Libertyville matches up well at Deerfield
Deerfield, which has been among the most successful Class 3A wrestling programs in the northern part of the state over the past five or six years, found itself on the wrong side of a one-sided result Thursday night on its home mats.
Libertyville (8-3-0) rolled over their undermanned hosts, using 4 pins plus a technical fall to record a 50-14 nonconference victory.
"Deerfield has been good for so long, but right now they're missing a couple of their best guys," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert. "The matchups were very good for us tonight, with our good guys beating their good guys - which equaled a very nice win."
The Warriors were without two of their state-ranked athletes, Kenny Kerstein (152) and Cody Goodman (195). Meanwhile, the Wildcats still await the return of standout Michael Gunther at 138 pounds.
"Even with Deerfield missing Kerstein and Goodman, what really impressed me about them was how hard they competed," said Libertyville sophomore Danny Pucino, who recently won at the high-profile, 30-team Dvorak tournament just before the holiday break. "They came out and were tough and they fought, and that's the way you have to be in this sport."
Pucino and Matt Templeton (126) jump-started the Wildcats' effort with consecutive pins to open the night. Templeton's came after a hard-fought contest against Max Pomerantz, ended by a pin near the edge at 5:04.
"That was a tough one for Matt in a couple of ways," said Eggert. "He came over to us after he transfered in from Deerfield, his match with Pomerantz was the first of the night and he was wrestling on his former home mats. Plus, Pomerantz gave him a real battle right from the start, which finally ended when he executed that arm bar for the pin."
An all-action first period ended with Templeton holding a 7-6 advantage. But things settled in after the high-scoring opening period, with the Libertyville senior going ahead for good at 10-8 with 30 seconds remaining in the second period.
"Pomerantz and John Brown (145) both were very good tonight, and once we get them at their proper weights along with a few others before regionals, we feel we'll be in the thick of the race for a regional title," said Warriors coach Marc Pechter. "We're in the midst of getting healthy and everyone back and 100 percent. But while we're going through it all, that opens up chances for others to step in and up, and that's always good for a program."
The hosts cut the Libertyville lead in half with decisions at 138 and at 145 (from Brown). But then the Wildcats steadily built their lead.
Tyler Padilla (152), Niko Christensen (160) and Josh Groskopf added 6 points with decisions to push the Cats' advantage to 21-9.
Jordan Smith (220) came up with a fall in 5:04, which was bookended by forfeits to all but end Deerfield's hopes.
Libertyville's Domenic Tarello (106) and Brandon Murphy (120) along with Deerfield junior Jonny Bloom (113) finished up the night in style, with a pair of tech-falls and a pin.
The pin, by Tarello, was especially meaningful.
"It was a solid effort and win for Domenic, who lost to his opponent tonight earlier in the season in a JV match," Eggert said.
The Wildcats continue a busy week when they host league rival Mundelein on Friday. That's followed by a trip to Niles to face Notre Dame and No. 10 Wheaton North on Saturday.
"There's no time to rest or take time off at this time of the year as we continue to stay sharp and continue to improve as we prepare for the last half of the season," Eggert said.
Deerfield is on the road Friday at Central Suburban League rival Highland Park, before traveling to the Waubonsie Valley mega-duals Saturday.