Neuqua has big start at Moore-Prettyman
High school wrestling wastes little time getting serious.
The 17th annual Moore-Prettyman mega-tournament at Barrington welcomed 31 teams on Friday to a jam-packed field house, and fans found plenty to cheer before the day came to an end with quarterfinal matches.
The tourney continues today. Semifinals are scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m.
Neuqua Valley, last year's team champion, and state power St. Rita are in a tight battle in the points race with another round of consolation bracket wrestlebacks schedule for late in the evening.
Neuqua Valley senior Jimmy Duffy, state runner-up last year at 145 pounds, leads the Wildcats. They trail south side power St. Rita 130-123 with North Suburban Conference giants Grant (114) and Libertyville (97) close behind and last year's Mid-Suburban League runner-up Wheeling holding fifth place overall with 91 points.
"The focus is on winning it all, and it's the same thing for me individually," said Duffy, who will face Mike Lyons of Waubonsie Valley in a 152-pound semifinal today.
In the off-season, Duffy was part of an Illinois contingent which won a national championship in dual-meet competition.
Duffy will be joined by four teammates in the semi-finals, including senior Chris Spanger, who a year ago captured the 119-pound title here but is now wrestling at 171.
Palatine senior Dale Jarosz, the defending champion at 112, is on course to advance after defeating St. Viator senior Vince Sabatello (5-0) and will face Lakes Matt Holmes, who made quick work of Huntley's Joel Mayhew with a fall at 0:53.
"There are plenty of goals that I've set for myself this season," said Jarosz, a fourth-place state medal winner last February.
"But aside from going after the school record in victories and takedowns, I want to get myself back into the semi-finals at state and have total control of my fate at that point."
All the 14 top seeds held during the nearly eight-plus hours of wrestling on Day 1, including Wheeling senior Max Nowry, ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Wrestling magazine.
Nowry went through a pair of opponents with ease and will be opposite St. Rita's Cody Zimmerman at 103 pounds, while his mates Mike Smith (119), Joe Kent (145) and Abel Rangel (160) each booked their spot in the semis.
Senior Matt Smith (shoulder) was held out of the tournament this weekend, as was reigning 119-pound state champion Lee Munster of Grant as well as Lake Zurich's Sam Wrobel (knee) who finished fourth overall at the state tournament at 152 pounds.
Libertyville's Trey Ayala is part of a group of to talent at 135 pounds. The No. 3 seed finds himself in the middle of things today as he faces No. 2 Matt Boggess (Prospect) while top-seeded John Majka (St. Rita) meets Gus Green (Highland Park) in the other semi.
Ayala was part of perhaps the best quarterfinal match of the day against Neuqua's Matt Stine, which saw Ayala prevail 19-10.
"That match was closer than the final says it was," said Ayala. "(Stine) got me a couple of times early on with a few slide-bys, but I was able to overcome a shaky start with a good finish."
Ayala used a near-fall and another 2 points to extend his lead to 17-9 early in the third period.
Teammate Kyle Manolivic stunned No. 3 Tyler Rossdeutcher (Prospect) with a fall at 3:06 to earn a spot opposite Chris Dardanes (Oak Park) at 125 pounds.
Today's event schedule will begin with wrestlebacks at 10 a.m.
Action continues throughout the day, with third- and fifth-place matches set for a 3:30 p.m. start. Finals will follow immediately after those matches are completed.