Glenbard North advances 14 to sectional

With a track record as long and impressive as Glenbard North's, no one would ever think a Panthers accomplishment was a fluke.

Even so, senior 145-poinder Vince Ramos said he and his Panthers wanted to come out and make a statement at Saturday's Lake Park wrestling regional, not leaving any doubt that last week's 10th straight DuPage Valley Conference win was a "fluke."

"We knew coming in that we had a point to prove," said Ramos, who capped his third individual regional crown with an 8-2 defeat of Schaumburg's PJ Starnes in a 145-pound title that pitted a pair of wrestlers with just two losses apiece this year. "We wanted to beat Wheaton North again solidly, and our goal was to dominate."

With seven champions crowned and a perfect 5-of-5 showing in the critical third-place bouts, Glenbard North did indeed dominate, piling up 240.50 points to easily hold off second-place Wheaton North (162.50) and capture its eighth straight regional title. Rolling Meadows was third at 131, and the host Lancers took fourth at 85 points.

"We had a good tournament, I'd say," said Panthers coach Mark Hahn, who saw 103-pounder Joe Gosinki start things off with a pin of Conant's Vince Gottardo in the finals. "We wanted to get 14 guys out and we did. We had some guys step up today."

Jamie Warczyski (112 pounds), Tony Ramos (125), Jimmy Chase (130), Geno Capezio (135) and Jeff Jones (285) all joined Gosinki and Vince Ramos in earning titles for the Panthers. Two more placed second, and five others third as 14 Glenbard North wrestlers move on to next week's Naperville North sectional.

For the Falcons, nine wrestlers advanced, including champions Nate Fitzenreider (119), Eric Terrazas (140) and Dominic Schmit, whose 3-0 win over Glenbard North's Justin Wahrman in the title bout at 160 handed the Panthers a rare loss.

"Last time I was not too smart, but today I was more in control," said Schmit, who lost to Wahrman 5-2 at the DVC meet. "I just wanted to get him back. I got my whole family here. My grandparents and my aunt and uncle are here. Last week afterward I was kinda bummed. But all's fine now."

Lake Park's Dan Kowalski edged Glenbard North's Corey Hope 3-1 in the finals at 152 pounds, while fellow Lancers Mike DeSario (112) and Mike Dziedzic (215) finished second. With three wins at the regional, Kowalski will take a 40-2 mark to Naperville North in search of a return trip to state.

"I've got to get after it next week if I want to get to state," said Kowalski, who felt he didn't wrestle his best despite taking first. "I hate those (low-scoring) type of matches. I have to be more offensive next week."