Searing result favors Prospect's Romero
It was time to get the firehose out Friday night - because Miguel Romero of Prospect was just burning it up.
The Prospect sophomore awoke a big crowd at the Conant sectional in Hoffman Estates when he surprised the wrestler ranked No. 4 in the state by IllinoisMatmen.com, Gabriel Townsell of Oak Park-River Forest.
Townsell had a seemingly comfy 10-3 lead before Romero put the Huskies senior to his back with a stunning pin at 3:36.
"I never gave up, and just kept fighting," said Romero, "and when the chance was there, I went for it, and all of sudden he was on his back."
Next up for Romero, who was mobbed by his teammates and coaches after the verdict, will be Streamwood senior Sunny You (29-2), who will also be searching for his first state tournament appearance in Saturday's action.
"The kid has a lot of heart - in fact, he almost caught Townsell earlier also. But that was quite a big win for the young man, that's for sure," said Prospect coach Tom Whalen, who watched three others - Bobby Jarosz (160), Matt Wroblewski (182) and Alex Koczwara (195, 34-6) - all advance into the semifinals. Those are set to begin at noon, following the first round of wrestlebacks (10 a.m.).
Those who survive the grind of wrestlebacks and make it to 4:45 on Saturday will have already booked a spot into the Class 3A state tournament, which begins next Thursday in Champaign.
Next up for Jarosz (26-8) is Isaiah White (20-0) of Oak Park-River Forest. He's not only a returning state champion but also the nation's top-rated 160-pounder.
"It's a match that I have to go in expecting to win, it's the only way to be - so I'm really looking forward to seeing White in the semifinals," said Jarosz, who last week won a regional title at Lake Park.
Koczwara delivered a pin just 48 seconds into his quarterfinal.
"Quite frankly, this is were I always imagined myself to be, so I'm happy to be in the semis," Koczwara said. "But I also realize it's one match at a time, or trouble can happen."
Trouble is what the Schaumburg quartet of Jack Lingle (113, 27-9), Hazan Rice (120, 35-2), Logan Gruszka (170, 36-1) and Tony Vezzetti (182, 29-5) dished out on Friday. The last three mashed their opponents, while Lingle needed a little extra time to get past Shane Dziadosz (31-9) of Leyden in an ultimate tie-breaker, 3-1. Next for Lingle is No. 6, Charles Faber (38-2) of Glenbard West.
Dziadosz's teammate Jeremiah Recinos (36-7) survived a magnificent bout against Anthony Marre (Glenbard North, 32-7). Ledyen's captain used a sublime bit of scrambling to escape from a quality shot by Marre, then turned things in his favor for to a 16-2 major decision.
"Marre really got deep in on me, but my defense of that great shot with that scramble was the turning point in that result," said Recinos, who next meets No. 7-ranked Jackson Schoen (Lake Park, 35-3), a 2015 state qualifier.
After his second-period defensive scramble, Recinos immediately went on the offensive, using a takedown followed by a near-fall to use that 5-point swing to grab a 10-1 advantage after four minutes of action.
The Conant trio of Alex Giuliano (106), Danny Madonia (132) and Kyle Peisker (138) sparkled on their home mats. Giuliano (25-11), a freshman, got it all started with a pin in his opening match and followed with a thrilling 5-3 decision over No. 12-ranked John Yousef (Maine East, 29-4) to avenge an earlier 4-3 loss.
"It felt great to get some revenge, especially at sectionals, because I didn't want to come out here tomorrow and have to begin in wrestlebacks," said Giuliano with a smile.
Seventh-ranked Peisker (35-1) had little trouble during his lone match of the evening, pinning Austin Hoffman (29-15) of Evanston to set up a semifinal against Joe Czernek (Glenbard North, 29-9). A victory there sends Conant's four-year veteran to his second consecutive trip to Champaign.
Madonia (32-1) took a little time to get going, but once he did, the No. 5-rated 132-pounder outscored Al Aguilar (35-11) to move into the semifinals against Matt Milan (32-10) from Glenbard North.
"I know Danny will tell you it wasn't his best effort, but at this point, you want the guys to get over the opening night nerves, get a win, and go home," said Conant coach Chad Hay.
Rolling Meadows senior Tulga Zuunbayan (152, 28-2) was positively smashing in his only match of the competition on Friday, which ended with the two-time state qualifier rolling to a 20-9 major over Riley Lomenick (Wheaton North).
"Tulga has been nearly untouchable during the last month, and since the Hinsdale Central tournament (in late December) I think he's only been taken down once," said Mustangs assistant coach James Kohlberg, who watched junior Michael Womeldorf edge Maurice Rihani (Maine East, 27-6) in his quarterfinal to set up a matchup against No. 4-ranked Michael Ordonez (32-8) of OPRF.
"I went out to that big lead and let it get too close," said Womeldorf, "but a lot of that happened when I had the wind knocked out of me late in the match, and I began to tire a little."