Scouting DuPage County wrestling
Top teams: Montini, Wheaton North, Glenbard North, Glenbard East, Lake Park, Wheaton Warrenville South, Naperville North, Downers Grove North, Waubonsie Valley, Metea Valley.
Top athletes: Addison Trail: Mariano Chaidez, so., 132; Andre Frontier, sr., 145; Guillermo Juarez, so., 106; Brian Reyes, so., Nick Skamara, fr., 170. Downers Grove North: Sky Arend, sr., 195; Nate Cummings, jr., 106; Austin Maher, sr. 152; Joe Rongaus, sr., 160; Ethan Smith, sr., 285. Downers Grove South: Tyler Bachara, so., 132; Dylan Knock, so., 120; Matt Straus, so., 113; Sergio Villalobos, jr., 220. Fenton: Dylan Butts, jr., 182; Nikko Castaneda, sr., 160; Ryan Mencini, so., 132; Angel Nava, sr., 138. Glenbard East: Nick Donovan, sr., 120; Cole Martin, jr., 152; Alex Posada, so., 132; Brandon Raines, sr., 285; Scott Szabo, sr., 138. Glenbard North: Abe Assad, sr., 145; Austin Gomez, sr., 132; Anthony Marra, jr., 152. Glenbard South: Numan Ayhan, sr., 182; Adam Haushahn, jr., 195; Vince Marra, sr., 152; Jayson Powell, sr., 120. Glenbard West: Aaron Castellanos, jr., 126; Charles Faber, sr., 120; Catron Frazier, jr., 106; Michael Mutton, sr., 132; Peyton Nimsakont, jr., 145. Hinsdale Central: Ameen Hamdan, sr., 152; Niko Ivanisevic, sr., 285; Peter Pigatti, sr., 182; Luke Skokna, so., 160. Hinsdale South: Easa Aristizabel, jr., 145; William Hogan, jr., 138; Danish Querishi, sr., 126; Renwick Williams, so., 120. IC Catholic Prep: Joe Bianchini, jr., 113. Lake Park: Luke Badger, sr., 106; James Firme, sr., 113; Anthony Gulyk, jr., 220; Vince Liebich, jr., 152. Lisle: Matt Gwilliam, so., 106; Mark Pivek, sr., 160; Drew Sonnefeldt, sr., 138; Charlie Waldusky, so., 195; Zach Zacuda, so., 220. Metea Valley: Harsh Anchan, jr., 126; Jio Martinez, so., 152; Bobby Papiernik, sr., 285; Phillip Sims, so., 120; Tommy Rouse, so., 106; Montini: Will Lewan, jr., 145; Joey Melendez, jr., 113; Matt Ortiz, so., 160; Real Woods, jr., 126. Naperville Central: Kyle Guttosch, so., 106; Jake Keating, sr., 138; Nick Keating, jr., 132; Derek McDaniel, jr., 145; Christian Nussbaum, sr., 285. Naperville North: Ben Kruk, jr., 120; Cam Martin, sr., 195; Gabe Matar, jr., 60; Quinn McKenna, jr., 138. Neuqua Valley: A.J. Lighthall, sr., 182; Jackson Modaff, sr., 195; Dennis Murphy, so., 120; Danny Sanderson, jr., 145; Anand Shah, sr., 113. St. Francis: Dan Dickerson, jr., 152; Vincent D'Orazio, jr., 126; Colin James, so., 145; Danny Skold, so., 170. Waubonsie Valley: Lucas Brailand, jr., 145; Zach Grosch, sr., 195; Mason Kroening, sr., 182; Michael Scalgione, sr., 170. Nick Sondag, sr., 220. West Chicago: Jonathan Juarez, sr., 220; Trey Lally, sr., 195; Malik Milazzo, jr., Jesus Saveriana, sr., 113. Wheaton Academy: Derek Johanik, so., 220; Nori Kasai, sr., 195; Conor Scanlan, jr., 152. Wheaton North: Devin Donovan, sr., 160; Frankie Indelli, sr., 132; Bo Neidalla, jr., 195; Duncan Nelson, sr., 145; Jaime Sanchez, jr., 126. Wheaton Warrenville South: Nate Dalan, jr., 152; Hunter Edwards, jr., 113; Jake Jones, sr., 138; Andrew Leonard, sr., 195; Placide Niyegean, sr., 170. Willowbrook: Andrew Cuellar, jr., 113, Tyler Guerrero, jr., 160; Jack Jessen, jr., 182; Dominic Ranieri, sr., 132; Zach Seymore, fr., 106. York: Antonio Gutirrez, so., 126; Austin Hoffman, sr., 138; Blake Quarrie, sr., 195.
Scouting report: Austin Gomez enters his final season at Glenbard North as truly an elite athlete. The Iowa State recruit, a two-time defending Class 3A champion, is ranked No. 2 in the nation by intermatwrestling.com at 132 pounds. "He is so much fun to watch," Naperville North coach Tom Champion said. "If everybody wrestled like Austin Gomez, wrestling would be soldout across the country. I don't know if I have ever seen a match in which he wasn't trying to score 50 points." The Panthers have long been a barometer for the largest-class programs in the area. Glenbard North will seek an unprecedented 19th consecutive DuPage Valley Conference championship in their second-to-last year in the league this winter.
