Wrestling: Regional scouting, Lake County
Scouting regional wrestling
Class 3A
Glenbrook South regionalWhen: starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, semifinals at 11 a.m., first and third-place matches at 2 p.m.
Advancement: first-place team advances to Huntley dual team sectional Feb. 20; top three individuals in each weight class advance to Barrington individual sectional Feb. 9-10
Teams: Stevenson, Wheeling, Hersey, Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Glenbrook South, Glenbrook North, Loyola Academy, New Trier
Top area competitors: 106 - Stevenson freshman Randy Lu; 113 - Stevenson junior Yoni Leibovitz; 120 - Stevenson junior Tommy Frezza; 126 - Stevenson junior Matthew Zimring; 132 - Stevenson senior Michael Karp; 145 - Stevenson senior Jake Simon; 152 - Stevenson senior Muzi Sitshela; 182 - Stevenson senior Danny Ganzman; 195 - Stevenson junior Max Gomez; 220 - Stevenson sophomore Ean Norenberg; 285 - Stevenson senior Anand Batbaatar
Outlook: After falling to powerhouse Deerfield in each of the past three seasons, Stevenson will have teams like Wheeling, Prospect and New Trier standing in the way of its quest for an elusive regional championship. The Patriots have been sharp throughout the 2017-18 campaign and captured their fourth straight North Suburban Conference title and rolled to the Lake County crown for the second year in a row.
The other three regionals that feed into the Barrington individual sectional and the Huntley dual-team sectional are at Warren, Dundee-Crown, and DeKalb.
Warren regionalWhen: starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, semifinals at 11 a.m., first and third-place matches at 2:30 p.m.
Advancement: first-place team advances to Huntley dual team sectional Feb. 20; top three individuals in each weight class advance to Barrington individual sectional Feb. 9-10
Teams: Libertyville, Warren, Grant, Round Lake, Zion-Benton, Deerfield, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Waukegan
Top area competitors: 106 - Warren sophomore Sawyer Nash; 113 - Warren junior Austin Nash; 120 - Warren freshman Joel Vandervere, Libertyville junior Brandon Murphy; 126 - Libertyville senior Matt Templeton; 132 - Libertyville sophomore Danny Pucino, Round Lake junior Zach McCain, Grant sophomore Dylan Rinkenberger; 138 - Libertyville junior Michael Gunther, Grant senior Sam Maldonado; 145 - Warren senior Kelvin Cupay, Grant senior Spencer Welter; 152 - Warren freshman Isaiah Parker, Libertyville senior Tyler Padilla; 160 - Libertyville junior Niko Christensen; 170 - Libertyville junior Ryan Damenti; 182 - Round Lake senior Cesar Monsivais; 285 - Libertyville senior Charlie Schmidt, Warren junior Marcus Thompson
Outlook: After placing second to Stevenson in the Lake County meet, Libertyville looks like the team to beat in this nine-team regional. But the host Blue Devils and archrival Grant could give the Wildcats a run for their money, while Deerfield is expected to be out of title contention after winning three straight regional crowns.
Libertyville has a lot of state-ranked wrestlers in its lineup expected to carry a huge load of its key team scoring, but it could still be a close finish in such a relatively small field of competitors going head-to-head.
Dundee-Crown regionalWhen: starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, semifinals at 11 a.m., first and third-place matches at 2 p.m. (all times approximate)
Advancement: first-place team advances to Huntley dual team sectional Feb. 20; top three individuals in each weight class advance to Barrington individual sectional Feb. 9-10
Teams: Lake Zurich, Mundelein, Dundee-Crown, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Cary-Grove, McHenry, Fremd, Palatine
Top area competitors: 106 - Mundelein senior Dane Durlacher; 113 - Lake Zurich sophomore Logan Neurauter; 120 - Lake Zurich junior Ian McGee; 126 - Mundelein junior Reese Durlacher; 152 - Lake Zurich senior Nick DiMaggio; 170 - Lake Zurich senior Josh Goldberg; 182 - Mundelein junior Logan Kvien; 195 - Mundelein junior D.J. Preston
Outlook: Perennial power Barrington could well be the favorite to advance to the team sectional as the Broncos have many individuals poised to close out this season with a bang as they gear up for their own individual sectional next weekend. Mundelein's Dane Durlacher is on a mission to win a state title in two weeks, and his younger brother Reese and teammate Kvien both have state-meet experience. Goldberg has put together an outstanding senior campaign for Lake Zurich.
CLASS 2A
Antioch regionalWhen: starts at 9 a.m. Saturday, semifinals at 11:30 a.m., first and third-place matches at 2 p.m.
Advancement: first-place team advances to Fenton dual team sectional Feb. 20; top three individuals in each weight class advance to Grayslake Central individual sectional Feb. 9-10
Teams: Grayslake North, Grayslake Central, Antioch, Carmel Catholic, Lakes, Vernon Hills, Wauconda, St. Viator, North Chicago
Top area competitors: 106 - Grayslake Central freshman Chris Lozos; 113 - Vernon Hills senior Jesse Goldufsky, Antioch sophomore Alex Barbarise; 120 - Carmel sophomore Christian Valadez, Wauconda junior Evan Husko; 126 - Carmel senior Anthony Schaer, Grayslake Central senior Tucker Rogan, Vernon Hills senior Blake Teschky; 132 - Wauconda junior Delon Kanari, Vernon Hills senior Scott Harris, Antioch sophomore Elijah Reyes; 138 - Carmel junior Riley Palm, Grayslake Central junior Joey Murphy, Vernon Hills sophomore Will Darling; 145 - Grayslake Central freshman Joey Jens, Grayslake North junior Adam Blonski; 152 - Grayslake Central senior Austin Connelly; 160 - Grayslake Central junior Alex Cramer, Lakes senior Gavin Kafka; 170 - Grayslake Central freshman Adrien Cramer, Wauconda senior Mickey Landvick, Grayslake North senior Michael Johnson; 182 - Wauconda senior Zac Finn, St. Viator senior Jake Wolf, Grayslake North senior Zach McCauley, Grayslake Central junior Ethan Lester; 195 - Grayslake North senior Angel Flores, Grayslake Central junior Ethan Torres, Carmel sophomore Jonathan Lopez; 220 - Lakes senior Jack Brunati, Antioch senior Alex Scheider; 285 - Grayslake North junior Wake Caldero
Outlook: Based on the Lake County meet results, Grayslake North and the host Rams could be in a battle of crosstown rivals to decide the championship of this nine-team regional. Alex Cramer has put together a fantastic junior season for Grayslake Central. He and teammate Connelly have already qualified for the state meet twice. Antioch and Carmel will definitely make some waves throughout the tournament, but they might not have enough depth to contend with the two Grayslake squads for the team title.
The other three regionals that feed into the Fenton dual team sectional are at Harvard, Notre Dame and Fenwick. Now that just finished with its second season in the Central Suburban North, Vernon Hills could be a surprise team to watch.