Grant takes sixth straight title
The North Suburban Conference wrestling meet was a real dogfight between five-time defending champion Grant and state-ranked Libertyville on Saturday at Antioch.
The Wildcats led by 1 point after the semifinal round, but Grant came back to capture its sixth straight crown.
Grant, which featured 13 all-conference (top five) wrestlers, posted a total of 239.5 points to topple Libertyville (219.5).
The Wildcats boasted nine all-conference competitors, as did Mundelein -- which took third place with 189.5 points.
Stevenson held off Warren 135.5 to 128.5 for fourth place in the 14-team meet. Round Lake outdistanced Wauconda 101-88 for sixth place.
Grant's four champions all recorded pins in the finals -- including Izzy Montemayor (31-3) at 125, Lee Munster (20-0) at 140, Tyler Becker (32-6) at 145, and Josh Delulca (32-5) at 171.
"Our four champs all had pins against quality opponents and we had 13 all-conference kids which is just a crazy number for wrestling," said Grant coach Ryan Geist. "Libertyville has a great team, but in the last couple of rounds the Prairie Division teams helped us out and our kids started wrestling well."
Libertyville 103-pounder Matt Bystol (30-4) held on for a 6-5 decision over Round Lake's Jose Jimenez to start the finals.
But the Wilcats' 285-pounder Tom Nield was not as fortunate on the opposite mat, as Vernon Hills' Steve Hwang recorded a pin in 5:12 for the championship.
"I knew he (Nield) was stronger than me so I wanted to keep my weight against him and try to tire him out," Hwang said. "He was holding my waist really tight and I was able to roll him and get the pin."
The Wildcats' 112-pounder Louis Mazzetta got a late reversal for a 7-6 decision over Mundelein's Eduardo Dominguez in the finals.
Libertyville 135-pounder Trey Ayala (32-5) continued to roll with a major decision over Lake Zurich's Andy Lynch in the finals.
Joey Callen won by injury default over Warren's Bryce Howard at 160 for the Wildcats' other crown.
"I thought we gave them (Grant) a good battle and after the semifinals we were up by a point, but we didn't win any third- or fifth-place matches," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert. "Obviously we have some guys who are clicking pretty good, but we have some weight classes that didn't score which we need to get going."
Mundelein's Adam Avalos (33-4) rolled to the 189-pound title with a 12-4 major decision over Warren's Tyreese Woodard.
Warren 119-pounder Connor Drew improved to 30-2 with a 7-4 decision over Mundelein's Tanis Arcos in the finals.
"It was a great accomplishment for our team and we knew it was going to be tough," said Mundelein coach Tom Buenik. "It was the first time in a long time that Mundelein has had that many all-conference guys."
Stevenson 152-pounder Bobby Vagun lived up to his billing, winning by technical fall over Grant's Tyler Dempsey for first place.
David Lamberti (125) and Taras Martyniouk (145) placed third for the Patriots.
"We lost some close matches that we thought we were good enough to win," said Stevenson coach Shane Cook. "But overall we ended up with eight all-conference wrestlers, so we're proud of that. We've come a long way since last year."
Warren was without the services of Jake Dietmeyer (152) and Houston Neals (215), but 103-pounder Robby Schultheis did place third for the Blue Devils.
"We're young and we've still got to get better, but we're learning," said Warren coach Mark Tiffany. "Grant and Libertyville are head and shoulders above everybody else, so we were fighting for third through fifth place."
At 130, Lakes' Matt Holmes (32-3) pinned Round Lake's Dillon Pousson in 4:46 for the title, but Pousson backers (including coach John Jobst) felt the referee jumped the gun on the pin call.
"It was a legitimate pin but it was a late call by the ref and that's the way it is," said Lakes coach Curt Onstad. "He (Holmes) has been the underdog in every big meet except this one, he's done well, and he's really turned it on."
Round Lake 215-pounder Vince Nicoline took home first place with an 11-2 major decision over Libertyville's Jake Hogan.
Other second-place finishers were Lake Zurich's Kevin Fanta (125), Andy Lynch (135) and Anthony Pace (140). Wauconda's Scott Carlson (145), and Libertyville's Logan Miller (171) were also runners-up.
Wauconda's Mike Brown (112) placed third, along with Grant's Rocky Bustos (112), Shelby Temple (130) and Nick Guenther (135). Also third were Mundelein's Alex Mena (140) and Devin Ringwald (152), Grant's Joe Loris (160), Mundelein's Steve Avalos (171), Lake Zurich's Wade Self (189), Grant's Jake Brown (215), and Antioch's Andy Kloster (285).
"We were losing for a lot of the tournament, but the team pulled through in the last two rounds," said Munster. "I'm hoping the regionals go the same way as this week and we just have to go in there and wrestle like we have nothing to lose."