Libertyville back in top NSC form against Mundelein
After more than a three-week break from their North Suburban Conference wrestling schedule for the holidays, host Libertyville got back on the winning track Friday night against rival squad Mundelein.
Starting at 113 pounds, the Wildcats jumped out to a commanding 27-6 lead over the Mustangs after six matches and never looked in a 54-16 victory.
Libertyville (9-3, 3-1) actually fell behind 6-0 as undefeated Mundelein senior standout Dane Durlacher (23-0) picked up a forfeit victory to open up the dual meet.
But a pin by Libertyville 120-pounder Brandon Murphy deadlocked the score at 6-6, and short-handed Mundelein (11-9, 1-3) was unable to match the Wildcats the rest of the way.
Libertyville 126-pounder senior Matt Templeton built what looked like a comfortable 7-1 lead over fellow 2017 state qualifier Reese Durlacher after two periods. And despite a furious comeback in the third period by Durlacher, Templeton was able to hold on for an 8-6 decision and a 9-6 Libertyville advantage.
Third-ranked, 132-pound Libertyville sophomore Danny Pucino pinned his opponent in 3:19 before a forfeit win by 138-pound teammate Will Bertaud kept the momentum squarely in the Wildcats' direction.
Then came a pin by Libertyville 145-pounder Quentin Hart, and forfeit victories by teammates Tyler Padilla (152), and Niko Christensen (160) and Mundelein was facing a massive 39-6 deficit at that point of the meet.
"It was an OK meet, I don't think we wrestled very well, but we knew going into it Libertyville was tough," said first-year Mundelein coach Craig Stocker, whose team is at the powerful Sycamore tournament on Saturday. "We've still got work to do, Dane (Durlacher) looks ready to go, and he looks like he is ready to be in the right spot at the end of the year."
After placing fourth in Class 3A with a 46-9 record as a junior, the fourth-ranked Durlacher has some very lofty goals looking ahead to the end of the season at State Farm Center in Champaign.
"I feel pretty good, I'm getting ready for the state series, and my goal is to be a state champion," said Durlacher, who is hoping to wrestle for Illinois next year. "I just have to put up a lot of points in my matches by being dominant and having fun."
Libertyville 170-pounder Ryan Damenti posted a 7-2 decision over Geo Albavera, but the Mustangs were pretty competitive overall at the upper weights.
Mundelein's D.J. Preston broke the drought for the Mustangs with a 5-2 decision over Josh Groskopf at 182.
Then 2017 Mundelein state qualifier Logan Kvien (23-3) added a 10-2 major decision over Will DeBruler at 195 before 220-pound teammate Jason Guadarrama captured a 7-4 decision over Libertyville's Jordan Smith at 220.
The Wildcats closed out the meet with a forfeit win by No. 3-ranked Charlie Schmidt at 285, and a pin by 106-pound teammate Domenic Tarello accounting for the final score.
No. 3-ranked junior Michael Gunther did not wrestle for Libertyville at 132.
"I thought Templeton had a really nice win with two state qualifiers going at it," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert. "I think we've got some work to do, we've got some top-flight guys, but we have some conditioning to do at some weight classes."
Long-time Libertyville and current Mundelein assistant coach Roy Seeger was honored before the meet as this will be the 33rd and final season of coaching for Seeger, who graduated from Lake Forest in 1981.