Storm's Cameron has lofty postseason goals
South Elgin senior Nick Carlson typifies the improvement that has been shown with the entire Storm wrestling program this season.
As a junior, Storm coach Mark Cameron noted Carlson won 8 matches.
A year later, Carlson brings a 30-11 mark into Saturday's Class AA South Elgin regional. Action starts at 10 a.m. with the finals slated to begin at 3 p.m.
"I'm going out there and going harder this year," said Carlson, who wrestled his freshman year at Bartlett and then came over to South Elgin when it opened 3 years ago. "I've got more heart. This is my senior year. It's my last year and it's my last chance. I have to put it all on the line."
Cameron paints Carlson as one of the main staples in the program's surge this season.
"He's one of those kids that works, works and works in and out of the season," said Cameron. "He's been one of our captains for 3 years. Nick and the other 2 captains (171-pounder Kyle Soumar and 152-pounder Steffan Bublitz) are a big reason why we are where we are and why we are really excited for the future of this program."
Carlson has been wrestling since age 8, first getting his start with the Bartlett Hawks junior wrestling program.
"He's got a lot of confidence out there in hitting his moves and wrestling his style," said Cameron. "He's learned how to force his pace in a match."
Carlson will be looking for his first sectional trip. At the regional level, the top 3 place-finishers at each weight advance to the individual sectional.
"I have to go out there and execute my moves and work my style and push the pace and not let the other guy work his match," said Carlson.
Dundee-Crown will also be part of the field at South Elgin. The Chargers had a string of 7 straight Fox Valley Conference titles snapped last week (finishing second to Crystal Lake Central).
But the Chargers have their sights set on another familiar staple in their program -- the dual-team sectional. D-C, under the direction of hall of fame coach Al Zinke, has won 3 regional titles since 2000. D-C, which has won 20 or more dual matches 6 times since 2000, has been to the dual-team sectional twice since 2004 -- the '04 team took fourth in the state.
Only the regional team champion advances to the dual-team sectional.
"It's going to take a good team effort from everybody," said D-C senior 145-pounder Chris Rust, who is 27-4 heading into Saturday. "Everybody has to pitch in. We have to wrestle our best and we have to wrestle for the team and try and get pins instead of decisions."
D-C junior Cody Muscat, who is 28-8 this season and is looking for his third straight individual sectional appearance, noticed a change in the team over the holidays.
"Over Christmas break is when we all got better," said Muscat. "We were practicing twice a day. Every year at that time, people usually get better at something. Our conditioning gets a lot harder so that we are in better shape."
Muscat has been working on the mental side of his game throughout the season.
"You always have to be two moves deep in case the first move is stopped," said Muscat, who is tied for the area lead in wins at 130. "I've been working on my shots this week. There will be some tough schools there. I have to be prepared and not give anything up and be two moves deep."
D-C also features battle-tested seniors Mike Lukowski (31-3 at 189) and Ryan Horcher (30-4 at 152). The Chargers have 8 wrestlers in the lineup with 24 or more wins. Those 8 wrestlers sport a combined winning percentage of .781.
Lukowski is one of 2 area wrestlers in the South Elgin field that sport state rankings. Lukowski, who took fifth in Class AA last year at 189, is ranked No. 2 by Illinois Matmen (www.illinoismatmen.com) behind Lemont's Gordon Kickels. Lukowski, a regional champion in 2007, has lost only twice at 189 (his other loss came at 215 to undefeated Downers Grove South senior Ben Apland who holds the top ranking at 215).
Elgin's Terrell Walker is ranked ninth at 160 pounds and brings a 31-1 mark into the regional. Walker won the Upstate Eight Conference title 2 weeks ago at 160. His only loss this season has been to state-ranked Cedric Gibson (Plainfield North).
Larkin (with Tony Feliciano, Cameron Tanner and Jacob Truax all over 25 wins) and Streamwood (led by Jeff Mason and freshman Joey Kubica) round out the area teams at South Elgin. The top 3 place-finishers head to the Naperville North sectional, while the regional champion moves on to the Glenbard North dual-team sectional.
The 5 area Fox Valley Conference teams have been split among two regionals. Cary-Grove, Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake South are part of the Grant regional in Fox Lake. Action starts at 9 a.m. with the finals scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Cary-Grove senior Alec Hargrove brings momentum into the regional after winning a FVC title last weekend.
"A conference title is something I definitely wanted," said Hargrove, who is 27-7 at 119 pounds. "The year before, I lost the conference title in overtime. I'm going into the regional now where the competition will be tough. Winning the conference helped me with my confidence and has helped me step things up. My mental attitude toward wrestling has changed. I believe I can beat people."
Hargrove has also been working hard to improve his takedowns.
"I've been working on finishing my takedowns and not staying down on my knees," said Hargrove, who finished second at the regional level last year. "I'm following through on them. I'm the strongest on my feet. I'm fast and that allows me to get the takedowns on people."
Hargrove's teammate and returning state qualifier Paul Rands will bring a 31-3 record into Fox Lake. He's ranked fourth in the state at 215. Rands, a regional champion last year, has wins at Barrington and the FVC tournament and also took second at the prestigious Dvorak tournament.
Prairie Ridge's Brendan Barrett will also be in the mix at Grant. Barrett, who won a FVC title last weekend, is 30-6 at 152 pounds this season.
Barrett said his progress this season boils down to, quite simply, his win-loss mark.
"There is a big difference between being a great wrestler in practice and when it comes time to compete," said Barrett. "Competition was something I wasn't so good at before. I've been working on my mental aspect for a couple of seasons and I finally seem to have gotten a hold of it."
Wolves senior Sam Campbell (27-3) is ranked 11th in the state at 160 pounds.
Crystal Lake South is also at Grant. The top 3 finishers in each weight class advance to the Barrington sectional. The regional champion heads to the Libertyville dual-team sectional.
In other area action, Bartlett will compete in the Lake Park regional. Competition starts at 9 a.m. with the finals slated for 1 p.m. Sectional qualifiers from Lake Park head to Naperville North. The team champion advances to Glenbard North.
Jacobs, Huntley and Burlington Central are part of the Sycamore regional (9 a.m. start; noon finals). Central features unbeaten 145-pounder Curt Mastio (33-0).
Huntley senior Jordan Bakley is 33-7 and fresh off a second-place showing in the FVC. Bakley is looking for his second straight sectional trip. He's wrestling at 171 now after starting the year at 160.
"Since I moved up a weight class my strength has increased a lot," said Bakley. "Moving up helped me. I've got a lot of energy. My normal weight is around 160 or 171. So I'm wrestling comfortably. After practice I don't even go on the scales. It's not even a worry."
Bakley is excited to see what Saturday brings.
"I have to wrestle smart," said Bakley. "The hardest part is the mental stability. Sometimes I get too concerned with if a guy is better than me or stronger than me. I do my best when I go out there and just wrestle. I'm just going to go out there and wrestle my match this weekend."
Huntley also features returning state qualifier Tony Benning at 189 (33-4).
The Sycamore qualifiers will head to the Rock Island sectional, while the regional champion will advance to the Rochelle dual-team sectional.
In Class A, St. Edward will compete in the Lisle regional (9 a.m. start; noon finals). Will Lytle sports a 25-6 mark at 145 pounds and was a sectional qualifier last year for the Green Wave.
"Will didn't start wrestling until his freshman year," said St. Edward coach Shane Kottkamp. "He's made a big improvement. He's come a long way."
Individuals advancing out of Lisle head to the Plano sectional.