Barrington grabs slim lead after Day 1 of Moore-Prettyman

Reigning Mid-Suburban League wrestling champion Barrington made the perfect start at its 26th annual Moore-Prettyman Invite on Friday.

Now the Broncos hope to finish what they started as day No. 2 begins Saturday morning.

The tourney hosts will enter the second day of action just 1 point in front of Marmion Academy (114-113) and inches in front of both Stevenson (109.50) and Lyons Township (108.50), with Wheaton North still within range at 101.

"A top-three finish was our plan heading into the weekend, so today was a pretty good day overall," said Broncos coach Dave Udchik, who along with Marmion will have six athletes in today's semifinals. Stevenson and Wheaton North each advanced five.

"Marmion is still amazing, aren't they?" asked Udchik. "Look at how many stars they graduated from a year ago, and yet they are still right at the top. It should be a fun day tomorrow."

Udchik's outfit will have several head-to-head matchups against the other team trophy hopefuls in the semis, including a pair of must-see bouts in the high-profile 170-pound weight class. That group features four returning state qualifiers in the semifinals, led by top seeds Johnny Mologousis (Lyons Township) and junior Nate Jimenez (Marmion Academy), who looked to be in midseason form by pinning his way into his match with Nikita Nepomnyashchiy of Stevenson.

"I felt ready to go right from the start today, and after getting in two good matches, I am looking looking forward to tomorrow," said Jimenez, whose is coming off a terrific year in which he earned a third-place medal at the state tournament.

On the top of this bracket sits Mologousis, a state runner-up at 160 last February. His performance on Friday suggests the LT senior will give Jake Meyer of Barrington all he can handle.

Meyers' teammates at 132 (Jarit Shinhoster) and 145 (Markus Hartman) impressed their coach with their two matches - particularly Shinhoster, who won a hard-fought quarterfinal with Burlington Central sophomore Nick Termini, a 2A state qualifier last year.

Shinhoster broke open a close contest in the last 30 seconds of regulation with a reversal, giving him a 7-2 decision.

"Jarit was mentally tough in the match," said Udchik. "(Termini) was strong and very tough, but Jarit did well to ride him out the entire second period, then break him in the last 30-40 seconds."

Hartman, who was third here at 126 last year, will face 2016 state qualifier Duncan Nelson of Wheaton North.

Others from Wheaton North to make the semis were Frankie Indelli (132), Riley Lomenick (138) and Devon Donovan (160).

"I got some good work in, but I've got to be better tomorrow in order to win this tournament, and even better later on to get to the state tournament and win it all," said Donovan, a two-time state qualifier who is on the opposite end of the bracket from No. 1 seed Dylan Geick, a Moore-Prettyman defending champ from Stevenson.

"Even though things didn't end the way I had hoped, it was still a great year," said Geick, who recently committed to Columbia in the Ivy League. "But this year is a big one for all us. I had a good off-season of work, and although injuries before Fargo (bruised ribs) and later preseason nationals (shoulder) kept me out of the competition, it didn't slow me down and I am very excited for the season."

Geick will face Daniel Rasmussen of Barrington in Saturday's semifinals.

One of Stevenson's chief rivals, Libertyville, enjoyed a nice day according to coach Dale Eggert. The Wildcats are in seventh place with 85.50 points and just 5 points away from Metea Valley.

"It's good to have three guys (Drew Onufer, Danny Pucino, Michael Gunther) in the semifinals, but we also received some quality efforts from several others to make our first day a good one," said Eggert.

Two-time state qualifier Joe Arroyo (113) of Grayslake North booked his place in the semifinals, as did Austin Macias (Burlington Central, 120), who will face Onufer.

"I'm glad we're in a tournament that is as good as this one - it's all about going against the best that you can every weekend in order to get better," said Macias, who on his second trip downstate last February won 41 matches and earned a third-place state medal.

DuPage Valley Conference champ Philip Sims of Metea Valley will meet Ryan Fleck (Marmion Academy) on the opposite side of the 120-pound bracket. And Marmion's Anthony Cheloni (138) has his eyes on a second consecutive Moore-Prettyman title.

Prospect is tied with Plainfield South for eighth place with 81 points, thanks in part to senior Alex Koczwara, who excelled in his two bouts at 182 pounds to reach the semifinals.

MSL champ Zack Nemec is still alive after edging Libertyville's Charlie Schmidt with a tie-breaker OT quarterfinal 2-1, while 2016 state qualifier Josh Dyer of Lake Zurich pinned his way into the semifinals at 220 pounds.

Waubonsie Valley's Mason Kroening meets Kyle Fleming of Lake Zurich in the semifinals at 195.

Consolation matches will begin at 10 a.m., followed immediately by the semifinals. The medal round is set to start at about 3:15 p.m.