Mustangs alone in 2nd place
Would there be a three-way tie in North Suburban Conference Lake Division wrestling Friday night at Warren?
Visiting Mundelein answered that question with a decisive "no" as the Mustangs held off the Blue Devils for a 32-30 victory to finish in sole possession of second place with a 5-1 record.
Mundelein (12-9) only lost to Lake Division champ Libertyville (6-0) early this season while Warren (15-3, 3-3) wound up placing fourth behind Stevenson(4-2).
Friday's dual meet in Gurnee was a wild one as the Blue Devils took an early 5-0 lead when 160-pounder Bryce Howard started things off with a technical fall.
Mundelein 171-pounder Steve Avalos pinned his opponent in 2:39 before 189-pound teammate Adam Avalos (30-4) posted a 7-6 decision over Tyreese Woodard for a 9-5 lead.
Warren sophomore Houston Neals (21-1) posted an 11-5 decision at 215, but Mundelein 285-pounder Freddy Martinez bounced back with a 5-2 decision over Cody Hoag for a 12-8 advantage.
The meet turned out to be a real chess match, with both squads winning seven bouts.
"It was back and forth and we had some guys come up big for us," said Mundelein coach Tom Buenik. "It all came down to matchups and the two guys we moved up came through with wins, and that was huge."
The see-saw battle featured Warren 103-pounder Robby Schultheis posting a major decision to tie the score at 12-12 before Mundelein 112-pounder Eduardo Dominguez (30-4) pinned his opponent in 1:13 for an 18-12 lead.
Warren 119-pounder Connor Drew (24-2) won by forfeit to tie the score at 18-18, but Mundelein's Tanis Arcos moved up a weight class and won a 14-8 decision over Leon Megerdichian at 125.
Then Juan Jaimes also moved up a weight class and his pin at 130 gave the Mustangs a 27-18 lead with four matches left.
"I feel good about taking second place and we only lost to one of the top teams in the state," Adam Avalos said. "I'm just going to try my hardest (at conference), and if we all have a group effort we can finish in the top three."
A pin by Warren 135-pounder Tom Bixler in 31 seconds pulled the Blue Devils to within 27-24, but Mundelein 140-pounder Alex Mena responded with a technical fall to boost the lead to 32-24.
Warren's Justin Santiago captured an 8-3 decision at 145 to make the score 32-27. That meant Warren 152-pounder Jake Dietmeyer would need a pin for the Blue Devils to win.
Dietmeyer did post a 3-1 decision over Devin Ringwald, but the Mustangs held on for the 32-30 victory.
"We knew it was going to be a good meet and my hats off to Mundelein," said Warren coach Mark Tiffany. "We did all we could, but we could have done a little better in a few places."