Antioch gets some answers in victory over Vernon Hills

With four returning state qualifiers in its lineup, the Antioch wrestling team poses a lot of obstacles for their opponents.

The Sequoits remained undefeated in the North Suburban Conference's Prairie Division Friday night, but it was not easy as host Vernon Hills hung tough with Antioch the whole dual meet.

The Sequoits (6-1, 3-0) walked away with a 45-27 triumph in a battle that came down to the final three matches.

Starting at 126 pounds, Vernon Hills (14-6, 1-2) grabbed an early 3-0 lead as Issam Khayr posted a 4-1 decision over Dylan Lampert.

Antioch senior and 2015 state medalist Nathan Dlugopolski (12-2) tied the score at 3-3 on his 8-5 decision over senior Angel Tino at 132.

Then the Cougars took the lead back when undefeated 138-pound senior Max Rickard (12-0) rolled to a technical fall for an early 8-3 advantage.

Vernon Hills got a pin by 145-pound senior Jeff Echeverria in 3:43 and the Cougars boosted that lead to 14-3 after four bouts.

Then came three crucial forfeits by Vernon Hills as Antioch teammates Pat Schoenfelder (12-1 at 152), 160-pounder Jeramiah Reyes, and 170-pounder Russell Goodman all won by forfeits to put the visitors ahead 21-14.

A pin by Antioch 182-pounder Greg Kane in 55 seconds followed and the Sequiots suddenly led 27-14 with six bouts remaining.

Vernon Hills refused to fold, as 195-pound senior Connor Wood recorded a pin in 3:09 before junior teammate Collin Turley captured a hard-fought 4-2 decision over Jordan Poe to cut the gap to 27-23 with four matches left.

Antioch 285-pounder Xavier Sanchez came up big with a pin in 3:10 to give the Sequiots some breathing room with a 33-23 lead.

Vernon Hills sophomore Blake Teschly came through with a crucial 15-4 major decision over Trent Porter to cut the lead to 33-27 and keep the Cougars hopes alive of still winning the meet.

But Antioch 2015 state qualifier Jake Gross (12-2) closed the door on Vernon Hills with a pin in just 53 seconds to seal the team win with a 39-27 lead and only one bout remaining.

"I give them credit, they hung tough and they did what they had to do to hang with us," said Dlugopolski, who is ranked fourth in Class 2A at 126 pounds. "We've got to win the regional because we want to get back to state again. Having that state meet experience is huge, and I think it's going to rub off on some other guys."

Angelo Pasarrelli closed out the meet in style for Antioch as he pinned his opponent in only 56 seconds to account for the 18-point margin of victory.

"We gave up three forfeits just because we have kids that are hurt and we don't have a lot of depth this season," said Vernon Hills coach Jerry Miceli. "But I'm very happy with the way we wrestled. I think that was his (Rickard's) first technical fall because he has 11 pins."

Besides Dlugopolski, Gross, and two-time state qualifier Schoenfelder, who placed fourth in Class 2A last winter as a sophomore, Antioch also has a two-time state qualifier in 195-pound junior George Bessette (6-1), who was out of the lineup Friday. Bessette placed fourth in the state last year.

"It's great to have four guys that are state qualifiers, but we're working on filling out the rest of the lineup and they're stepping up and doing a good job," said Antioch assistant coach Vinny Jiuditta, who was filling in for head coach Wilbur Borrero. "We had three freshmen and two sophomores in the lineup so we're a very young team."