Alton denies Wheaton N. to claim Batavia title
Wheaton North had its opportunities in the championship round of the Batavia Invite to overtake downstate Alton.
But the suburban St. Louis school made it a clean sweep in as many weekends for local wrestling tournaments as the Redbirds crowned five champions to overtake Wheaton North, which led going into the semifinal round.
The Falcons' Jaylin Griffin, Devin Donovan and Micah Volle all dropped championship matches - at 120, 152 and 160 pounds - to Alton competitors.
Alton, coming off its even greater win at Geneva last weekend, turned back the Falcons, 204-184.5, for the 19-team title.
Plainfield South was third, followed by McHenry and the host Bulldogs.
Addison Trail, Downers Grove North and Lake Park rounded out the top-10 among schools in the Daily Herald coverage area Saturday in Batavia.
Burlington Central freshman Austin Macias' season-long winning streak came to an end in the finals at 106-pounds as the Rockets settled for 11th place.
Streamwood and Buffalo Grove were also in the field.
"It was kind of like a little dual meet and Wheaton North for a while," Alton coach Eric Roberson said. "Their kids are very tough wrestlers. We wanted the opportunity to come up here and wrestle them."
Dylan Thurston, the Falcons' second-ranked 132-pounder in Class 3A, improved to 28-4 with a third-period fall against Lake Park senior Tristan Labinski.
"We were really well-prepared in practice this week," Thurston said of the Falcons' runner-up status. "I am going to see (Zabinski) next week (at the schools' DuPage Valley Conference dual meet). He was the best kid in my (bracket)."
The Falcons' Frankie Indelli and George Roskuszka won major-consolation titles at 138 and 182.
"We had a great first round: we had 12 matches, we had 12 bonus points," Wheaton North coach Travis Cherry said. "I am not disappointed (to finish second), but we have some work still to get done. We're going to get to the room for the next two weeks and be ready for conference and regionals."
Downers North had two titlists in Pat Walker and heavyweight EJ Phillips.
The former ended the 23-match winning streak of McHenry senior Britches Sikula with a one-sided 18-4 score at 113 pounds.
In an unofficial West Suburban crossover title match, Phillips defeated Addison Trail junior 7-3.
But the Blazers did have a champion in Jaime Valdez at 126 pounds.
The senior was awarded the title when McHenry senior Robby Duh could not continue after his semifinal win.
"I have started to slow down my attack," Valdez said. "I would go out so fast that I would run out of shape and I would be dead."
Batavia had its whirlwind three-day schedule come to a close.
Two days after dominating Geneva for its first Upstate Eight River team championship in four years, the Bulldogs - who had a dual meet with Alton on Friday - had 10 athletes in the top eight to score 133 points.
Dylan Uzumecki was the lone Batavia competitor to reach the championship, but Plainfield South 220-pounder Eric Johnson had all the offensive points in the 7-2 final.
"The past three days have been pretty full," Uzumecki said. "I knew the kid from Plainfield South was going to be tough. Sometimes (the outcome) goes the other way."
Batavia heavyweight Mitch Krusz had his season-long 18-match winning streak come to a controversial close in the semifinals as a stalling call cost the senior a 2-1 loss.
Krusz came back to win the third-place match at 285 pounds.
Batavia senior Jake Birkhaug also had a major-consolation title with his third-place triumph at 170 pounds.
"I thought Jake Birkhaug, at 170, had a heck of a tournament," Batavia coach Scott Bayer said.
"It's always tough to wrestle three days in a row," Birkhaug said. "I'm pretty pleased: I had a 4-1 weekend. It's a tough sport. Anytime you improve, it's a good thing."
Dylan Doranski, Mike Doranski and Seth Winkle all won fifth-place matches in succession for Batavia between 113 and 126 pounds.
"You always want to perform well at your home invite," Bayer said. "The last three days will give you an idea on what you have to work on. I think as a team we are probably a better dual-meet team than a tournament team."
Central 106-pounder Macias had the unenviable distinction of having to face a senior in Ian Mullen of McHenry.
Mullen ended the match with an early second-period fall.
"I got caught," Macias admitted. "I felt like I had a pretty solid tournament. I have to work a little harder now. It's disappointing (to have the 23-match streak end) but at the same time, I kind of needed (a loss). You have to have a few losses like that under your belt (for the state series). I don't want to feel like this at the state meet."
Ray Coklan (fifth at 152) and Christian Quiles (seventh at 160) were the Rockets' other place-winners.
"Compared to last year, we were dead last in the tournament," Central coach Vince Govea said. "It's an improvement from last year, and that's all we can ask. It's all the postseason at this point (in the year)."