Scouting the Upstate Eight Conference tournament
Where: Larkin
When: Friday, 5 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.
2016 Champion: Batavia
Outlook: Much like Hugo Barraza from Larkin did so a year ago, Elgin junior, Angelo Poland hopes to rise up from among the typical UEC powers to make his mark on the field.
The Maroons' star has enjoyed a remarkable season thus far, and along with teammate Max Troyke have been a pair of bright stars in a program which is slowly beginning to find its way out of the doldrums.
"It's been hard with so many coaching changes here, but we've got a great one now with coach (Mark) Woollard and for me, having someone like Eric Moreno in the room every day has really made a difference in the way I train and compete," said Poland, who leads his club with a dazzling 27-3 record.
Moreno, a star in his own right when at Bartlett, when he become only the fourth in Hawks program history to win a state medal, his coming in 2010 when he placed fifth overall at 160 pounds.
"Angelo has come such a long way in a year," says Moreno. "His work rate and desire is very high, and he never wants to stop training and learning, and along with myself, all of us are very happy for him."
Poland, who won the Machese at Hoffman Estates, and recently at Glenbard South, enters this week with 17 pins, 3 technical falls and majors, much of which has come from his continued confidence on his feet to go along with his ability to wrestling on the mat.
"It's that time of the year to turn up the training and extra time in the room," said Poland, who missed the UEC tournament last year after suffering a separated shoulder.
The Maroons' junior has his eye on a UEC title this weekend, but admits the competition will be fierce with the likes of Cole Martin (Glenbard East), Chad Reynolds (St. Charles North) and Matthew Young of East Aurora, among others.
"It was disappointing to miss all of the postseason last year because of my injury, but it really helped motivate me to train even harder after rehabbing from my injury," he said.
"Angelo is a terrific kid, and one that I've known and coached for a long time from club wrestling, and it's great to see him coming into his own this year," said Woollard. "If the coaching staff here can keep him laser focused for the final month of the season, he can do something very special, and that hasn't happened around Elgin wrestling for quite some time."
To a man, all agree the team race will be decided among three: defending champion Batavia, St. Charles East, whom the Bulldogs would end the Saints stranglehold on the big trophy last season, and Glenbard East, which has been chasing its aforementioned rivals for the last couple of years.
"Both Batavia and Glenbard East each have strong teams. There will be some good matches between elite wrestlers, but I can tell you this tournament is going to be won in the wrestlebacks. I learned that lesson last year, and we're going to make sure my guys stay focused all throughout the weekend," says Saints head coach Jason Potter.
The Saints, who won the River Division dual meet season this year, would collect one more first-place medal (4-3) than Batavia, but the Bulldogs earned 14 medals out of 14 to help them outscore Potter's men (248-233) after leading the-then four-time champs by eight (208-200) before the start of the final session.
"Yes, it's likely between the three of us," admits Glenbard East head coach, Kevin McGrath. "This is the most balanced starting lineup we've had here since I took over, and we'll lean on our UEC champ from a year ago, Scott Szabo (138, 20-5), and conference runner-up Nick Donovan (120, 18-4), but we'll be looking for our three freshmen who were here last year to really step up when we need it this coming weekend."
West Aurora star Isaac Jacquez (29-2), No. 6 in the state at 120 pounds, will have an influence on the eventual outcome as he likely cruises past the competition to take away much needed points from the three favorites.
The same goes for the aforementioned Barraza and Poland, in addition to Kobe O'Brien (St. Charles North, 126, 24-1) as well as four from the Geneva club and head coach Tom Chernich.
"I expect my guys at 132 (Ivan Vilchis), 138 (Michael Donatelli), 145 (Kevin Huck) and 160 (Nick Sowers) to all be in the mix at the end, and their efforts and results could be the difference-maker in the team race," suggests Chernich.
Seniors Joe Posledni (160, 30-3) and Nick Benson (170, 26-6) lead the way for the Bulldogs, while Joe Ruffino (106, 30-0) leads a lower weight Saints contingent that will put plenty of points on the scoreboard.
"GBE is very good where we are, so look for the 113 (Ben Anderson, 26-4) 120 (Justin Benjamin, 24-4) and 138 (Niko Derain, 28-5) weight classes to be very exciting," says Potter, whose lads look ready to go after a terrific performance at the Illini Classic last weekend were the Saints finished second overall.