Burlington Central overpowers Hampshire
Burlington Central had too much firepower for rival Hampshire Thursday night in its 52-24 nonconference wrestling dual on its home floor.
The Rockets (1-4-0) took advantage of their undermanned guests using the five forfeits the Whip-Purs conceded, plus consecutive bonus point victories from their two best wrestlers to record their first victory in dual-meet action of the season.
"From the very first week of the season at the Moore-Prettyman at Barrington until today, we have been challenging the guys to get better, and the improvement from all the guys has been terrific," said BC head coach Jordan Bakley.
"We've tried to give the team strong competition on the weekends, and for Austin (Macias) and Nick (Termini) we went to greater lengths by taking them to the Ironman two weeks ago, and that experience will go a long way toward helping them in the postseason, and development from here on out."
"Going to a big-time tournament like the Ironman was awesome. One minute I was in awe of the surroundings the next I was going up against the No. 11 guy in the nation at my weight class," said Termini, sixth last season at state, and rated No. 5 in the state at 138 pounds by IllinoisMatmen.com.
"I was thrilled when Austin won his state title last year, but not really satisfied with that sixth-place finish last year, so this year I want to see Austin win back-to-backs, and with me being a junior, the opportunity is there for me to do the same."
The BC duo looked to be in form for such a run come February after each dominated their opponents on Thursday - Macias bumping up to 138 to register a technical fall and Termini up two weight classes (152) in what would be an impressive 19-5 major decision victory.
"I'm kind of like our utility man thus far, moving around in the lineup to help the team and for others to get some experience but when the playoffs come, I'll be at 138 for good," admitted Termini.
In between the Macias-Termini triumphs, teammates Carter Rohl recorded a fall at 132, while Patrick Paez edged the Whips' Darius Nguepi 2-0 and later, at 285 pounds, Mike Dubanowski upended Sam Mullen, 5-3.
Hampshire, under new head coach Randy Mitty, celebrated three pins on the night, the first coming in the opening bout of the night with Parker Larson getting the Whips out on their front foot with a fall at 1 minute.
Later, Mark Brown, a 2017 sectional qualifier, lowered the boom on his man at 145 with a fall at 3:15, setting up the third and final pin of the dual with Casey Allen (11-1) needing just 1:54 to get his into the books.
The senior is on a mission in this, his final year at Hampshire after falling short in his bid to get downstate for a second consecutive time.
"That loss in three OT periods in my state qualifying match left a bitter taste in my mouth, and it stayed with me for a long time afterwards but it also provided me with the motivation to work to get better during the offseason," said Allen, who won 35 a year ago.
"Besides getting bigger and stronger, I've really improved my flexibility, which I believe will help me in me in so many areas, especially with my shots."
"Casey has been a great leader for us, which is important when you're such a young team, and one that has several first-time varsity guys on our roster," says Mitty.
"We had two freshmen in there tonight, but they each gave a great effort. With us having a few holes in our lineup, our record in duals has not been very good thus far, but we've proven to be a much better tournament team, even with our starting lineup missing guys."
The Whips finished a modest seventh in a field of 12 recently at the Richmond-Burton Invite despite bringing just five to compete on that day.
Next up for Hampshire will be the two-day mega-duals at DeKalb on Dec. 29-30, while the Rockets will enjoy a long break until traveling to the Leyden Invite on Jan. 6.