Dual-team wrestling state scouting
Class 3A dual-team state tournament
Where: U.S. Cellular Coliseum, Bloomington
When: Saturday - 9 and 11 a.m. quarterfinals; 2 p.m. semifinals; 6 p.m. championship and third-place matches.
Prospect pride: Since his freshman year with the Knights, standout 182-pounder Matt Wroblewski (42-2) has seen nearly 270 victories depart via graduation from standout teams in 2014 and 2015. Yet the junior and his current teammates are downstate for a second consecutive season.
Tuesday night against Notre Dame, the three-time regional champion and 2015 fourth-place medalist earned his 117th career victory for Tom Whalen with his 16th pin of the season to help seal the deal.
"Matt is the leader in our room. He's extremely focused on the success of our team, and the overall improvement - he's just a great teammate," said Whalen.
While every successful program needs a little bit of luck in finding a gem such as Wroblewski, it's a credit to Whalen and his staff that they've been able to overcome losses to the starting lineup these past couple of years and still manage to piece together a first-class club.
"I've been fortunate with a great staff since day No. 1 here," said Whalen. "I knew when I accepted the job that I needed to surround myself with others committed to developing a first-rate program, and our coaches work countless hours to make sure that we provide our guys with the best opportunity to be successful."
Whalen (128-53-0), now in his seventh year, has seen the names of his assistants change over the seasons. But all have shared a common outlook.
"The coaches enjoy being around the guys, and each other, and even though a few have moved on, they have stayed connected with our program," Whalen said.
The Knights struggled early this season, opening at 4-6 just before their annual trek to the Dan Flavin mega-duals at DeKalb. That trip started a 15-0 run to close out the season before Prospect recorded a 20-point win over Notre Dame at the Larkin dual-team sectional Tuesday.
Much of this was done with the strong core duo of Wroblewski and senior Bobby Jarosz (160, 29-13), and complemented by individual who've taken a big step forward this season.
Jake Verschoor, Joe Siracusa and Alex Koczwara were a combined 10-8 last year during their brief cup of coffee with the varsity. But this year they finished a cumulative 97-32, with Koczwara one victory from earning an individual state medal.
When Verschoor went down with an injury, Stu Isteefanos (20-10) stepped into his spot in the lineup at the MSL tournament and later advanced into the Conant sectional.
Freshman Andrew Baysinger (36-9) made it downstate at 106. So did sophomore Miguel Romero (28-12), who stunned two-time state medalist, Gabriel Townsend of Oak Park-River Forest at the sectional.
"The philosophy around here is that no one is bigger than the program," said Whalen. "Our wrestlers know they are preparing for the time they are called upon, and when that happens they will be ready to battle for their teammates and the program."
Prospect (20-6-0) vs. Lockport (22-4-0), 9 a.m.
This dual-team state opener looks like it will be a good one.
Both sides have an elite athlete, both advanced six individuals to Champaign last weekend, and both have terrific coaching staffs.
"I look forward to seeing how our guys compete against a very well-coached and tough program," says Whalen. "I want to see how much our program has grown this season, and if we're ready to take the next step. But I'm very excited to see our guys rise to the challenge this weekend."
There's plenty of family history, and success from the Lockport side in the name of Oster.
Coach Josh Oster is the oldest of five brothers who have gone through the Porters' system. The last three - Jake, Jamieson and Shayne - were state champions. Shayne won last year, giving the family eight state medals overall.
The Northwestern-bound Shayne Oster (35-4) is the lead man for the Porters at 145 and one of three to win medals a week ago. Abdullah Assaf (120, 22-6) and Trevell Timmons (152, 26-7) are the others.
Freshman Ronald Tucker (44-6) just missed joining his mates on the medal stand at 285 pounds.
The Porters were fourth here a year ago, but are back once again with five freshmen as key contributors. With a rugged weekend schedule, it doesn't seem likely the magnitude of the competition will bother Lockport.
Whalen has done a terrific job of upgrading the Knights' schedule during the past couple of seasons, with the likes of Stevenson, Deerfield, Glenbard North, Hononegah and Grant now regulars on the Prospect invitational list.
One never knows how much gamemanship will go on during the 14 bouts, but you can figure Oster to encourage his wresterls to stay away from bonus points losses if Jarosz, Wroblewski and Koczwara stay put at 160, '82 and '95 - perhaps the weakest spot in the Porters' lineup.
Alex Preissing (120, 12-3), a 2015 state qualifier who missed most of this season with a shoulder injury, was in the Knights dual-meet sectional lineup last Tuesday. That makes him a wild-card today, wherever Whalen looks to play him.
Against Notre Dame on Tuesday, Preissing, Miguel Romero and Vince Lobono got the Knights off to a 11-0 lead before their big men - Wroblewski, Koczwara, Lucas Reinhardt (220) and Jose Ramos (285) - came up with 15 unanswered points to send Prospect ahead with a 36-16 victory.
