Glenbard North, Montini ready for one last day of wrestling
The IHSA has a blind draw for its state tournaments.
The wrestling gods have placed Glenbard North and defending Class 3A champion Oak Park-River Forest on a collision course for Saturday night's final match.
"We want to be in the championship match against them," Glenbard North coach Mark Hahn said of the potential showdown between the consensus top-two teams in the state.
The programs enter the Class 3A team-dual state finals in Bloomington on Saturday with a combined 51-1 record.
The Panthers, who have captured 12 trophies since 2000, dropped their only dual meet to Apple Valley, Minnesota, at a national tournament in the Twin Cities.
Glenbard North (26-1) has drawn Prospect in the quarterfinals.
The Panthers, which avenged a shocking defeat to Conant in the sectional final last year on Tuesday at Niles West, handily defeated Prospect in their regular-season dual.
"It's their first time in the Elite Eight, so they're going to be hungry," Hahn said of Prospect. "They are a better team than they were (in the regular season)."
The Panthers are led by Austin Gomez, who had a dramatic takedown against Oak Park-River Forest sophomore Jason Renteria in the waning seconds last Saturday in Champaign to win the individual state championship at 113 pounds.
Kirk Johansen, third at 106 pounds, and Patrick Augustyn, state qualifier at 120 pounds, also anchor the Panthers' lower weight classes.
Luke Greenberg, state runner-up at 195 pounds, is the leader of the Glenbard North upper weights.
If the Panthers get past Prospect, another traditional powerhouse - Sandburg - will more than likely be their semifinal opponent.
"I'm driving down to see that," Naperville North coach Tom Champion said of the potential semifinal date. "I think Glenbard North-Sandburg is going to be the match of the first two rounds."
Sandburg, ranked third behind Oak Park and Glenbard North, faces Lincoln-Way Central in the second quarterfinal.
Glenbard North, which has won 17 consecutive DuPage Valley Conference championships, is the model area program among large-school contenders.
"It is an individual sport, but the (Glenbard North) wrestlers wrestle for the team," Champion said of his league rival. "They wrestle the first period like it's the third period."
Should Glenbard North reach the championship match for the first time since its lone state title in 2011, the specter of Oak Park looms significantly.
The Huskies are the top-ranked team in the nation and had six individuals reach the finals last weekend at the University of Illinois.
"They are as good as advertised," Montini coach Israel Martinez said of Oak Park, which handed the Broncos their only in-state loss this season. "They are battle-tested, and that's why they deserve to be No. 1 in the country. They don't shy away from competition."
Montini will seek its seventh consecutive Class 2A championship this weekend behind six individual titlists.
"It was a great accomplishment for our team," Martinez said. "We are looking forward to the last couple days of the season. We will be ready to go. We are taking it one dual match at a time."
Three of the Broncos' state champions - Vince Turk (145 pounds), Luke Fortuna (152) and Xavier Montalvo (182) - are Division I recruits: Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, respectively.
With 12 state championships since the turn of the century, Montini holds the record for most team titles.
But the Broncos are not prohibitive favorites.
Carbonale has first dibs at Montini in the quarterfinals, with Crystal Lake Central looming in the semifinal shadows.
"We have the possibility of seeing a very good Washington team in the final match," Martinez said.
Montini narrowly escaped second-ranked Washington during the regular season.
Real Woods (106 pounds), Dylan Duncan (132) and undefeated heavyweight Michael Johnson are the Broncos' other state champions.