Wrestling: Hersey wins twice at St. Viator triangular
Three wrestling programs on the rebuild met on Thursday night at the Pat Cahill Gymnasium in Arlington Heights.
When it was over, Hersey had come away with victories over Loyola Academy and the host Lions at the St. Viator triangular.
"With a young team and lineup, to get a couple of wins tonight will go a long way toward the development and future of our varsity and beyond," said Hersey coach Joe Rupslauk, whose team defeated Loyola Academy before topping crosstown rival St. Viator 47-27.
"It's been a couple of tough years in our room with new coaching staffs and low numbers, but things are looking up, thanks to 'Rup' (Rupslauk) and a great bunch of assistants we have also," said Matt Joyce, who along with Sean Paton and Zac Joyce to form a formidable trio for Rupslauk during his first year in charge.
Paton gave his teammates another 6 points with a fall at 126 after Loyola conceded three forfeits to open the dual. After weathering a 21-0 run by the Ramblers, the Huskies closed out their opponent when their upper weights recorded two falls and forfeits to win by 21 points.
Alex Kaburov (170), who had two pins on the night, recorded his first at 5:15. Later, it was freshman Daniel Kim (195) insuring victory with a pin at 4:46.
"That was a big win by our freshman," said Rupslauk.
In the final dual of the evening, the Huskies opened up an insurmountable lead. They dashed the Lions' hopes when Joyce and Kaburov bookended decisions by Liam Derrig (145) and Daniel Mukhamedaliyev (160) with pins to give the visitors a 48-6 advantage.
"You saw what a team missing our best guy (Jake Wolf) and a couple of other veterans, plus throwing a handful of really young wrestlers out there, can end up as - and it wasn't pretty at times," said St. Viator coach Jason Churak. "With youth, you're going to have nights like this. But there were still several bright spots to be happy about, including our upper weights, as well as Gaetano Console at 126."
Console, who was fourth overall last weekend at the Steve Weiss Invite at Fenton, looked sharp during his match with Loyola. He recorded the first of 4 pins in that dual at 1:24.
Churak was pleased with the effort from his varsity newcomers. Ryan McGuire (195), Niko Weder (220) and heavyweight Brandon Flores were 6-0 on the night with three falls, a decision, and a pair of 6-point forfeits.
"(Ryan) McGuire has really put the time in to get better, and thus far, all of that work has paid off well for him as one of our sophomores," Churak said. "And it has for Niko, too. He's a junior, and like Ryan, has worked hard to make himself a better all-around guy at a very difficult weight.
"As for Brandon Flores, he has really big shoes to fill as our heavyweight following the graduation of James (Valentino) but he's making a nice statement here in the early part of the season."
Valentino, who is wrestling at Brown University, was a three-time state qualifier. Along with Wolf, a 2017 ESCC champion, the pair gave the Lions plenty of bonus points last season when the club went 15-6-0 overall.
Loyola, led by first-year coach and former Hersey star Joe Haney, left with a 1-1 record, thanks in part to its two returning sectional qualifiers. Adian McKeag (132) and Sean Cloherty (145) were a combined 4-0.
The Ramblers will head to the Mudge-McMorrow Invite at Prospect this weekend while St. Viator travels to the Rex Lewis, hosted by Buffalo Grove. Hersey faces MSL East rival Prospect on Friday, then will have the weekend off.