Warren pulls away from Lake Zurich
Lake Zurich kept it close for the first half of its North Suburban Conference wrestling meet with Warren on Thursday night.
Starting at 285 pounds, the host Bears trailed the Blue Devils only 18-13 after the first seven matches. But Warren (5-1, 2-1) proceeded to score the next 25 points en route to a 43-19 victory.
Warren improved to 5-1 and 2-1 in the NSC, while Lake Zurich fell to 7-2 and 2-1.
Senior 285-pounder Mike Bertoia's pin in 1:39 gave the Bears a 6-0 advantage to open the competition. Warren sophomore Austin Nash then recorded an 8-2 decision over Justin Wollard at 106, before teammate Cam Domke added a 7-3 decision over Jason Wollard at 113 to deadlock the score at 6-6.
Warren 120-pounder J.T. VanderVere pinned his opponent in 2:27, before teammate Richard Howard's forfeit victory staked the Blue Devils to an 18-6 lead.
Lake Zurich senior Maxx Wayne responded with a 15-2 major decision at 132, before 138-pound teammate Nick Swanson captured a 9-3 decision over Kendell Bell to cut the gap to 18-13 midway through the dual meet.
And while the Bears were hurt by the absence of four key wrestlers to injuries, Warren went on a roll starting with a pin in exactly one minute by senior and 2016 state qualifier Grant Zamin (8-0).
At 152, Warren junior Jariston Clarke earned a 4-1 decision over George Gritsonis. Then junior teammate Kelvin Cupay got a late takedown in his 3-2 decision over Nick DiMaggio at 160 for a 30-13 lead with four matches remaining.
"We've got guys that are out with injuries for the moment so we tried to fill in the best we could and they tried, but some of them got bumped up a weight," said Lake Zurich coach Dan Strickler. "Overall, there were critical errors we have to correct if we are going to have success by the end of the season. But Warren did a great job."
The Blue Devils continued their roll with 170-pounder Chris Love posting a 14-4 major decision over Josh Goldberg to clinch the team victory. Then 182-pound teammate Jared Pompilus' pin in 1:05 extended the lead to 40-13.
Like Zamin, Warren senior Andrew Demos (8-0) remained undefeated on the season with a 6-2 decision over Kyle Fleming at 195.
"As a team, we went out there and wrestled awesome, and Lake Zurich is no slouch as a team," said Demos. "I'm ready to go out there and keep putting points on the board, and I'm just working on getting downstate and getting on that podium."
Lake Zurich 220-pound senior Eric Brown pinned his man in 1:29 to account for the final score. The Bears were without seniors Josh Dyer (220), Billy Busse (182) and Derrick Juarez (145/152), while key junior teammate Joey Stutzman (138/145) has yet to wrestle this season.
"I think we really wrestled well, and this is the best our team has wrestled so far this year," said Warren coach Jake Jobst. "We were getting bonus points, putting kids on their back, and we're wrestling smart."