There's no quit in Stevenson's Nepomnyashchiy

It's not easy to steal the spotlight when you're trying to upstage wrestling standouts such as Dylan Geick and Andrew Demos - but Nikita Nepomnyashchiy did just that Saturday afternoon in Barrington.

The Stevenson senior shone a bit brighter than the other stars in the Class 3A sectional, thanks to the glow that goes with defeating a previously unbeaten opponent. Nepomnyashchiy stopped unbeaten Jaden Glauser (40-1) of McHenry to capture the 170-pound sectional title and guarantee himeself a top-four seed in the Class 3A state tournament in Champaign.

The Nepomnyashchiy triumph was one of three for Stevenson.

"Nikita knew in his heart he would win here today, and it was that confidence that would carry him on through," said Stevenson coach Shane Cook, whose program celebrated individual titles from Geick (160) and Tommy Frezza (113); senior Eric Carter (145, 38-9) also earned his second trip downstate.

"When I suffered my shoulder tear before preseason nationals and was told that my high school season might be over, I told myself that wouldn't happen," said Nepomnyashchiy, whose takedown in overtime was the difference in a 6-4 win over Glauser, who held a 3-1 lead midway through the second period. "And today all of that hard work to get to where I am now really paid off."

"To see Nikita out there winning a sectional title is really amazing," said his teammate Geick (39-1) who, with a 9-3 advantage in his 160-pound final with Dan Rasmussen (Barrington), was given an injury default when his opponent appeared to suffer a sprained right ankle.

The No. 3-ranked Geick will now go about his search for a second straight state medal.

Frezza (36-3), a sophomore, made it three-for-three for the Patriots in title bouts when he won at 113 pounds, completing a wonderful two days of work with an 8-3 victory over Jake Harrier (36-7) of Jacobs to avenge a recent 5-4 defeat.

Warren's Demos continued to show little mercy on his 195-pound opponents, as he booked his first trip to Champaign with a 5-2 victory over Jake Lowell of New Trier in the title bout. The Blue Devils senior will enter Thursday's state competition with a sparkling 40-0 overall record after adding three victories here to help validate his spot at No. 4 in the weeks state polls.

"The reason for my record and me getting downstate has all been possible because of me working my tail off year-round - I've become a 12-month wrestler," said Demos, who last season was at 170 pounds and has since bulked up - much to the dismay of his opponents.

Demos' teammate, senior Grant Zamin (37-4), will make his second visit downstate after a third-place finish at 145 pounds.

Zamin dropped his semifinal to Barrington's Markus Hartman but was able to recover.

"My semifinal with Hartman didn't go according to plan, but my coach (Jake Jobst) came up to after that loss and said, 'You lost, now put it behind, and go about getting yourself downstate.' And that seemed to turn a negative into a positive real quick."

Zamin eventually defeated Stevenson's Carter 5-3 for third place.

Everyone associated with Mundelein wrestling had the same response when asked how things went after day No. 2 came to a close.

"It was a good day for Mustang wrestling," chimed in coach Roy Seeger, who has three qualifiers making the trip downstate: Dane Durlacher (106, 38-5), Reece Durlacher (113, 40-7) and Logan Kvien (170).

"It was a good day for our program," said Dane Durlacher, who despite losing a second final in three weeks to No. 5-ranked Alex Mitchell of Libertyville remained upbeat. "I wrestled well over these two days, and I know that will carry over into Thursday when the tournament begins."

Reece Durlacher came all the way back in wrestlebacks to secure a third-place medal. Likewise with Kvien, who registered three consecutive pins on his way to a third-place finish.

"This feels real good right now," said Kvien.

Both Mitchell and freshman Danny Pucino (126) led the charge for Libertyville. The Wildcats advanced a total of four, with Michael Gunther (132) and Jack Damenti (152, 37-5) charging ahead after sectional titles.

Mitchell (20-0), who missed considerable time in the first half of the season, was nearly flawless in his three bouts, including a 9-1 major decision win over Dane Durlacher. Pucino was equally impressive in his first sectional appearance.

"I wasn't really sure that I would get this far this season, especially as a freshman, but to get here and win it is really great," said Pucino, now 37-4.

Mitchell will maked his second straight state appearance, and the senior is eager to erase a disappointing first visit.

"Things didn't go well right from the start last year, but I feel that I am so much more prepared and ready for this time down," said Mitchell.

Gunther (30-9) reached the finals after upending No. 5 Jarit Shinhoster of Barrington 2-1, only to run into No. 4 Holden Heller (38-3) of Deerfield. Heller won 5-0.

Lake Zurich, which enjoyed a terrific regular season with its senior-dominated lineup, was able to advance two to Champaign, as Kyle Fleming (195) and Josh Dyer (220) advanced from two very difficult weight classes.

Both did it the hard way - through the consolation bracket. Fleming (29-7) lost in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Jake Lowell (New Trier), forcing the Bears senior to win three more times in order to advance.

"It wasn't the way I planned to get downstate, but I did what I had to do to reach a goal of mine that I've had ever since coming here," said Fleming.

Dyer (29-6) was bounced out of the front draw following an 11-8 loss in the semifinals to Josh Carter (Harlem, 29-4). But Dyer bounced back to first qualify with a 13-7 decision over Brandon Friedman, before putting the finishing touches on his effort with a third-place finish by pin over Zach Yfantis of Wheeling.

"It was good to qualify for the second time, but my work wasn't finished until I got that third-place medal," said Dyer.

Grant will be represented in Champaign by Spencer Welter, who worked himself back through the 138-pound bracket to secure a third-place finish and a first trip downstate.

"I moved up two weights to compete (at 138), so the adjustment to the extra weight and stronger opponents took me a little while to get used to," said Welter, now 28-15. "But once I did, I felt like I could compete at this level."