Wheeling's Zuunbayan, Barrington's Smith secure sectional titles

Tulga Zuunbayan and Julius Smith shut the door on their wrestling opponents all weekend long, including late Saturday as the Mid-Suburban League pair closed out their rivals to celebrate Class 3A sectional championships when the action came to an end in the fieldhouse at Barrington.

Zuunbayan allowed for the possibility of still bigger and better things ahead as the Wheeling junior delivered a dazzling six-minute effort in his 152-pound final against DJ Penick of Highland Park to earn his first sectional title. That netted Zuubayan a third consecutive trip downstate.

Smith, meanwhile, won a memorable championship during the final home match of his career, sending the Broncos standout to Champaign for a second time.

Barrington will send a total of five downstate. MSL East rival Prospect will have four, including first-timers Alex Preissing, Tanner Strobel and Matt Wroblewski; senior James Ford (220, 36-4) who will be making his second straight state appearance.

Wheeling and Hersey each will have two entrants apiece when 3A tournament action begins at 5 p.m. Thursday at Assembly Hall.

"It feels good to win a sectional title and to be going back downstate again, this time with a top four seed and a better chance of coming home with a medal," said Smith (33-5), who defeated long-time rival Wroblewski (33-3) in the fifth meeting between this dynamic duo.

Last season at the sectional, Smith stopped the Knights sophomore in the quarterfinals. But Wroblewski had prevailed much more recently, in the MSL touranment final.

"He's so long, which makes him tough to attack and score on, so you just do what you have to in order to win these close matches," said Smith after stunning his opponent with the game-winner as time ran out.

There were no such late dramatics needed for Zuunbayan (37-1), who was able to score seeminfly at will against the athletically gifted Penick, building a 5-1 lead after one period, then steadily adding points before finishing off the Giants sophomore 18-6.

"I've got a great set of coaches, so I just listen to what they say, then go out there and wrestle," said Zuunbayan, who majored his first opponent to the his tournament before advancing into the final with a 11-4 victory over three-time sectional qualifier Tanner Anthony of Harlem.

"Sometimes you have to reign in Tulga because he needs to be slowed down a little bit, but right now he's peaking at the right time, and if he continues this way, he'll be on the medal stand next weekend," says Wildcats assistant coach Nick Blackshaw.

Freshman Mason Skloot (31-15) will join Zuunbayan after an impressive two days at 106 pounds.

Fremd junior Alex Jacobs (33-4) booked his first visit to Champaign after his third-place finish in the 195-pound division. Jacobs took standout Christian Brunner (Dundee-Crown, 40-1) to the brink in the semifinals before falling just short (8-7).

That send Jacobs, an MSL champion, into wrestlebacks. He eliminated Zach Khoury of Warren 14-7 before upending John Despersia (34-13) of Barrington, one of several MSL competitors excelled.

"Jacobs was so tough to wrestle, but I felt in the end it might have been my conditioning that was the difference in our semifinal," said Brunner, whose late takedown led to his victory.

Prospect junior Alex Preissing (120, 37-6) joined senior Alex Zentner (32-8) as the only two others aside from Smith and Zuunbayan who advanced into the finals. Neither was able to climb atop the podium, thanks in part to a dynamic duo from Cary-Grove.

Preissing had his hands full with Michael Cullen (36-1) during a 15-6 major decision defeat, while Zentner did all he could against No. 7 Michael Gomez yet still fell in his heavyweight final 5-2.

"I used to watch our former heavyweight, Ben Calamari (2015 state medalist), and dreamed of getting downstate just like he did - and this weekend it all came true," said Zentner, who astonished nearly everyone with his surprising tournament results the past three weekends.

Barrington teammates Connor Boundy (145, 35-6) and Travis Cysewski (160, 25-9) will be part of the Broncos' downstate contingent after surviving plenty of quality competition in the front draw and consolation brackets.

Boundy finished third after edging Corey Knudsen (3-2) of Lake Forest, while Cysewski got past Strobel (35-9) to earn third place and a spot on the bus to Champaign after a 9-3 decision.

"It's an amazing feeling to finally realize the goal you've been after for the 13 years I've been at this sport, and especially after losing my state-qualifying match here last season," said an emotional Cysewski.

The success of Mitch MacTavish (120, 34-11) and Tyler Cooke brought a wide smile to first-year Hersey coach Jeff Kramarcyzk - particularly for MacTavish, a junior will will make his first Assembly Hall appearance after three tries.

"This was the third sectional for Mitch, and obviously his toughest and most successful after coming back from a near defeat in his very first match here to win his qualifying match in OT to get downstate," said Kramarczyk. "It proves that hard work does pay off."

Cooke (35-8) was forced to work extra as well to get back downstate at 285, beating MSL East rival Juan Hernandez 2-1 in their fifth career meeting in his state qualifying bout, before pinning Jacob Heavlin (Rockford East, 27-6) in the third-place match.