Top NSC wrestlers excel at Barrington
Solid performances from regional champions Christian Kantzler (Grant), Joey Gunther (Libertyville) and Tyler Harrington (Stevenson) highlighted the first day of action for the North Suburban Conference teams in action at the Class 3A Barrington wrestling sectional.
All three roared through the competition to advance into Saturday's semifinals, where each is now one victory away from earning a trip to Champaign and the state finals next weekend.
Kantzler (27-8) made his intent clear after a 13-3 major decision over Dan Schilling of Libertyville in his quarterfinal at 126 pounds. Next up for Kantzler is Deerfield junior Nick Kupets (37-11) when the semis begins at 10:30 a.m. inside the Barrington fieldhouse. The action begins at 9 a.m. with some key first-round wrestleback matches.
Gunther (31-1) who came into this weekend as the No. 2-rated 160-pounder in the state (by IllinosMatmen.com), was dangerous from the opening whistle, building a 7-1 advantage after one period before finishing off NSC rival Justin Gilich (Grant, 23-12) with a 14-3 major decision.
Gunther next faces James Corralejo (19-18) of DeKalb. A win there would likely put him against Sage Heller (42-2) of Deerfield in a rematch of last week's regional final.
"Joey has always been technically sound, but this year he has really picked up the pace and is just relentless in his attack and offense," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert, who later watched another of his seniors, Mark Dunsing (33-6), hold off Roland Gastfield (27-9) of Crystal Lake South with a 4-1 decision to stay alive in the front draw.
Next for Dunsing, who at one time this season was 6-6, is four-time sectional qualifiers Kailor Hecox of Harlem, who is 14-0 after his technical fall triumph Friday.
Harrington (34-2, 182) impressed Patriots coach Shane Cook after a dominant six-minute bout with Jennor Hecox (33-8). The Patriots' returning state qualifier led from start to finish in a 6-0 shutout of the Harlem junior.
"Tyler has a complete understanding of what it means to take one match at a time," said Cook, who led his club to its first-ever NSC title two weeks ago. "He took the lead, and managed his opponent and match perfectly, and with each time out, it gets a little better than the time before.
"It really is an old cliche, but that's the only way to take it in this sport - one match at a time," said Harrington, who now meets three-time sectional qualifier and FVC champ Cam Pait (16-0) of McHenry.
"Against (Pait), I'll just go out and wrestle my match, and not change anything that I do" Harrington said. "It's the way I've done things all year long so far."
Stevenson teammates Zach Horwitz (196, 27-7) and heavyweight Nick Grujanac (26-8) were not as fortunate in their quarterfinal bouts. Horwitz conceded a pin to Mid-Suburban League and regional champion Alex Jacobs (31-3) while Grujanac, a regional champ last weekend on the Patriots' home floor, dropped a tough 3-1 decision to No. 10 Jack Resnick of Grant.
"It was a tough last weekend at regionals when Alex Zentner (Barrington) beat me in the semfinals (2-1) so it felt good to come out and win against another tough opponent (Grujanac) to stay alive in the championship bracket," said Resnick.
The Bulldogs senior, who gets the chance to avenge the Zentner loss Saturday morning in his quarterfinal, recorded the winner with 20 seconds left before holding off the Pats' big man for good.
Following the semifinals, the wrestleback rounds will continue to decide who will travel to Champaign. The final round is scheduled to begin at approximately 1:30 p.m.