Dual perfection for Huntley, Vernon Hills at D-C

It was a very successful outing for at least two wrestling teams Saturday at the Dundee-Crown megaduals.

Both Huntley (15-10), and Vernon Hills (21-7) went 3-0 in the triple-dual meet which featured seven squads from a wide variety of conferences and counties.

The Red Raiders were very dominant throughout the competition as they started the day with an impressive 56-18 victory over Antioch (11-20) before posting a lopsided 63-10 victory over Wauconda in the second round. Huntley closed out the day with an easy 52-16 win over Johnsburg (17-14) which went 0-3 overall.

Vernon Hills rolled to a 51-27 victory over Harlem in the first round as Harlem's lineup was really hampered with six forfeits against the Cougars.

Vernon Hills added a narrow 35-31 triumph over Johnsburg in the second round before closing out the day with a hard-fought 42-38 victory over the host Chargers.

Dundee-Crown (17-14) did not use its full lineup Saturday, but the Chargers did capture a narrow 33-29 victory over the Skyhawks in the opening round.

Antioch pulled out an exciting 37-36 victory over Dundee-Crown in round two as the Sequoits got a pin in the final match of the meet to seal the 1-point win.

Huntley had numerous wrestlers go 3-0 on the day, including 138-pounder Chris Gamboa (29-6), who posted a thrilling 5-4 decision over Johnsburg three-time state qualifier Brandon Peshek.

The Red Raiders also got three wins from 106-pounder Zach Spencer, 113-pounder Josh Stenger, and 285-pounder Dominic Swanson.

Huntley's Brandon Meyer went 2-0 to improve his record to 38-4 at 152 while teammate Petros Mihlapolas also went 2-0. Ricky Vigil went 1-0 for the Red Raiders at 132 as they begin to gear up the Fox Valley Conference meet at McHenry next weekend, and the IHSA regional at Rockford East in two weeks.

"This was a good meet to have before the conference meet, and it was good to see the kids get wins," said Huntley coach B.J. Bertelsman. "We have a tough regional with DeKalb and Hononegah, and Harlem and Jacobs have some good individuals."

Vernon Hills' outstanding performance was led by senior Joe Blitstein (27-4 at 285), who went 3-0 on the day. The Cougars' other 2014 state qualifier had to settle for a 2-1 record Saturday as 145-pounder Peter Vanderbloomer's record is now 30-5.

Vernon Hills also got 3 wins apiece from Jesse Goldufsky at 106, Angel Tino at 120, and Dylan Geick at 152.

"We're getting better, we're healthy, and we're where we need to be," said Vernon Hills coach Jerry Miceli, whose team heads into the powerful North Suburban Conference meet next weekend at Warren. "I'm not worried about the conference meet, but I'm really looking forward to regionals and we're hosting that meet."

Dundee-Crown had plenty of bright spots up and down its lineup starting with No. 2-ranked junior Christian Brunner, who improved his perfect record to 33-0 with three more victories at 195.

Starting the dual meet at 170 pounds, the Chargers led Vernon Hills 38-24 with three bouts remaining.

But the Cougars were able to pull off the comeback win with a pin by Vanderbloomer at 145, a pin by Geick at 152, and a forfeit win by 160-pounder Colin Alexander to close out the day.

After placing second in the state last year, Brunner is trying to become the third wrestler in D-C history to bring home a state title. The Chargers' previous state champs were Larry Kaifesh (1985), and Mike Lukowski (2008).

"I'm confident and I'm happy about being undefeated, but you can never be satisfied so you have to keep working," said Brunner, who will probably have a showdown against Crystal Lake Central's Andrew Marsden at the FVC meet. "I just want to keep improving, and my goal has been to win the state championship since I first started wrestling so that would be great if I could do that."

The Chargers also got three wins each from Adam Gutierrez (126), Jarrod Rapp (182), and Brett Peters (220).

"We were just working on getting better today, and we gave up a couple of forfeits because we sent some guys to the JV tournament," said Dundee-Crown coach Matt Wahl. "Brunner got so close last year (to a state title) and that has been the focus all year. He'll have a tough match next week against Marsden."

Antioch trailed D-C 36-31 heading into the final match, and in a must-pin situation, 152-pounder Stephen Frandsen pinned his opponent in 1:17 to pull out a stunning 37-36 win over the Chargers.

Antioch's Pat Schoenfelder went 2-0 to improve to 34-2 at 145 while fellow 2014 state qualifier George Bessette went 2-0 in his first meet of the season after returning from a torn labrum.

Nathan Dlugoposki (27-5 at 120) also went 2-0 for the Sequoits while teammate Jake Gross (33-3 at 113) went 1-1.

"It was good to see him (Frandsen) come through with the pin because he's a hard-working kid and we had two kids who avoided getting pinned that saved us some team points," said Antioch coach Wilbur Borrero, whose team was one of three to only wrestle two meets. "The conference meet will be tough next week and we look forward to it."