Stevenson's late surge just enough to edge Warren
Host Stevenson was in a real bind heading into the final six matches of the Patriots' North Suburban Conference wrestling dual meet against Warren on Thursday night.
The Patriots trailed the Blue Devils 25-9 after a pin by Warren junior Connor Drew (12-0) at 119 pounds.
But that would be final victory of the night for the Blue Devils.
Stevenson won the final six bouts to capture an exciting 28-25 NSC Lake Division comeback win.
With the dual meet starting at 160 pounds, Warren (8-1, 2-1) took a quick 4-0 lead when Bryce Howard (11-1) posted a 11-0 major decision.
Stevenson (7-4, 2-1), appeared to be heading for another loss at 171 as junior Dan Catlin was nearly pinned by J. J. Lombardi -- as Lombardi led 11-3 after one period.
But first-year wrestler Catlin made a great comeback in his first varsity match.
He took a 16-14 lead late in the third period before recording a pin with only three-tenths of a second left in the match.
"We got some key victories from two kids that it was their first wrestling match at 171 and 130," said Stevenson coach Shane Cook. "We got some big wins from our seniors, and Adam Leja getting an overtime win at heavyweight was huge for us. Charlie (Deutsch), Taras (Martyniouk) and Bobby (Vagun) showed what our program is all about."
Warren 189-pounder Tyreese Woodard edged Ivan Havrylyan 5-4, before sophomore Houston Neals (11-0) posted a 6-1 decision for the Blue Devils at 215.
Leja kept the Patriots close with his 3-1 overtime decision over Cody Hoag, but a pin by Warren 103-pounder Robby Schultheis in 48 seconds made the score 16-9.
Then 112-pounder Colin Seebach added an 11-8 decision over Michael Mireles before Drew's pin at 119.
"It was a tough loss, but they're good and we made some critical mistakes in critical matches," said Warren coach Mark Tiffany. "We have to get a little smarter to win matches, but none of our guys quit and we'll get better."
At 125 pounds, David Lamberti began the Patriots' surge with a 14-2 major decision.
Then decisions by teammates Max O'Hara (130), Mick Pagano (135), Deutsch (140), Martyniouk (145) and Vagun (152) helped put the Blue Devils away.
"It's a huge progression from last year, and we have a lot of kids stepping up in huge roles," Vagun said. "I was confident I could beat (Jake) Dietmeyer after wrestling him in the off-season.
"Everyone did their part tonight."