Johansen leads Glenbard N. pack to state

With the defending Class 3A champion and current No. 1-ranked team in the nation in the field at the Glenbard North wrestling sectional on Saturday in Carol Stream, individual championships were at a premium.

Oak Park-River Forest more than lived up to its billing, producing eight of the 14 champions in the final preliminary to the individual state tournament at the University of Illinois in Champaign next week.

Host Glenbard North, the consensus second-ranked team in the state, was the only other program to produce multiple sectional champions.

Kirk Johansen offered the host Panthers a promising start with a second-period fall over Glenbard West 106-pounder Charles Faber in the first championship match.

"This was my first time wrestling (Faber)," said Johansen, who will make a second consecutive appearance. "(He presents) a different style of wrestling."

The Panthers were hopeful Austin Gomez would represent the squad in the 113-pound final.

But Oak Park, which won four consecutive weight classes, had an indomitable foe in Jason Renteria, who ended the season-long 40-match Gomez winning streak in the semifinals.

Gomez needed only 26 seconds to terminate his third-place match.

"I'm really not disappointed about it," Gomez said. "I know I'm going to get better and win state next week. One loss to my record doesn't really affect me at all."

Conant junior Danny Madonia would be the next wrestler to drop a championship match to an Oak Park competitor.

The 120-pounder failed to score against Alex Madrigal.

"He's really long and good at hand-fighting," Madonia said of Madrigal. "He kept me away from his legs. People probably think I would keep it that close (3-0)."

St. Charles East sophomore Anthony Rubino was on the wrong side of a 14-3 major decision to the Huskies' Gabe Townsell in the 126-pound finals.

"It's way better (than last year)," said Rubino, who was on the outside looking in as a freshman. "But even if I took second, it's not good enough. I wanted to break him, but he's so strong."

Wheaton North junior Dylan Thurston had equal difficulties scoring against the Huskies' Jamie Hernandez at 132 pounds.

Thurston did not have offensive points in his 3-1 defeat.

"I knew it was going to be defensive," Thurston said.

Conant senior Bobby Alexander extended his winning streak to 39 matches without a blemish after a takedown with three seconds remaining iced a 6-4 138-pound championship over York junior Michael Ordonez.

"(The takedown) just happened," Anderson said. "I can't really (explain it). I don't know (how it happened)."

Addison Trail senior Anthony Metallo was taking no prisoners in his first three matches, securing first-period falls in all of them to reach the 145-pound final.

"I was just fired up," Metallo said. "This is my senior year, and I've never made it to state. I wanted to shock everybody."

But the Blazers' 145-pounder had a daunting task in Oak Park defending state champion Larry Early.

"He's ranked No. 1 in the nation," Metallo said.

Early is still undefeated after a second-period fall.

Fellow returning state champion Isaiah White then handed Willowbrook junior Matt Rowland his second defeat in as many championship Saturdays at 152 pounds.

Rowland is 44-2 on the season.

In another Oak Park-Conant showdown, the Huskies' Matthew Rundell turned back the Cougars' Daniel Andress in the 160 final.

But freshman sensation Jack Jessen delivered the goods for Willowbrook in his 171-pound final against St. Charles East senior Ramon Lopez.

Jessen whitewashed the Saints' leader.

"I just wanted to make a giant impact today," Jessen said. "I wanted to achieve my goal, which is to become a freshman state champion."

Glenbard North senior Luke Greenberg handed an Oak Park athlete a second straight championship defeat with his 7-2 triumph over the Huskies' Ben Bergen at 195 pounds.

But Allen Stallings' 13-5 victory at 220 pounds over the Panthers' Dillon Warnecke gave Oak Park the last of its eight champions.

Glenbard East heavyweight D'Andre Johnson needed overtime to deny York junior for the Leyden title last week.

But in becoming the Rams' lone state qualifier, Johnson extended his winning streak to 26 matches with a second-period fall.

"I had nothing to lose," Johnson said. "I just put it all on the line."

Glenbard North trailed only Oak Park in total qualifiers with nine.

Wheaton North had three qualifiers; Lake Park and West Chicago had one each.

Conant had six qualifiers in all.

"I couldn't be happier for all the guys right now," Conant coach Chad Hay said.

Schaumburg junior Hazen Rice had a second-period fall in the third-place 106-pound match to become one of two Saxons to make the state cut.

"Last year I took fourth (at the sectional)," Rice said. "I didn't know how much time we had left. I needed to get that pin."