Neuqua Valley edges Lake Zurich in BG's Lewis Invite
Neuqua Valley senior Tyler Cristofaro said better times were ahead for the Wildcats wrestling program - and perhaps that time is closer than many think.
Coach Mick Ruettiger's team scored just enough points to edge closest challengeer Lake Zurich for the team title Saturday afternoon in the 40th annual Rex Lewis Invite at Buffalo Grove.
The Wildcats used a championship performance from Denis Murphy at 120 pounds and a quartet of second-place finishes performances to edge the Bears 210-203. Next came Lawrence Central of Wisconsin (179), St. Patrick (138) and Schaumburg 114.
"There's a lot of youth in our starting lineup - (mostly) sophomores, and just four seniors - so for me, it will be great to come back to see how much better a team this will be in the near future,," said Cristofaro, a three-sport standout who finished second overall at 170 pounds.
"There's still a lot of teaching and learning going on in our room," said Ruettiger, "but we're beginning to see some good results because of it."
The veteran coach celebrated back-to-back individual titles from the lower end of his lineup when Murphy helped get the Wildcats off to a flying start in the final round of action.
"Not only me but also my teammates have much more confidence this season," said Murphy, who was a regional champ a year ago and 1 win away from a state tournament appearance after earning 30 victories as a freshman.
Murphy defeated Schaumburg sophomore Jack Lingle, also a state tourney veteran, 9-2 in the final.
"Having the benefit of training with Hazen Rice (Schaumburg's 2015 state medalist) last season was a great experience, and one of the primary reasons for making it downstate," said Lingle.
The Wildcats were able to hold off a hard-charging Lake Zurich team, which had advanced a tourney-best five into the finals. But the Bears converted two of those entries into titles, the first coming from Maxx Wayne (126) and the second by Nick Swanson, who dominated the field at 132.
"I suffered a meniscus injury last year, and again before this year began, but I feel like I'm getting closer to being a 100 percent of late," Swanson said.
Teammates Jason Wallard (113), Kyle Fleming (195) and Josh Dyer (220) each had runner-up finishes. Dyer, a four-year veteran, dropped a 7-3 decision to Buffalo Grove's Sam Haro.
"Sam wrestled well, it was a great match and win for him," said BG coach Kurt Kutska, who in his first year at the helm saw his club finish a respectable ninth with 74 points.
MSL East rival Elk Grove was 9 points better than the Bison, thanks in part to a fine day from heavyweight, nthony Greco. He lost in the final to St. Viator star James Valentino (13-0), currently ranked as the No. 2 rated 285-pounder in the 2A class.
"Right now James is just mashing the competition, and it's his mission to win a state title after getting downstate two straight years and having nothing to show for it," said Lions coach Jason Churak.
St. Viator also got a third-place medal from Joe Debartolo (12-2), who is off to a terrific start for the Lions at 145 pounds.
"I actually thought about not coming back for my final year, but I figured I had to finish what I started, and to go all-in this year - and so far, so good," said Debartolo.
The Lions placed 11th, just one-half point (67.5-67) behind Larkin. Royals coach Mike Hodge watched Justin Valle (113), Jesus Facio (195) and Hector Perez (220) each come away with third-place medals.
"I'm not doing anything half-way this season, I've made the full commitment to myself, my team and coach Hodge, who has worked me hard, and has driven me to be the best that I can be," said Perez, now 7-1 after winning 15 times a year ago.