Antioch, Carmel lead the 2A charge downstate
With four wrestlers each headed to the 81st Annual IHSA state wrestling meet next weekend, it was a great day for Antioch and Carmel Catholic on Saturday afternoon in the Class 2A Grayslake Central sectional.
The host Rams, Grayslake North, and Wauconda each had three individuals qualify for the state meet.
Top-ranked Grayslake Central junior Alex Cramer (42-1) had a convincing 6-2 decision over No. 2-ranked Luke Silva (40-2) of Marian Catholic for the 160-pound title.
Regional champion Antioch was led by 113-pound sophomore Alex Barbarise (38-6) with a championship; he will be wrestling at the State Farm Center for the second straight year. The Sequoits will also be sending third-place finisher Jackie Sistrunk (152), fourth-place finisher Niall Shoenfelder 152 and fourth-place finisher Danny McPherson downstate.
"The nice thing about them all is that they're all coming back next year," said Antioch coach Wilbur Borrero. "Alex (Barbarise) was downstate last year as a freshman, and they definitely have the talent to win some matches and possibly a medal. It all depends on how the other (new) guys handle the jitters."
Carmel 138-pound junior Riley Palm (37-0) remained undefeated with a thrilling 6-5 decision over Crystal Lake Central's Austin Ernd for the title.
Ernd led 5-4 with 6.9 seconds left when Palm got a takedown with about five seconds left in the third period. But when the scoreboard keeper failed to start the clock, the referees had to get involved and confirm that Palm did get the takedown with more than enough time remaining in the match. Palm actually had potential back-points and a near pin, but they only gave him the 2-point takedown for the 6-5 win.
"I didn't wrestle my best match, but I pulled it through and I got the takedown," said Palm, who is ranked second in Class 2A. "The referee started counting down with 20 seconds to go, I got the throw with five seconds left, and I should have probably got two back points at least."
The Corsairs will also have 120-pound champ Christian Valadez (28-3) heading to state along with teammates Tommy Hoy (third at 152), and John Ivan (fourth at 220).
"It would have been nice to get our 126-pounder (Anthony Schaer) out, he made it to state last year, but it was a very tough weight class," said Carmel Catholic coach Bob Kuykendall. "I feel great for the kids who made it, my heart breaks for the ones who didn't. But it is part of the sport."
Cramer led his match against Silva (fourth in 2017) 2-1 after two periods before easily putting away Silva in the third period.
"I'm really pleased, I think my training is going well, and I'm starting to peak at the right time," said Cramer. "I feel if I wrestle my match I can beat anybody, and I don't have to change anything I'm doing."
The Rams will also have two freshmen heading downstate, including second-place finishers Joey Jens (145), and Adrien Cramer (170).
"We knew we had a lot of talent with those two coming in, and wrestling at those middle to upper weights shows they have a lot of strength for freshmen," said Grayslake Central coach Matt Joseph. "I think his name (Alex Cramer) would be in a lot of those discussions (to win state), and he hasn't lost since the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (6-3 against Huntley's David Ferrante)."
Grayslake North was led by 145-pound champion Adam Blonski (37-14) with a winning pin while teammates Angel Flores (third at 195), and Wake Caldero (fourth at 285) are also heading to Champaign-Urbana.
"I'm happy with how we wrestled. Adam (Blonski) beat a kid in the semifinals (Sistrunk) who had beaten him twice and they're wrestling well at the right time which is all you can ask for as a coach," said Grayslake North coach Colin McKillip. "This is Angel's second trip to state, so hopefully he can medal and the other guys still have another year to try to get a medal."
Alll three of Wauconda's 2017 state qualifiers will be making return trips to state including 132-pound runner-up Delon Kanari, 120-pounder Evan Husko (third) and 182-pounder Zac Finn (fourth).
Crystal Lake South's Christian Olsen (42-1) rolled to first with a technical fall at 106, and he will be joined at state by 113-pound teammate Peyton Timmons (third at 113). St. Viator teammates Jake Wolf (second at 182), and Elijah Black (third at 170) also qualified for state.
Vernon Hills will be represented by 120-pounder Blake Teschky (second) while freshman David Becker (fourth at 106) will represent Lakes.
"(Becker) has a lot to look forward to in the next two years," said Lakes coach Jack Troesch. "He's a kid who takes initiative, he wrestled about 40 matches in the off-season, and it paid off."
Fenton's Dylan Butts placed third at 182 to earn a berth to the big show.