Grant snaps up regional title
he third time proved to be a charm for Cary-Grove senior 138-pounder John Cullen.
Cullen, who will wrestle at Wisconsin next season, claimed his first career regional title with a hard fought 5-4 win over Grant's Dylan Mannes in the championship match of Saturday's Class 3A McHenry regional.
"(Mannes) was a very tough wrestler and I had to wrestle tough to win," said Cullen. "It is nice to win the regional. I am very happy and looking forward to next week's sectionals."
Cullen paced the Trojans to a sixth-place finish with a score of 81.5 points.
Other Trojans who advanced to next weekend's Barrington sectional were Cadin Koeppel (2nd place, 195) and Dennis Woodring (2nd. 285).
Dundee-Crown, with 182-pounder Chase Raap and 195-pounder Christian Brunner claiming regional titles, was seventh with a score of 66 points.
Raap outlasted Vince Fontanetta of Crystal Lake South 6-4 while Brunner moved to a perfect 41-0 by pinning Cary-Grove's Koeppel at 1:12. It was the D-C senior's third straight regional crown.
"I love this time of the year," said Brunner. "This is spotlight time. My footwork was good today and I feel good going into the sectionals."
Christian Rodriguez, who will join Brunner and Raap at the sectionals, finished second at 220 pounds.
Crystal Lake South placed eighth with a score of 36 points.
Fontanetta, second at 182, along with Frank Woods who finished third at 152, have qualified for next week's sectional action for the Gators.
Woods, a senior, pinned Josh Goldberg of Lake Zurich in 1 minute and 10 seconds.
"The early part of the match I was plotting out my strategy," said Woods. "I was finally able to exploit the situation and get the pin. My goal all season was to qualify for the sectionals. It is a great feeling."
Grant, the team champion with 192.5 points, advanced to the team dual meet sectionals.
The Bulldogs received first place efforts from Christian Kanzler (126), Cole Berg (145) and Kobe Lear (152).
Kanzler knocked off Markus Hartman of Barrington 6-4, Berg pinned Jake Wright of Grayslake North in 4:40 and Lear nipped Jake Meyer of Barrington 5-4.
"I just wanted to stay the course and wait for my opportunity for the pin," said Berg. "I feel confident going into the sectionals."
Runners-up for the regional champs were Adam Nixon (120), Mannes (138), Justin Gillich (160) and Jacob Melton (170).
Qualifying as third-place finishers were Spencer Welter (113) and Matt Koch (132).
Barrington with 8 sectional qualifiers, finished second with a score of 142.
Regional champions for the Broncos included Jarit Shinhoster (113) and Max Guhde (160). Shimhoster nipped Joe Arroyo of Grayslake North 6-5 while Guhde made quick work of Gilich of Grant with a pin in 2:53.
Second-place finishers for the Broncos belonged to Tucker Priola (106). Hartmann (126) and Meyer (152). Third-place finishers were Connor Delahunt (120). Nick Zawisza (145) and Alex Crook (220).
Crook nipped Kris Krey of Grant 3-1 for third place.
"I am thrilled to qualify for the sectionals," said Crook. "It will be great to wrestle at home next week."
Lake Zurich finished 4 points behind second place Barrington in third with a score of 138.
Crowned regional champions for the Bears were Pete Baldaccini (170), Josh Dyer (220) and Eric Brown (285).
Baldaccini, who lost to Grant's Melton in the championship match of last weekend's North Suburban Conference meet, avenged the loss with a 6-5 win to win the regional title.
"Last weekend's loss was tough to handle," said Baldaccini. "I was hoping to get another shot at him. I was much more aggressive this time."
Dyer dominated Rodriguez of D-C with a 11-4 decision while Brown won by technical fall over Woodring of Cary-Grove 15-0.
Nick Swanson (132) was a runner-up while qualifying as third place finishers for the Bears were Joey Stutzman (138), Kyle Fleming (182) and Billy Bussie (195).
Host McHenry was fourth with a score of 99.5 while Grayslake North placed fifth with 96.5 points.
Arroyo (113) and Wright (145) placed second while Alex Moran (160) and Sean Pearce (285) were third for the Knights.
Moran punched his ticket to Barrington with a hard-fought 1-0 decision over Cary-Grove's Mike Gustafson.
"I thought maybe one point would be enough," said Moran. "I knew it would be a tough match. It is great to advance to the sectionals."
Round Lake, with Juan Arteaga claiming the regional title at 106, placed ninth with a score of 34 points.
Artenga, the lone Panther to qualify for the sectionals, moved to 34-8 on the season with a 4-1 win over Barrington's Priola.
"I was runner-up a year ago in the regionals," said Artenga. "It was very rewarding to finish first. Looking forward to the sectionals next week."