Hononegah (22-3-0) vs. Oak Park-River Forest (25-3-0)
If it wasn't for bad luck, Hononegah would have none at all. That's how the Indians must have felt when they found out they'd drawn into top-rated OPRF for their state opener. Too bad, too, because the NIC-10 champs would have proved to be a formidable foe to just about any other team here.
The big four from Hononegah - Keegan Powers (138), Fernie Silva (state champ at 152), Blake Zalapi (220) and Anthony Cassioppi (285) - are terrific. But through the full lineup, it's hard to picture Hononegah matching up with OPRF, which had eight top-three finishes last weekend in Champaign. Three of those top-eights were state champs: Jason Renteria (120), Isaiah White (160) and Allan Stallings (220).
The Huskies have far too much firepower up and down their lineup for really any other club here to challenge seriously. The No. 1-ranked club in the state is likely on its way to a third straight 3A title, and a fourth in program history.
Providence Catholic (14-6-0) vs. Grant (19-3-0), 11 a.m.
There was a time from 1987 through the early 2000's that Providence Catholic was the highest-profile team in the state of Illinois.
Coach Kevin Healy directed the Celtics to eight state titles and numerous second- and third-place trophies with one all-star group after another. It seemed like all Healy needed to do was add water to the next bunch, then sit back and watch it grow into another potential championship club.
But Healy and the Celtics took a step back following the 2008 season, the same year Montini grabbed the 2A trophy. After winning eight straight titles at 2A, Montini has been bumped back up to 3A. And Providence is now back in top form alongside, with a lineup filled with freshmen and sophomores, six of whom advanced downstate and two of whom won state medals (Jake Lindsey at 106, Cole Smith at 152).
Grant is back also - albeit from just a very brief time away, as it competed in the team finals in 2013. And the Bulldogs are feeling as if they have a chance to carry some hardware back home to Fox Lake.
"This journey began way back in mid-July, and the guys have come together to be an extremely tight bunch, which is very focused on its goal to come home with a state trophy," said Grant coach Len Grodoski, who guided the Bulldogs to its sixth state appearance overall during his first year on the job.
For two straight years, the Bulldogs finished second behind Stevenson at the North Suburban Conference tournament but came back to win its own regional to keep their postseason hopes alive. Last year ended with a heartbreaking loss against Prospect, but this time around Grodoski's team advanced by topping Wheeling in the sectional final with room to spare.
The real strength of Providence is from 106-152, where all of its state qualifiers reside. The Bulldogs figure to have pelnty of bite through the heart of their lineup, as Cole Berg (152, 37-6), Kobe Lear (152, 34-9), Justin Gilich (160, 32-9) have enough talent to help the club make a serious points push. Throw in three-time state qualifier and 2016 state medalist Christian Kanzler (126, 40-5) along with a gritty, hard-working lineup that concedes few majors and tech-falls, and Grodoski's men could find themselves in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon.
Marmion Academy (25-5-0) vs. Montini (15-3-0)
Wonder why coaches and fans have been so outspoken about the need to seed the Elite Eight? Well, on Tuesday the No. 2 Cadets edged No. 3 Sandburg (29-26), and all it earned them is a date with No. 4 Montini in the quarterfinals. After dominating the Class 2A field for nearly 10 years, the Broncos now take their chances against the next class up, beginning with the Cadets, who defeated Izzy Martinez's team 54-15 earlier this season.
It's a matchup that features battle-tested players such as Cadets state champions AJ Jaffe (138, 44-6) and Stanford-bound Nathan Traxler (182, 47-2) among others, versus Montini state runners-up Real Woods (113, 41-1) and Dylan Duncan (132, 42-3) who have competed against the best of the best both here in Illinois and outside of the state. The Cadets will counter the Broncos' slight edge in the lower weights with a first-rate overall team, beginning at 152 with Trace Carello (39-7) and continuing with sophomore Nate Jimenez (160, 39-13). Carello was second and Jimenez third individually in Champaign. In the end, it's the top-to-bottom competitiveness of both team which makes this quarterfinal the toughest of the them all to predict.
Class 2AQuarterfinals: Antioch (16-11) vs. Mt. Carmel (19-0) and Washington vs. Cahokia at 9 a.m.; Sterling vs. Crystal Lake Central and Marian Catholic vs. Springfield at 11 a.m.
Outlook: It's a daunting task facing Antioch, as the Sequoits face a storied program which has yet to lose this season. The Caravan, coached by John Kading, are led by Jacob Tucker (42-3 with 117 takedowns at 152 pounds), David Riojas (42-5 at 170), Yahya Thomas (38-5 at 126) and Matthew Reyes (36-4 at 285). Antioch has plenty of strengths as well after a successful individual state tournament and fourth trip to the state finals under coach Wilbur Borrero. Patrick Schoenfelder is 47-3 at at 152 pounds, George Bessette is 32-7 at 182 and Nathan Dlugopolski is 33-12 at 120. The matchup at 152 between Tucker and Schoenfelder will be a sequel to their individual 2A championship bout, which Tucker won 5-2.
- Mike Garofola