Grant's middle-weight strength sinks Wheeling
Grant exerted its middle-weight quality and depth Tuesday night in Fox Lake to eliminate Wheeling in Class 3A dual team wrestling sectional action before a packed house in Fox Lake 39-31.
That puts the Bulldogs (19-2-0) in an 11 a.m. Saturday state quarterfinal matchup against Providence Catholic inside U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.
In the other half of Tuesday's double-dual at Grant, Hononegah (14-3-0) rolled past Deerfield 45-21 to set up a 9 a.m. Saturday dual with reigning state champion Oak Park-River Forest, which blanked Glenbard North 73-0.
"Obviously, I am extremely proud of these guys right now," said Grant coach Len Grodoski. "This is something that started way back in July, and to see all of the hard work everyone has put in turn into a trip downstate is something that makes me feel very good right now."
That's especially true for a senior like Christian Kanzler, who brought home a sixth-place medal from the individual tournament in Champaign over the weekend.
"This has been a real team effort from the beginning of the year, but last week four of us made it downstate - this weekend, we're all going to be together and competing for a state trophy together, and nothing could be better than that," Kanzler said.
The night began promisingly enough for Wheeling, which saw junior heavyweight Zach Yfantis (28-17) open the proceedings with a pin at 4:40 before Manny Ramirez (33-11) won a see-saw affair against Alex Paz (10-8) to help get the Wildcats off to a 9-0 advantage.
"We had a good start, but we kind of fell off afterward, losing matches we shouldn't have, and that's a tough way to see our season end," said Yfantis.
"Credit Grant," said Wheeling coach Neal Weiner. "They're a very solid team, and well coached. But even though we won six out of eight matches, we gave up way too much in bonus points, with a couple of our guys getting pinned, which is not acceptable at any time when you're competing in a dual."
The teams traded decisions to make it 12-3 when Matt Koch (126), hailed by Kanzler and teammates Cole Berg and Kobe Lear for his momentum-swinging triumph, pinned sophomore Mason Skloot at 3:04.
"Matt's pin was the turning point tonight for us," said Lear, with Kanzler nodding in agreement.
"When one of your guys pins a two-time state qualifier when things are kind of going back and forth, it gives everyone a lift, and Matt's big win did just that for all of us," said Berg, who along with Justin Gilich, and Jacob Melton joined Kanzler downstate last weekend.
Kanzler (40-6, 132) was able to pin J.P. Smith at 2:59 to give the Bullodgs a short-lived 15-12 lead. It was soon tied at 15 after Tristen Guaman (138, 38-14) outlasted Dylan Mannes, using 5 unanswered points down the stretch to earn a hard-fought 11-10 decision.
That was the last time Wheeling was in the race.
Berg (37-6), Lear (34-9) and Gilich (32-9) went to work, thrilling the highly charged home crowd.
"It was a great atmosphere tonight, and those three helped it get going - especially Lear's match," said Grodoski, long after the gym had cleared.
The 152-pounder recorded an early takedown, and quickly added 2 on back points to go up 4-0 over the Wildcats' state qualifier, Jaylen Shaw (33-12). Lear then strengthened his grip on the talented junior by going up 10-0 after four minutes with a near fall.
Lear put the finishing touches on his magnicent effort with a technical fall at 5:27.
"Shaw is a great opponent, so I knew it was a big match for us and that's what it's all about - doing what's best for the team," said Lear, who added 5 points to up the Bulldogs' lead to 26-15. Minutes later, Gilich extended it to 29-15.
"We had a game plan, and Kobe followed it perfectly, and his win against a terrific kid like Shaw really got us up and going the rest of the way," said Grodoski.
Scott Anderson (170) slowed the bleeding for Wheeling with his 4-3 win over Melton, but Justin Spies and Ryan Alsip closed things out with back-to-back decisions.
"It was still a good year for us despite our loss tonight," said Yfantis. "We won the Glenbrook South tournament and a regional title, and we had only two seniors in our lineup, so next year should be bigger and better for us."
"We got to this night, and now downstate, because this is a great group," Grodoski said. "They really came together down the stretch, and with the help of a couple of great assistant coaches like Anthony Johnson and Walter Alvarenga giving up so much of their time during the off-season, it's no wonder we'll be in Bloomington this weekend and looking to bring a state trophy home with us."
The Bulldogs are their way to the finals for the sixth time overall, the third time since the state went to a three-class system, and the first time since 2013.
• In the Deerfield-Hononegah dual, it was all Hononegah, which broke open a 16-16 contest by winning four straight, two by technical falls, and another major to stop coach Marc Pechter's team, which was looking to make its second consecutive trip to Bloomington.
"Our lineup was so different tonight because of injuries, and illness, so when that happens you look to see how others can do, while it tests your depth as well, and the effort was there, but (Hononegah) was just the better team tonight," said Pechter. "It was a great year for us. We won 26 matches for the third year in a row, but it wasn't enough tonight against a worthy opponent."
Hononegah will be making its sixth appearance in program history.
at Larkin: Prospect topped Notre Dame 36-16 to earn a second straight trip to the Class 3A dual team wrestling finals.
The Knights (20-6) will meet Lockport in a 9 a.m. state quarterfinal matchup at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.
In the other matchup at Larkin, top-ranked Oak Park-River Forest shut out Glenbard North 73-0.