St. Viator enjoys strong finish in Round Lake triple-dual
It was only fitting that the outcome of the final meet of the day would come down to the final match of the day when visiting St. Viator faced the host Panthers in the Round Lake triple-dual meet Saturday.
St. Viator prevailed when 152-pound junior Jackson Churak came through with a 14-3 major decision over Round Lake sophomore Tony Williamson, securing an exciting 40-36 nonconference victory.
St. Viator (9-5) had a rough start to the day with a 51-28 defeat against Lake Forest (13-10). But the Lions bounced back strong with a 31-27 victory over Johnsburg, before facing Round Lake.
Round Lake (6-15), which had three key wrestlers out because of illness, opened with a 40-27 loss to Johnsburg. Lake Forest then handed the Panthers a 61-14 loss. The Scouts completed a 3-0 day by besting Johnsburg 54-30.
St. Viator got another big day from undefeated 285-pound senior James Valentino, who improved his record to 19-0. Valentino, who had a crucial pin in 2:54 against Round Lake, is a two-time state qualifier who recently committed to Brown University of the Ivy League.
"I thought we rebounded well today after being in a little slump, and Valentino had a very good match with a win in overtime against Johnsburg's heavyweight," St. Viator coach Jason Churak said. "Our senior leadership has been good. They are trying to put themselves in the right position for regionals and sectionals."
Like Round Lake, St. Viator was forced to take numerous forfeit losses due to injuries. Besides Valentino, senior Joe Debartolo (13-4 at 145) and 195-pound junior Steven Chiovari also went 3-0 for the Lions, while Jake Wolf (182) and Matt Dzuibyk (170) posted 2-1 marks. Senior Mike Dziedzic moved up to 160 to record a key pin against the Panthers.
"We've just had some key injuries that have forced us to bounce our lineup around a little bit," said Churak, whose team was stronger at the upper weights. "Debartolo is on the right path to become a state qualifier, and Mike Dziedzic is looking to get downstate at 152."
Round Lake's effort was led by 113-pounder Alex Coronado and 132-pounder Noah Castillo, both of whom went 3-0. The Panthers got 2-1 performances from Zach McCain at 126 and Andre Neal at 138.
Due to sickness, Round Lake was without the services of 106-pounder Ruben Navarette (second at the Harvard tournament), 112-pounder Anthony Enriquez and 220-pounder Josh Jackson.
"I think, for the guys we had today, we did OK," Round Lake coach Mike Hruska said. "We would have done much better with everyone in the lineup, but you can only wrestle with what you have. I think we could have beaten St. Viator, and it would have been a really close match with Johnsburg."
Senior Cory Barth (20-6 at 195/220), junior Quinn Dailey (126) and junior Caleb Durbin (152) all went 3-0 for Lake Forest.
"We're trying to tie or break our dual-meet school record (for wins) for the season, and we did it last year with 16," Lake Forest coach Matt Fiordirosa said. "We're on track with six dual meets left. But it's going to be tough so we're going to have to wrestle well."