Ten Mid-Suburban League wrestlers headed to state

If there was any doubt about who from the Mid-Suburban League would earn a top-two seed at next week's Class 3A state tournament in Champaign, look no further than Markus Hartman.

The Barrington junior will likely find himself on the opposite side of No. 1 Will Lewan of Montini (36-2) in the 145-pound state bracket when it all begins next Thursday following a masterful two days of sectional competition on the Broncos' home mats.

Hartman (41-1) took the steam out of all three of his opponents, including No. 9 Grant Zamin of Warren in the semifinal.

Hartman then put together a dominant six-minute effort in the final against Alex Rosenbloom of Highland Park, leaving the No. 2-rated Bronco with a sectional title.

"This is what I've been working toward since the beginning of the season but there's one more important week to go," said Hartman, whose lone defeat on the season is a 4-3 decision to Lewan in the final of the Berman Holiday Classic at Palatine in late December.

"Markus was just Markus," said coach Dave Udchik long after he watched three others qualify to go downstate.

Barrington juniors Jarit Shinhoster (132) and Dan Rasmussen (160) along with senior Jake Cysewski (152) all advanced, while four from MSL West rival Fremd did likewise to give the conference 10 altogether.

MSL and regional champ Wheeling advanced two of its own downstate.

Hartman was the league's lone champion, although Fremd heavyweight Zach Nemec (37-2) got himself into a final as well - only to run into top-ranked Anthony Cassioppi (Hononegah, 44-0). Cassioppi showed why he's the favorite to win the gold medal next Saturday evening.

Despite the Nemec defeat, the Vikings' ship was sailing full speed ahead when the middle of its lineup - Cole Reimer (138), Adam Kemp (152) and Quinn Bergles (160) - all came ashore with top-four finishes to ensure their first visits downstate.

Bergles (31-9), who was ill all week, came to life after his loss in the semifinals to Barrington's Dan Rasmussen (33-9) with a decisive win via a fall in his state-qualifying bout. He capped his wonderful day with a 7-2 win to earn a third-place trophy.

"I started to feel better today, when it really counted for me," said Bergles, who won his first two matches on Friday to set us his successful second day.

Kemp credited his success to teammate Bergles - along with his father Lee, a former three-time national champion.

"Quinn has been great for me, and my dad has always believed in me, and this weekend that confidence was the difference," said Kemp (29-13), who also finished third overall.

Reimer (40-5), who was also battling illness like Bergles, overcame his less-than-100-percent status with three consecutive victories in wrestlebacks to qualify before taking an default prior to his third-place match.

"I was feeling really bad," said the MSL champ. "It was so hard to breathe so I was using my inhaler as much as I could in order to get by."

The host Broncos could breathe a little easier after Shinhoster (36-5) bounced back to earn his first trip downstate after the memory of last year's loss in his state-qualifying match helped send him out of the front draw.

"I was really nervous before my semifinal, (thinking) about that loss last year," he said. "I didn't wrestle at all like I should have."

The Barrington junior won his third-place match against Aaron Leppert of Rockton Hononegah 8-1.

Rasmussen was strong throughout the weekend before running into No. 3-ranked Dylan Geick of Stevenson.

The Patriots star dashed the hopes of a second championship when an injured right ankle forced Rasmussen to take an injury default while trailing 9-3 in the third period.

Cysewski (39-9), nearly unbeatable during the last three weeks of the season, finally was defeated when David Ferrante (26-2) of Huntley prevailed 4-1 in the 152-pound final.

"It would have been nice to win here, but the goal all along was to get downstate, and medal, and that opportunity is still there for me," said Cysewski, who last weekend won a regional title at Grant.

Manny Ramirez (113, 41-6) and Zach Yfantis (220, 40-8) of Wheeling both won regional titles a week ago. But they had to settle for fourth-place medals under coach Neal Weiner.

"It was tough weekend for us," said Weiner, who watched five of his men falter in state-qualifying bouts, including 2016 state qualifier Jaylen Shaw (36-6). His wonderful career came to an end with a 6-5 defeat to Juan Quiroz of Huntley.