Wildcats take control early against Lake Zurich
Visiting Libertyville headed into Lake Zurich prepared for a real battle Friday night in North Suburban Conference wrestling action.
But when all was said and done, the task at hand probably turned out to be much easier that expected as the Wildcats posted a 56-10 NSC Lake Division victory over the Bears' injury-plagued lineup.
Libertyville (9-1, 4-0) was the recipient of 6 forfeit victories as Lake Zurich (3-7, 1-3) was never in the match from the outset.
The meet began at 119 pounds with Libertyville's Louis Mazzetta earning a forfeit victory for the 6-1 lead.
The Bears did get an early 12-1 major decision from 125-pounder Cameron Shaffer (17-3) to cut the Wildcats' lead to 6-4, but a forfeit victory by Libertyville 130-pounder Alex Kobitter was the beginning of Lake Zurich's downfall.
"I'm glad we got Lake Zurich early because I know tough they can be when they have everybody in their lineup," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert. "The 145-pound match was very competitive and it was a huge win for (Eric) Klein because he reversed the guy back at the buzzer to win by 1 point. That's about as exciting as it gets."
Libertyville's Everett Indart posted a 6-4 decision over John Harkness at 135 before senior Trey Ayala added a quick injury default win over Lake Zurich's Andy Lynch at 140.
Klein pulled off a 6-5 decision over Lake Zurich's Anthony Pace (17-4) with his last-second reversal at 145 before forfeit wins by teammates Joey Callen (152) and Josh Ronne (160) capped a streak of six straight victories by the Wildcats.
"We have football guys who are gone who will be getting back and (Mike) Tursi should be back in action next week," said Lake Zurich coach Dan Strickler. "Kevin Fanta (14-4) was out of the lineup tonight because he was sick but hopefully he will be back next week."
At 171 pounds, Sam Wrobel (4-0) continues to round back into shape for the Bears with a 9-3 decision over Logan Miller. Wrobel placed fourth in the state at 152 last winter.
Pat Kenny at 189 pounds added a 6-1 decision for Libertyville before a forfeit win by Jake Hogan at 215, a pin by Tom Nield at 289 and a forfeit victory by Matt Bystol at 1-3.
"Nield is doing well and he has not lost, but he did not wrestle at Barrington," Eggert said. "We've got some pretty good guys in our lineup who are doing well and some other guys are working hard and trying to fill in the pieces."
Lake Zurich 112-pounder Joe Carfagnini closed out the meet with a 9-3 decision. He's got his heart set on a return trip to the state meet in February.
"I don't think we wrestled our best tonight at all, but I do expect my individuals to be impressive and unfortunately tonight it didn't happen that way," Strickler said. "I'm expecting to have Fanta and Tursi back in the lineup next week, and Wade Self should be in our lineup at 189 or 215 pretty soon with John Brewer back at 215 or heavyweight."