Tiebreaker goes to Glenbard South
Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
Glenbard South's Mark Griffin wrestles Willowbrook's Grant Millette during the 145-pound match Wednesday night in Villa Park.
Wednesday's wrestling dual between Willowbrook and Glenbard South had a wild start, a crazy finish and madness in between.
From the opening pin by Mark Griffin that put the Raiders up 6-0, to the pin by the Warriors' Mike Head that tied the dual at 36-36 to end the night, bonus points were scored in 11 of the 14 matches wrestled as each team won seven matches.
The Raiders won the dual on criteria, with Ryan McKean's technical fall at 152 pounds providing the difference.
"We've lost three dual meets just like that one this year," said Raiders coach Derrick Crenshaw. "We've got three losses at 7-7 (in matches won). That's our first win at 7-7."
The dual also featured eight pins, with each squad posting four of them.
"Head-hunting all the way," said Willowbrook coach Bryan Murphy. "But that was two pretty even teams, and the fans loved it."
Griffin squared off with Willowbrook's Grant Millette at 145, kicking off the night with two of the best wrestlers in the gym in Villa Park. Down 8-3, Millette had two takedowns in the third period and trailed 10-8 when a Griffin headlock took him to the mat for the pin.
"I started off trying to get my takedowns, and he's a good scrambler," Griffin said. "I got tired, but I knew for my team's sake that I had to get a pin."
McKean's tech fall gave the Raiders an 11-0 lead before Mick McCarver's pin at 160 and Rick Draski's major decision at 171 made it 11-10. Willowbrook took a 13-11 on Matt Pardue's 5-3 decision at 189.
Willowbrook's Eric Tyler led 5-2 after a period over Austin Tietsma at 215, but Tietsma cut into the lead with a takedown and back points in the second before winning by pin in the third.
Raiders heavyweight Frank Chiodo trailed 5-1 after two periods to Dom Petrancosta before winning by pin in the third.
A major decision at 103 by Willowbrook's Shahmir Jiwani and a pin at 112 from teammate Ben Coman tied the dual at 23-23, but the Raiders (4-4) got decisions from Pat Williams and Alex Chavez and a pin from Mike Peters to take a 35-23 lead.
Willowbrook (10-10) got pins from Dan Marin at 135 and Mike Head at 140 to tie the team score, sending the referee to the scorer's table to determine a winner.
"This is one of the better years we've had," Griffin said. "We don't have a feeder program, so everyone comes in as a beginner, but we've got a lot of returners that stuck with it since freshman year.
"We're trying to make this the best year possible."