Barrington's seniors lead the way downstate
Powerhouse displays by seniors Markus Hartman and Jarrit Shinhoster ended in brilliant fashion as the Barrington standouts earned Class 3A sectional championships Saturday evening in the final home-mat appearance of their careers.
Second-ranked Hartman (43-0) left little doubt as to whether or not he was the best 152-pounder at this site by coming up with an 8-1 defeat of third-ranked Jack Tangen (New Trier, 41-2).
Shinhoster (33-1) was similarly impressive with his win over No. 4 David Ferrante (31-3) of Huntley in the 160-pound final.
The Broncos seniors lead the largest contigent from the Mid-Suburban League into day No. 1 of the Class 3A state tournament in Champaign on Thursday, with a total of six. MSL champion Prospect advanced three, with Fremd and Wheeling both getting two.
"This is the time of the year to dial things up in advance of the state tournament and to focus on just one goal and one opponent - and that's a rematch in the state final with Will Lewan (of Montini) next Saturday night," said Hartman, who lost in his 145-pound state final with the Montini star a year ago. "With that said, it doesn't mean that I'll look past anyone. It still, for me, is taking it one match and opponent at a time."
Hartman did just that en route to his second consecutive sectional title. Shinhoster, meanwhile, spoiled the plans for Ferrante, a fourth-place state medalist a year ago.
"Ever since earning my fifth-place medal at state last year, it's been all about lifting, improving my fitness and conditioning, and just buiding up my mental and physical game in order to be the best that I can," said Shinhoster. "And the plan is to continue to do so next week in Champaign."
Barrington teammates Tucker Priola (120, 35-12), Kai Conway (132, 36-10), Daniel Rasmussen (170, 38-8) and Jake Meyer (195, 43-2) will be on the downstate trip next week. Conway took second place, while Priola and Meyer grabbed third-place medals after disappointing semifinal defeats.
The sixth-ranked Meyer never found his pace against fourth-ranked Justin Allen (Huntley, 24-7), thus ending a chance to avenge a late-season defeat to No. 5 Blah Dahnweih (DeKalb, 40-4). Allen was later defeated by Dahnweigh in the final.
"I wasn't as sharp at the start against Allen and had to chase a lead for most of my match," said Meyer. "But I came out so much quicker while pushing the pace in my state qualifier to get the lead - and keep it."
Rasmussen is back in Champaign once again, but it wasn't easy for the Broncos senior. He fought through wrestlebacks in dramatic fashion, defeating Jacobe Schmerbach (DeKalb, 36-9) 3-1 in overtime.
"That's not the easiest way to get downstate, but it was the only way I could after losing my semifinal with (Juan) Quiroz (of Huntley), where I had the lead until the last 10-15 seconds," said Rasmussen.
An emphatic effort from Cole Riemer (32-4) had the Fremd senior in the final with fourth-ranked Patrick Ryan (New Trier, 44-0). Riemer, ranked No. 7, kept the 145-pounder kept under wraps until falling 7-5.
"Just a terrific performance all weekend from Cole," said Fremd coach Dan Ruettiger. "He's so tough on top, but he's worked on other parts of his game to make himself one of the best around, and someone who will challenge for a top-four medal next week."
Ruettiger also enjoyed the results from his other state qualifier, Adam Kemp. He earned a repeat voyage with a third-place finish at 160 pounds.
"Adam has improved by leaps and bounds during these past two seasons, and I can say his best wrestling is ahead of him," said Ruettiger of the senior who takes a career-best 33-8 record to Champaign.
Prospect had three win second-place medals, beginning with freshman Jack Milos (113, 37-4). Next came seventh-ranked Ryan Vedner (170, 39-4) and junior heavyweight Jose Ramos (37-5), who was stopped cold by reigning state champ Anthony Cassioppi (40-0) of Hononegah.
Milos was unable to stop two-time state qualifier Sammy Spencer (40-4) from Huntley during the 113-pound final.
"I felt like I wrestled very well up until my final, when I should have opened things up more," said Milos.
The sixth-ranked Ramos secured his second trip downstate with an ultimate tie-breaking 3-2 victory over No. 5 Isaiah Ziegler (40-5) to avenge an earlier loss to the Dundee-Crown senior. But Ramos was no match for Cassioppi, who has now won 88 straight.
Wheeling coach Charlie Curran had eight competitors at the start of the day, but it was down to two at the final whistle. The Wildcats will be represented downstate by 106-pounder Eric Le (34-12) and junior John Paul Smith (145, 45-9).
"It's tough to see us end up with just two going to state, and having three- and four-year seniors having their careers end today," said Curran, who saw Le and Smith make their way through wrestlebacks to advance.
Valiant efforts from Zach Joyce (Hersey, 106, 26-6) and Jason Saravia (Palatine, 113, 18-11) ended one victory short for both MSL stars. Likewise for Dulguun Tungalag (Rolling Meadows, 21-7). All of them lost their tourney opener, only to amass one win after another before finally being eliminated.
MSL and regional champion Andrew Baysingar (Prospect, 38, 5) was unable to overcome a first-round loss to the eventual 126-pound runner-up, dropping his state-qualifying contest to third-place winner Reese Durlacher (38-4) of Mundelein.