Boenzi's third-period fall gives Geneva lead over Kaneland
The burgeoning legend of Geneva heavyweight Frank Boenzi continues.
The Vikings' sophomore was pitted against Kaneland 285-pounder Ben Fabrizius in the featured match of the Western Sun Conference dual meet Thursday night in Geneva.
After a scoreless opening period, Boenzi secured a takedown and near fall -- but the excitement was only building.
Fabrizius reversed the tables in the waning seconds of the second, which only set the bar even higher for the final period.
Boenzi used the identical maneuver -- a combination headlock and throw -- to take down Fabrizius, and the sophomore improved to 18-2 on the season with a fall 62 seconds into the final period.
Geneva took the lead with the 6-point victory and never relinquished it in its 39-23 conference victory.
The Vikings improved to 10-9 overall, 3-4 in the league; the defending league champion Knights fell to 8-15, 0-6.
"(Fabrizius) got tired, and I used that to my advantage," said Boenzi, whose two losses have come from the top-two ranked heavyweights in the state. "It was all conditioning."
In succumbing by fall for the first time this year, Fabrizius fell to 21-3.
"We're making big mistakes and we're paying for it," Kaneland coach Gary Baum said.
The Boenzi triumph gave Geneva a 16-15 lead, and the cushion was quickly extended by a second-period Sean Canfield pin at 103 pounds.
But Kaneland was not about to surrender.
The Knights' reigning league champion -- 112-pound senior Sean Szatkowski -- narrowed the Vikings' lead to 22-20 with a third-period technical fall.
The Vikings' Beau George survived a tactical battle at 119 pounds as the Knights had to substitute for undefeated defending league champion Jeff Stralka, out for disciplinary reasons.
Geneva then turned to Nick Bradberry, and the freshman was poised and determined from the start of his 125-pound match.
Bradberry overcame two early takedowns and hit a reversal late in the first period that he parlayed into a dramatic fall.
"Before the match coach (Tom Chernich) said, 'Nick, I need a win out of you,'" Bradberry said. "I knew I needed to stick him and I squeezed as hard I could to get the stick."
"That was a huge match for us," Chernich said. "Our freshmen have a lot of heart. That's the kind of wrestler Nick is."
Christian Gayton kept Kaneland mathematically alive with a win at 135 pounds, but a Willy Wilbur third-period technical fall wrapped up the victory for the Vikings.
Jay Levita, Andrew Weaver and Will King won simple decisions over the first five matches for Kaneland, but bonus points -- via a pin by 152-pounder Francis Ferrer and a major decision from Josh Miller at 171, respectively -- gave Geneva a 10-9 lead early.
Jimmy Boyle gave Kaneland its second and final lead with a fall at 215 pounds, but Boenzi restored the Vikings' luster with his five-plus minute masterwork.
Christopher Hankins/chankins@dailyherald.com
Kaneland's Jay Levita tries to work his way out of a hold by Geneva's Tom Sandman, behind, in their 145-pound match Thursday in Geneva.