Schaumburg, Lake Zurich lead the way at Buffalo Grove
With a great start and wrestlers contributing from start to finish, Schaumburg rolled to the championship of the 42nd Annual Rex Lewis Memorial Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Buffalo Grove.
After building a big lead over Thornton Fractional South in the semfinals, the Saxons held a commanding 180 to 132 lead over the host Bison entering the finals.
From there Schaumburg cruised to the title with five of its six finalists winning individual crowns as the Saxons easily took first place with 208 points.
The battle for second place was a fight to the finish, and Lake Zurich wound up making a very late surge as a pin by 152-pounder Nick DiMaggio in the final match of the tourney carried the runner-up Bears past third-place Buffalo Grove 140.5 to 140.
Thornton Fractional South placed fourth with 138 points while fifth-place Elk Grove (128.5 points) finished strong with three individual champions.
The Saxons' push for the team title was led by 126-pound junior Jack Lingle (12-2) with two pins, and 132-pound freshman teammate Grant Hansen (14-1) with two pins. Hansen held off Fenwick's Matt Zuber 1-0 in the finals for his crown.
Schaumburg also got first-place medals from 113-pounder Tony LaRocco (11-3), 120-pounder Jaylan Claudio (11-4, three pins Saturday), and 195-pounder Joe Cunha (10-1, two pins Saturday). 145-pounder Matt Hosp placed second for the Saxons.
"I was just trying to work on what coach Levanti has been telling me to do in the off-season and trying to hit my moves in the match," said Lingle, who reached state as a freshman before missing the second half of last season due to injury. "We were just listening to what the coach was telling us and trying to get pins and extra points for the team score as best as we could."
After losing to rival squad Conant on Friday, Shaumburg coach Michael Levanti was impressed with how his team responded in the 12-team tourney.
"I thought we wrestled really well today, and they really reacted well after losing to a conference rival last night," Levanti said. "They (Lingle and Hansen) both wrestled really well, and it's important to win close matches so I thought (Hansen) showed a lot of maturity."
DiMaggio was trailing Elk Grove's Genio Hyppolite 6-3 before he recorded a pin in 4:28 to carry the Bears to the second place plaque.
Lake Zurich also got a first-place finish from Josh Goldberg with a pin at 170, and a second-place medal from Justin Wollard at 120.
"Goldberg placed at the Barrington tournament and DiMaggio wrestled great all tournament long," said Lake Zurich coach Jake Jobst. "We wrestled really well, especially since we got the football guys back and we've got everyone in the room."
Buffalo Grove was led by four second-place finishers in Paul Domian (126), Tim Gerling (170), David Rizzo (195), and Elliott Rosales (285).
"We came out and responded well after a tough dual meet last night against Wheeling," said Buffalo Grove coach Kurt Kutska. "Schaumburg has been impressive, they're a well-coached team, and they go out and battle you for every point."
Elk Grove got championships from Griffin McEnroe (14-1 at 106), Joey Gaskill (8-0 at 145), and Anthony Greco (9-1 at 285).
"We had three champs and we had never had a champion in this tournament," said Elk Grove coach Dan Vargas. "At one point we were in second so we kind of know we are making jumps, and we rebounded well after losing to Rolling Meadows last night."
Eighth-place Larkin got second-place finishes from the brother duo of Diego Facio at 182, and Jesus Facio at 220.
"Diego and Jesus work hard in the room pushing each other, and I think that is why they are here," said Larkin coach Mike Hodge. "We have quite a few younger guys so we're pretty inexperienced for the most part, and there were some quality kids here all around."
Schaumburg got third-place finishes from Aaron Coriano (170), and Gustavo Avila (220) while St.Viator's Gaetano Console placed third at 120. Larkin's Justin Valle placed third at 113 while Buffalo Grove teammates Andy Polk (160), and Tommy Konwent (285) also placed third.