"They had a great conference tournament last year," Neuqua Valley coach Mick Ruettiger said of Glenbard North. "They weren't expected to win it. Hats off to them." The Panthers' run of regional titles in succession stands at 20. "If you want to want to win conference championships, it starts in grade school," Glenbard South coach Derrick Crenshaw said of the Panthers' storied feeder programs. "The rich get richer every year. We're in the land of the giants here. I have had only six state qualifiers in my (20-year) career." "When January and February come around, they always seem to hit back," Wheaton Warrenville South coach Matt Janosek said of the Panthers. But Glenbard North will be put to the test to capture yet another DVC championship this season. "I think, looking at the numbers, Wheaton North has to be the team to beat in the DVC," Champion said. "I think the sleeper is Naperville Central. They are going to surprise a lot of people." In addition to Gomez, the Panthers will rely heavily upon Assad and Marre; the three all captured titles at the season-opening Conant Invitational last weekend.
Wheaton North, on the other hand, is anchored by Donovan, who was sixth in state last year. Sanchez and Nelson are also state veterans for the Falcons.
Montini had its run of eight straight state championships snapped by Catholic League rival Marmion in the quarterfinals last season in its first appearance in the Class 3A team-dual state series. But the Broncos have three nationally ranked wrestlers who will look to ascend to the top of the podium in February in Champaign. Melendez is the defending champion at 106 pounds. Woods' bid for an undefeated season came ever so close, but Sandburg senior Louis Hayes avenged both of his losses last year to the Broncos' junior in the state-championship match at 113 pounds. Lewan is the third Montini wrestler who appears in the national ratings. The Broncos enter the season ranked No. 26 by intermatwrestling.com in its national rankings.
Willowbrook junior Jessen has already had a storybook underclass varsity tenure, but the Warriors' 182-pounder looks to break through the mental barriers of the state finals. Jessen, ranked No. 4 in the nation at 170 pounds, will almost certainly compete at 182 pounds this season. "(Jessen) verbally committed to Northwestern last week," Willowbrook coach Brandon Murphy said of his standout athlete who has a runner-up and third-place finish at state. "We are trying to get him ready for college. He keeps on working on getting better."
Glenbard West senior Faber is another local athlete trying to repeat his medal-winning performance from a year ago. The Hilltoppers' four-year starter was fifth in state last year at 113 pounds. "You never know what's going to happen (in the state series)," Glenbard West coach Nick Posegay said. "I have a very solid lower-weight crew. Football is over. We should be getting better as each week goes by."
Among other returning state qualifiers, WW South senior Leonard looks to emerge from the considerable shadows of league and state series rivals Dylan Ervin and Max Ihry of Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley. The Indian Prairie competitors both graduated, and the Tigers' 195-pounder is a name to remember this season. Metea Valley, Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley have different goals this year. "I am very excited about this group," Metea Valley coach Claudio Torres said of his youthful squad, which features returning state qualifier Sims. "My kids are getting better."
Waubonsie Valley will have an almost identical look to its team from last year: the Warriors will be exceptional at the upper weights. "We have quite a mix of ages," Waubonsie Valley coach Brad Caldwell said. "The older kids already have that experience. My expectations are very high." Ruettiger has been the only coach in Neuqua Valley history, but this will be his final year as an educator. The jury is still out on whether he returns to coach. The Wildcats have struggled in recent years after a lengthy run of success in the past decade-plus. "We have made a commitment to move the program back up," said Ruettiger, who guided Neuqua Valley to nine regional titles and 11 Upstate Eight Conference titles during his tenure. In the Upstate Eight Valley Glenbard East is off to a blazing start. "Our big win this year was against Huntley," Glenbard East coach Kevin Carlson said of the Rams' 6-0 start. "They were ranked No. 20." West Aurora will likely be the Rams' primary league competitors. "We will find out Thursday night (when we wrestle West Aurora)," Carlson said. Donovan has one last chance to qualify for state. "Donovan is a three-time state alternate. Always the bridesmaid," Carlson said. Downers North athletes Cummings and Maher, along with Naperville Central senior Keating, are the other returning Class 3A qualifiers from the area.
In Class 2A Ayhan has unlimited potential for Glenbard South. "We hope to get downstate again," Crenshaw said of his prized senior. "If we can get him to be all-state that would be great." Fenton coach Brian Hastings is optimistic for a breakthrough season. "We are off to a 6-0 start," Hastings said. "As a team, I think they can have a lot of success."
In Class 1A Sonnefeldt and Pivek look to punch return state tickets for Lisle. "I would think they could both be state place-winners," Lisle coach John Ruettiger said. "That's what I'm hoping for." IC Catholic Prep junior Bianchini suffered a heartbreaking loss in the 106-pound state-championship match last season.
Key dates: Dec. 3, West Aurora Mega Duals; Dec. 9-10, Ironman; Dec. 16-17, Hinsdale Central Rex Whitlatch Invite; Dec. 16-17, Glenbrook South Russ Erb Invite; Dec. 17, Lake Park Ralph Krupke Memorial; Dec. 22-23, Dvorak; Dec. 30-31, The Clash; Jan. 6-7, Cheesehead Invitational; Jan. 7, Lincoln-Way East Illini Classic Invite; Jan. 20-21, Conference tournaments; Jan. 28, DuPage Valley Conference championship
- Kevin McGavin