Panthers on the prowl

Wrestlers can feed off of each other like sharks, and Glenbard North senior Jamie Warczynski knew just what was needed prior to his match at 112 pounds Tuesday.

He had to feed his teammates -- especially Ray Varela.

"I went out there and knew I needed a pin," Warczynski said. "The whole team was pumped, and I knew that would get Ray going."

After a technical fall by Joe Gosinski, Warczynski's pin put the Panthers up 24-22 on Neuqua Valley, and Varela kept the gas pedal to the floor throughout his 5-0 win at 119 pounds.

That gave Glenbard North (24-4) a 27-22 lead with state champion Tony Ramos taking the mat, and it was lights out in Carol Stream. Ramos' pin gave his squad a 33-22 win.

"I was counting on 12 points from Joey and Jamie, because that's pretty much what they do," Ramos said. "Ray came out hard. I thought that match was going to be a lot closer, but Ray lit him up."

Neuqua Valley (19-5) was perched in a good spot through nine matches wrestled, getting wins from Matt Walters (135 pounds), Jimmy Duffy (152), Mike Zozulia (160), Chris Spangler (171), Alex Zozulia (189) and Patrick St. Clair (215) in building a 22-10 lead on the host Panthers.

"The kids wrestled well. There's no question that we battled," said Wildcats coach Mick Ruettiger. "It still hurts to lose, but I'm proud of the guys."

"They came and wrestled a (heck) of a lot better dual than we did," said Panthers coach Mark Hahn. "They wrestled us really well."

Jimmy Chase (130), Danny Monaco (140) and Vince Ramos (145) posted wins for Glenbard North before the Wildcats reeled off five straight wins. That's when Panthers heavyweight Jeff Jones stopped the bleeding with a 2-0 win.

"That was huge, and that got us going," Hahn said.

Six of the first nine matches were won by decision, and all of those decisions came during the pivotal middle-weight matches.

"We thought we could win them, and almost did, and our upper weights did a great job. We got a good run going there," Ruettiger said. "We just couldn't finish it off."

Glenbard North advances to Moline's Wharton Field House, where the Panthers will take on Montini at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Panthers have been ranked second behind the Broncos virtually all season.

"It's going to be tough, but we have a chance to beat them," Ramos said. "Everyone will be moving their lineup around, and it could just come down to winning the coin toss."