Prospect takes MSL East title at Wheeling
For fans of Mid-Suburban East wrestling, Friday night at Wheeling had it all.
The top two teams were vying for the division title on the final night of the regular season, and before a big senior night audience.
When it was over, Prospect left little doubt as to who might be the team to beat next weekend at the MSL tournament after coming away with a convincing 43-16 victory to secure an MSL East title.
The Knights improved to 20-4-0 overall and completed a 5-0 run against their East competitors.
"We got off close to the type of start we wanted tonight, but Wheeling gave us a tough battle, taking away a few things from us which forced us to change things up a bit," said Prospect coach Tom Whalen. "It's still nice to come out of here with the win we needed, and now we turn our attention to a much bigger picture."
Wheeling is still having a terrific season, and dropped to 23-3 overall and 4-1 in the East. Wildcats coach Neal Weiner could envisions Prospect among the potential overall MSL title contenders.
"Tom has a very good team from top to bottom, and along with Barrington and Conant will be the teams everyone will be chasing at our tournament next week at Hoffman Estates," Weiner said. "We didn't wrestle very well tonight, but some of that has to go to Prospect, which I felt was strong right from the start. So that means we'll have to get a few things straightened out in advance of the tournament."
After Weiner, his staff, and the Wildcats program honored 10 seniors prior to the opening whistle, the visitors quickly quieted the partisan crowd with four straight victories, beginning at 113 and ending with Alex Straczek at 132.
During those first four weights, the Knights conceded just 14 points, with Alex Preissing (120, 30-4) and Chris Rivera (126, 22-8) each shining brightly. Preissing came up with a 12-0 major, and Rivera won by tech-fall at 4:11.
"We knew coming in we were fighting an uphill battle with Prospect, so we couldn't afford to give up too many bonus points while hoping to get a few ourselves to maybe build a lead, and some confidence - but we did neither," said Weiner.
"It's great to get a start like we did tonight," said Prospect senior Adrian Wroblewski, who inched his way closer to 30 wins after his fall at 195 pushed his record to 29-4. "It's something our lower weights have been doing for us all year long."
The senior, along with his younger brother Matt as well as Dema Govella and James Ford, each bumped up a weight higher, beginning at 182. And that quartet made the tactic pay off as they swept their opponents to go from leading by ten (at 22-12) to 21 (at 43-12) with one match remaining.
In between, the marquee match of the night took place when Bobby Jarosz faced off against Tulga Zuunbayan, pitting two of the best in the MSL at 152 pounds.
Zuunbayan (31-1) drew first blood 16 seconds in, then fell victim to a low single and late takedown to give Jarosz (30-5) a 5-3 advantage after one period.
A nifty, quick move and spin from Zuunbayan near the edge for 2 was challenged by Whalen at the table, to no avail. Moments later, the crowd roared when another Jarosz grabbed an 8-6 lead.
A see-saw third period ended even at 9-9. The Wildcats' junior standout found the winner 23 seconds into the first extra session.
"When Tulga attacked, he was good, but defensively, he wasn't as sharp as he has been," said Weiner after Zuunbayan's 11-9 victory.
"Bobby is right there with the best," said Whalen, "and that was a good test for him against one of the elite wrestlers in the area. But he's got to go hard for six full minutes in order to be among the best."
Zuunbayan, who will drop down to 145 for the MSL tourney, is currently ranked No. 11 in the state at that weight by IllinoisMatmen.com.
Teammates Rick Muro (138, 31-5) and Mason Skloot (103, 25-11) recorded the other two wins for Wheeling.
Tanner Strobel (28-5) and Joe Siracusa, both victorious at 160 and 170, jump-started the Knights' attack after the Zuunbayan-Jarosz thriller.