec Nolan.

Durlacher is the son of former Buffalo Grove coach and state placewinner Dave Durlacher, who is now an assistant coach on Mundelein's staff.

Dane's late uncle, Lindsey, was an IHSA state champion for Buffalo Grove in 1992 and he went on to star at the University of Illinois and beyond as he was a two-time all-American for the Fighting Illini before winning numerous medals in international competitions.

After Durlacher's hard-fought win, the Pats got their own gritty victory as sophomore Orkton Otgonbataar posted a 7-4 decision over Mundelein's Noah Morton at 113.

Mundelein 120-pound junior Alec Riportella kept the Mustangs' hopes alive as his technical fall in 4:12 cut the lead to 24-11.

But that was as close as the Mustangs would get the rest of the way as a 13-2 decision by Stevenson's Eric Carter at 126 boosted the lead to 28-11 with five matches remaining.

"They (Stevenson) are a very good team and we battled hard, but we're in a little bit of a rebuilding phase," said Mundelein coach Vinny Jiuditta. "Shane (Cook) coaches them really well, they do a lot of fundamentals right, and they should be a contender for their division and conference."

The Patriots kept rolling after Carter's win as a technical fall by 132-pounder Ben Ponto in 4:55, a pin by 138-pounder by Evan Rodriguez in 43 seconds, and a pin by 145-pounder Nathan Reinsdorf in 5:37 extended the lead to 45-11.

"We were thrilled with how we performed tonight and our technique is starting to look more polished," said Cook, whose team hosts Lake Forest Friday before a big showdown at the Grant triple-dual meet Saturday. "Mundelein has been a quality program for years so to come here and start conference with a big win like this we're excited about that."

Mundelein senior Brae Cruz (3-1) posted a 6-1 decision over Robert Pavlovics at 152 before Stevenson 160-pound sophomore Nikita Nepomnyashchiy recorded a pin in 3:11 to account for the final score.

Harrington is off to a great start his senior season after taking first place at the powerful Barrington tournament last weekend and the Patriots have high hopes for this season.

"We've been working hard in the practice room and we're looking forward to a good season," said Harrington, who reached the state meet as a junior. "We're looking forward to competing tough in the conference and just taking it one dual meet at a time."