It's worth the weight for victorious Grant

It was a brand new conference - but the same old rivalry - when host Antioch met Grant on the wrestling mat Friday night.

With the dual starting at 285 pounds, the visiting Bulldogs fell behind 9-0 early. But they bounced back strong to topple the Sequoits 36-24 in this Northern Lake County Conference showdown.

With Antioch (10-3, 1-2) falling to Wauconda in a dual meet in the early stages of the 2016-17 season, it is looking like Grant (5-2, 2-0) is on a collision course with their Bulldog counterparts (Wauconda) for the probable NLCC title in January. Wauconda defeated visiting Lakes 45-24 on Friday night.

At 285 pounds, sophomore Xavier Sanchez got the Sequoits rolling with a pin in 4:38 before freshman teammate Alex Barbarise's 6-4 decision over Zach Hitzler at 106 gave Antioch a quick 9-0 advantage.

But wins would be tough to come by for the Sequoits after that point as Grant freshman Dylan Rienkinberger's 13-6 decision over Luke Menzies at 113 got the Bulldogs on the scoreboard.

Grant 120-pound freshman Ethan Geist followed up that victory with an 8-4 decision over Elijah Reyes before 126-pound teammate Tucker Rogan's pin in 2:45 gave the Bulldogs the lead for keeps at 12-9 although there was still a long way to go in the meet.

Spencer Welter kept the momentum going with a 10-1 major decision over Jackie Sistrunk at 132 pounds before 138-pound teammate Sam Maldonado added an 8-4 decision over DeAndre Burns to boost the lead to 19-9 midway through the competition.

Antioch sophomore Mikey Volkmar captured a 7-1 decision over Frank Urman at 145. But Grant senior and 2016 state qualifier Jacob Melton answered with a technical fall at 152 to give the Bulldogs a 24-12 lead at that point.

"We're heading in a positive direction and we just have to keep on pushing in the weight room and pushing ourselves," said Melton, who is 7-5 this season. "My first goal is a regional title, then making it out of sectionals, and then podium (at state)."

One area wrestler who is basically a lock for the podium and potentially a state title is No. 1-ranked Antioch senior Pat Schoenfelder (15-0), who pinned his opponent in just 18 seconds to cut Grant's lead to 24-18 with four matches remaining.

But the Bulldogs came through with senior Ryan Alsip's 8-3 decision over Greg Kane at 182, and 195-pounder Eduardo Tapia's pin in 1:25 clinching the team win with a 36-18 lead at that point.

"Antioch is a tough team, they do a good job with their program, and it's a rivalry so there's a lot of pressure," said Grant coach Lenny Grodoski. "We're really excited, we have a lot of young kids, and you are going to keep seeing that progression up and that is the game plan."

After missing the early stages of the season due to a high-ankle sprain from the football season along with an injury that required nine stitches, Antioch three-time state qualifier George Bessette improved to 2-0 as his pin in only 41 seconds closed out the meet to account for the final score.

"We still don't have our full team together, but they wrestled hard and some inexperience caught up with us," said Antioch coach Wilbur Borrero, whose team has won five regional crowns in the past seven years. "George (Bessette) is going to be fine and Pat (Schoenfelder) is working hard. I can count on him being ready when the time comes."