Hampshire's progression continues with triangular sweep
Brian Lossi came to Hampshire wrestling with its condition in need - and the signs of recovery have already been detected, not only by the Whip-Purs' new head coach, but also his top man, Wylie Allen, who led his team to a triangular sweep of visitors Johnsburg, Rockford Guilford and Elgin Wednesday night.
Hampshire (13-5-0) opened with a narrow victory over Johnsburg, 36-33, before lowering the boom on Rockford Guilford (72-3) then Elgin in its finale, to end the night on a high note for Lossi and his club.
"I was very fortunate to have a terrific core group back from the old regime, and the great thing about them is they have bought into a new philosophy, and system, and how we're going to do things around here from now on, and with guys like Wylie, Josh Bybee, and others it's been a fun first year so far," said Lossi, who cut his coaching teeth most recently at Class 2A power Washington as an assistant, long after competing for 3A power Glenbard North.
"I love the guy," admits Allen, who with his three wins Wednesday is now a dazzling 23-2 on the season at 152 pounds.
"The culture around is so different - you know that coach cares about each and every one of us, and it's that attitude that he has brought over here will equal success for many of us this year, and for others in the coming years."
Allen recently was told of his lofty status in the state 2A polls by teammate Max McGowan (21-4, 160) who was also 3-0 on Wednesday - something he had not paid attention to until McGowan sprung the news on him.
"I really don't care about any of that stuff, and where I'm ranked, but when Max said I was ranked No. 3 this week, I took a look just to see if it was true."
The senior sits behind Jake Tucker (Mt. Carmel) and Patrick Schoenfelder of Antioch is the new IllinoisMatmen.com polls.
"I began the season with a win over Colin Groleau (No. 4 from LaSalle-Peru) and I knew right then I could compete with any of the top guys in the state," said Allen, who admits a change in his attitude from a year ago is the difference in his success, after falling short at sectionals in his bid to return to the state tournament after making the trip to Champaign in his sophomore season.
The Whips appeared to be cruising to a big win over Johnsburg in the opener, going up by 21 points (36-15) after wins from Allen and McGowan, but a furious comeback by the Skyhawks narrowed the gap, until the visitors ran out of time despite winning the last four matches of this dual.
After that heart-stopping triumph, things got a little easier at the expense of a depleted Guilford club, which gave away eight forfeits, and pins by Casey Allen (138, 19-7), Bybee (145, 20-4) and Allen, and later, Darren Syavong (182) and Andrew Tiedt at 220.
"Things were a little rough for Darren at the start, but he's really come around since then, improving as each week goes by, as has a kid like Noah (Lockhart, 113) who won maybe just one match last season as a freshman on the varsity and he's turned around to be a .500 wrestler, so I am very happy and thrilled about his progress as well," said Lossi.
Both Hampshire and Elgin rested a few of their starters for the final dual of the evening, with Lockhart, Christian Rivero (106) and heavyweight Pawel Barnas getting a little pin happy in the Whips' rout.
"I know I didn't wrestle very well in that dual with Johnsburg, as did a few others. I think a lot of us are a little tired right now, but coach will get us ready to go for the last couple of weeks, so we'll be in good shape," offered Allen.
"We're just coming off a really intense part of our season, which included five matches for everyone at Sycamore last weekend, so we need to get some rest, and take it easy with the most important part of the year getting closer," said Lossi, whose club has a Fox Valley Conference encounter with Prairie Ridge, before closing out conference play next week at Cary-Grove.
Another new head coach was in the gym and Elgin's Mark Woollard, who is now the third head coach in as many seasons there, believes better times are ahead, despite a less than .500 record campaign thus far.
"There is no continuity with so many head coaches during the last few years, and although we lost 4-5 quality, talented kids from last year's roster, the future is bright because we have a solid group here who have been, and are willing to put the work in to improve, along with a terrific young man, who will be our leader next year when he comes back for his senior year," said Woollard.
Max Troyke, who spent just a scant few matches on the mat one year ago, leads the Maroons in victories with 15 and is clearly the face of the program, and completely on board with Woollard and his staff for the 2015-2016 wrestling season.
"Coach has told us he's here to stay, and it's that commitment to all of us is exactly what all of us need to know," said Troyke. "The thing that I appreciate and respect about coach is he's making all of us accountable, and I know he's all in with Elgin wrestling and all of us feel the same way that he does."
"Max is a bright, and articulate young man, who is a real student of the sport, as well as in the classroom, where he's in all high-honors classes, and he'll be the guy others will look to for leadership next year," Woollard said.
On the mat, Woollard says Troyke has gone from passive to aggressive by opening up his offensive game and taking charge.
"Early on, he fell behind, and would be chasing points from the onset but not now," says the Elgin head coach.
"I've got a great partner in the room (Angelo Poland) who has helped me so much, and from last year, I've expanded my repertoire and really improved on my conditioning, which I hope will help me reach goals of earning a medal at the UEC tournament in two weeks and later advance from regionals to sectionals," Troyke said.
Ivan Gutierrez (106) and Anthony Ruiz (152) chipped in with wins in the Maroons' triumph over Guilford, while Angel Ocampo (126) did as well with a fall at 3:19, which he later would do once again during the Maroons' loss to Hampshire.