Stevenson, Grant take the lead in North Suburban meet

The newest kids on the block took a big step towards their first league championship Friday night at the North Suburban Conference wrestling meet in Gurnee.

After winning their first NSC Lake Division title in school history last week, Stevenson got off to a great start in the powerful 14-team tournament hosted by Warren as the Patriots lead 102.5-86 over nine-time NSC champion Grant heading into the final rounds Saturday.

The semifinals will take place at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday with the first, third, and fifth-place matches slated for 2:30 p.m.

Stevenson's push for first-place Friday featured 12 of its 14 wrestlers reaching the semifinals while the Bulldogs had nine individuals reach the semifinals.

The host Blue Devils also looked strong on day one with a third-place score of 65 points followed by Lake Zurich (38 points) in fourth, and Libertyville (36 points) in fifth.

The Patriots only lost one match in the quarterfinals, and they are looking great behind top seeds Tyler Harrington (28-2 at 195), and Juwon Anderson (26-7 at 170) leading their powerful squad.

Stevenson's other semifinalists are Brandon Zisman (113), Eric Carter (120), Ben Ponto (126), Nathan Reinsdorf (132), Evan Rodriguez (138), Corey Weil (145), Nikita Nepomnyashchiy (160), Michael Kordek (182), Zach Horwitz (220), and Nick Grujanac (285).

"To walk out of the gym on Friday night and have 12 guys in the semifinals we're definitely encouraged, but we fully understand this is a two-day tournament," said Stevenson coach Shane Cook. "We know the semifinal round tomorrow is going to be a challenge and we have to be at our best."

Grant had a strong start to the tourney with top-seeds Christian Kanzler (24-10 at 126), and Cristian Coronado (33-3 at 138) rolling into the semifinals.

The Bulldogs also have Jordan Favella (113), Gage Datlovsky (120), Noah Drabek (132), Kobe Lear (152), Mike Kouvelis (160), Anthony Mostachio (195), and Jack Resnick (285) in the semifinals.

The upper weights could really be the difference-maker for Grant on Saturday.

"The key is going to be how our kids respond in the wrestlebacks and Stevenson has a tough group of kids," said Grant coach Ryan Geist. "They're solid throughout their lineup, but we're not going to go down without a fight."

Warren is looking good with 106-pounder J.T. Vandevere, Grant Zamin (132), Quinn Nonnemacher (160), Andrew Demos (170), Rahkeem Chapman (182), Zach Khoury (195), and Sergio Sosa (285) all reaching the semifinals.

"The kids wrestled well today and Grant Zamin beat the fourth seed (Round Lake's Sergei Wawrzyniak) at 132," said Warren coach Jim Ouimette. "Zach Khoury avenged his loss to the Libertyville kid (Jordan McInerney) so it was pretty impressive how they wrestled and I hope they keep it up tomorrow."

Lake Zurich was led by semifinalists Josh Spiwak (126), Tommy Clancy (152), and Josh Dyer (220) while Libertyville had four semifinalists in Joey Gunther (25-1 at 160), Mark Dunsing (220), Alex Mitchell (106), and Dan Schilling (126).

Gunther, Kanzler, and Coronado are the only returning NSC champs. Libertyville has won 19 NSC crowns followed by Grant and North Chicago with nine each.

"We lost some tough matches, it wasn't our best night," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert. "We have 10 guys already in the consolation bracket and I think the first seeds are doing well."

Vernon Hills' 145-pound sophomore Dylan Geick (6-0) pulled off an 8-7 upset win in an ultimate tie-breaker over Grant No. 2-seed Alex Rodriguez in the quarterfinals.

The Cougars also have 138-pounder Peter Vanderbloomer, and 285-pounder Joe Blitstein in the semifinals.

"He's the real deal, he's a really hard worker in the room, he's coachable, and he listens," said Vernon Hills coach Jerry Miceli about Geick. "He has a good workout partner with Peter Vanderbloomer, and I think he can do it (Saturday)."

Mundelein top seeds Brae Cruz (27-4 at 152), and Alec Riportella (21-2 at 120) are looking great. The Mustangs also have 113-pounder Marco Rosales and 220-pounder Cesar Obispo (220) in the semifinals.

Antioch top-seeds Jake Gross (34-3 at 113) and Patrick Schoenfelder (36-2 at 145) are also hoping to win titles and they will be joined in the semifinals by teammate Nathan Dlugoposki (120).

Lakes' No. 2-seeds Levi (138) and Jared Smith (170) won their quarterfinals bouts. But No. 3-seeded teammate Sam Callahan is out of the tourney after sustaining an injury in the quarterfinals. Zach Fuller (182) also reached the semifinals for the Eagles.

Round Lake will have top-seeded Joe Greenhill (33-2 at 182) , Juan Arteaga (106), and Nick Moore (152) in the semifinals. Wauconda has Justin Mitchell (106) and Tyler Stankiewicz (170) in the semi's.