Lake Zurich outduels Grayslake North at Palatine
They saved the best wrestling meet for last Saturday at the Palatine megaduals.
Trailing Grayslake North 25-9 with six matches to go, Lake Zurich made a dramatic late comeback to capture an exciting 32-28 nonconference victory over the Knights and cap off a 3-0 day.
The Bears (15-6) opened the day with a lopsided 54-15 victory over West Chicago (13-14), before posting a similar 57-18 win over short-handed St. Charles North (3-12) in the second round.
Despite also being at less than full strength, Carmel (6-13) managed to go 2-1 on the day, as the Corsairs fell to Grayslake North (12-9) 48-24, before beating West Chicago 35-30 and nipping St. Charles North 27-26 on a forfeit victory in the last match.
The host Pirates (6-12) started off strong with a 45-28 triumph over St. Charles North, before falling to Grayslake North 45-15. Then Palatine suffered a heartbreaking 28-27 loss to West Chicago in a meet that went down to the wire to close out the day.
Lake Zurich 120-pound freshman Ben Baca started the comeback against Grayslake North with a 24-11 major decision to cut the Knights' lead to 25-13.
Then senior teammate Josh Spiwak posted a 14-6 major decision at 126, 132-pound sophomore Nick Swanson pinned his opponent in 2:54, and 138-pound sophomore Derrick Juarez pinned his man in 1:59 to give the Bears a 25-23 edge with two bouts left.
The Knights did not fold, as 145-pounder Alex Moran came through with a huge 6-4 comeback win over Max Brummel to pull North to within 29-28.
But Lake Zurich senior Tommy Clancy built an early 5-0 lead before capturing a 7-3 decision over junior Jake Wright to carry the Bears to the exciting 32-28 win.
"That's kind of the story for our team this year," Lake Zurich coach Dan Strickler said. "They're young and inexperienced. Having the winning record that we do, they're doing better than I anticipated. At the lower weights, those kids are underclassmen, and they'll be back next year so that makes me feel good."
Clancy and 220-pound teammate Josh Dyer went 3-0 for Lake Zurich, while 138-pounder Ethan Honegger won both of his matches. Pete Baldaccini won his only match at 170 pounds for the Bears. Spiwak also went 2-0, while Swanson and 195-pound teammate John Strojny were 2-1.
Grayslake North was led by seniors Cody Sawyer (25-5 at 195), Austin Cloe (21-6 at 160) and Aaron Elsing (170) with 3-0 records. The return of 106-pound sophomore Joe Arroyo (12-2) to the lineup from injury gave the Knights a big lift.
"We put ourselves in a position to win (against Lake Zurich), and Alex Moran had a big win at 145 to give us a chance," first-year Grayslake North coach Collin McKillip said. "Sawyer is doing a great job. He is a leader on the team, and having Arroyo back from injury at 106 helps a lot."
Carmel's day was pretty good overall, but the Corsairs are concerned about the status of junior Nathaniel Morris (23-2 at 152), who sustained a knee injury at practice Monday that could put him out of action from four weeks to the remainder of the season.
The Corsairs did get three wins apiece from 2014 state qualifiers Kenny Barber (24-4 at 126) and Anthony Swindell (14-2 at 145).
Carmel's Mike Tortorice (22-3) also went 3-0 at 113, while teammate Brodie Palm (26-4 at 120) went 1-1 after suffering an elbow injury and having to take a default loss in his second bout of the day.
"Today was just a good day overall," Barber said after recording 3 pins. "I had some tough matches, but I made some good moves to pin them. My goal is to place (top six) downstate. We think we can win the regional (at Vernon Hills), but hopefully Nathaniel will come back because we'll need him."
Sophomore Bobby Pryhocki (13-7 at 132) and freshman Anthony Schoer (22-9 at 106) both went 2-1 for Carmel.
"I brought up a freshman at 182 and a sophomore at 285 to get them some experience and see if they can help us at regionals," said Carmel coach Bob Kuykendall. "It's one of those things. (Morris) is ranked in the state. He's on a great trajectory, and injuries are just a part of the sport."
Palatine coach Dan Collins was a bit disappointed following the Pirates' 28-27 loss to West Chicago. The Wildcats held on, despite a 3-2 win by Palatine 152-pounder Billy Ilkka in the final match of the meet.
Jason Lopez (16-6, 182 pounds) went 2-1 for the Pirates, while 106-pound teammate Oscar Rodriguez is now 16-5 this season.
"We were flat and we didn't come to wrestle, and it showed," said Collins. "Lopez is just a hardworking kid. He's doing everything we ask him to do. He's put the time in, and he's the kind of kid you want."
St. Charles North was led by Steve Collins (22-7 at 138) and Ethan Fredericks (170) with 3 wins each. But the North Stars forfeited seven weight classes (182 through 285) in every meet.
West Chicago got 3 wins apiece from Michael Otzwirk (170) and Trey Lally (160).