Wroblewski, Kohlberg dominant in early going at Conant

In what is the most important weekend of the high school wrestling season so far, day No. 1 of the Conant sectional came and went with a few surprises - as well as a few dominant performances.

Matt Wroblewski (Prospect) and Jackson Kohlberg (126, 35-3) of Rolling Meadows, the highest-ranked wrestlers from the Mid-Suburban League, breezed past their opponents and are now 1 win away from earning a place in the state field next week in Champaign.

Kohlberg will face top-ranked Anthony Madrigal (Oak Park-River Forest, 32-2) in Saturday's 9 a.m. semifinals, while Wroblewski (29-0) meets No. 6 Christopher Middlebrooks (OPRF, 23-2) as the Knights' standout goes in search of a second consecutive sectional title.

Thrilling last-second victories from Conant's Dan Wozniak (152, 33-10) and Artis Hudson (195, 31-10) highlighted a terrific opening night for the host Cougars, who will send seven of their athletes into the championship semifinals.

It was almost just six, if not for some heroics by Eric Hominac. He looked to be nearly down and out as Izzy Fox (39-6) had the Cougars senior in serious first-period trouble with a 5-0 lead.

Hominac (30-6) turned the table on the Evanston star, getting a cradle in on the senior before pinning him at 2:29.

"I knew what was coming, but I made a mistake," said Hominac, who subscribes to the theory of a bad loss sometimes being a good thing.

The Conant senior remembers all to well the feeling after his loss to Jake Meyer of Barrington in his quarterfinal match at the MSL tournament two weeks ago, and it's one that has had a profound effect.

"Oh yeah, it hurt," said Hominac (29-6), who will wrestler at North Central College next school year. "But it really forced me to change things a little bit, and to focus more on these next couple of weeks. Because a loss like that could end my season for good."

The two-year starter has come a long way in one season after advancing into sectionals a year ago and finishing with a 30-14 overall record.

Hominac, who won a regional title last weekend to help the Cougars capture the team championship at Streamwood, says the biggest difference in his game aside from getting bigger, stronger and quicker, has been his cool demeanor.

"I am so much more composed, which has allowed me to deal with whatever comes my way and it's been the single biggest change for me this year," he said.

That kind of composure also served Hudson well. With one second remaining, he scored the match-winner to defeat a stunned Elijah Osit of OPRF 7-4.

"It would have been easy for Artis to just stop and take the loss, but he never does, and you saw it in that quarterfinal of his," said Conant coach Chad Hay.

Early in the quarterfinals, sophomore Alex Giuliano (113, 27-8) persevered as well to earn a hard-fought 6-2 decision over Honor Nguyen (Geneva, 19-7) to move one step closer to Champaign.

"Scoring that first takedown was big - it gave me a lot of confidence," admitted Giuliano, who was a regional champ last week.

Maine West sophomore Jake Bellizzi (170, 29-11) competed like a four-year veteran to get himself into the semifinals with a 7-2 victory over St. Charles East senior Max Hatch (34-10).

"Getting that first match in today really helped settle me down, and scoring first in my quarterfinal allowed me to set the pace also," said Bellizzi, who takes on CSL rival Jon Halvorsen (Maine South, 27-5) in the semis.

MSL big men Alex Koczwara (Prospect, 32-4) and Nolan Warner (195, Schaumburg, 31-8) won at their respective weight classes.

Likewise for Rolling Meadows senior Michael Womeldorf (22-3) who, perhaps inspired by teammate Liam Collins' win just before him, took a 19-9 major decision win over Angelo Poland of Elgin.

Collins (138, 29-6), who on opening night edged Shane Dziadosz (27-11) of Leyden, stayed alive in the front draw after a hard-fought 12-6 victory.

"I really wanted this one badly," said an exhausted Collins, who last year fell 1 win short of going downstate.

Prospect heavyweight Jose Ramos (15-5), inserted into the Knights' lineup at the MSL tourney, is now 1 win away from going downstate after his pin of Marcus Krupiczowitz (Chicago Taft, 13-3).

First- and third-place matches are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the top four from each division advancing to the Class 3A state tournament.