Four area teams ready for a tough grind at Harvard
Burlington Central wrestling coach Tony Rigitano wanted his team to see increased competition this season.
That will certainly happen for the Rockets today at the 42nd annual John Sciacca-Richard Holtfreter Wrestling Tournament at Harvard High School.
The 16-team event, which also features area entrants Dundee-Crown, Crystal Lake South and Huntley, gets under way at 4 p.m. today. The quarterfinals will be contested at 7:30 p.m. tonight. Action resumes at 9:30 a.m. Saturday with the fifth, third and championship matches slated to begin at 5:30 p.m.
New to the tournament this year are Driscoll and Plainfield South. They replaced perennial state power Hononegah and Crystal Lake Central (the No. 2 ranked team in Class 2A according to Illinois Matmen).
The Rockets started the week 10-2 in duals (Central is ranked 14th in Class 2A) and had seven wrestlers with 10 or more wins, headlined by 160-pounder Taylor Schuck, who recently won the Sterling tournament.
"I'd rather wrestle tough competition now instead of seeing it later in the season and not being used to it," said Schuck, the brother of former Central three-time state qualifier Matt Schuck. "I want to see those tough kids."
Schuck wrestled in a number of national-caliber tournaments in the off-season, placing first in a freestyle event in Kansas.
"I put in a lot of hard work. I did a lot of wrestling in the off-season," said Schuck.
Schuck feels he's moved forward this season on his feet.
"I'm definitely a lot better on my feet and in the top position," said Schuck. "I'm a lot better at hand-fighting and scoring more points on my feet."
Central 119-pounder Kevin Marshall was also undefeated to star the week (10-0). Johnny Major (103) is 12-1 after winning his division at Sterling. Shane Burke is 13-1 on the season at 125 (2nd at Sterling), while Tim Maroder is 10-1 at 171 (2nd at Sterling).
Dundee-Crown started the week 11-1 (only loss to Libertyville). Veteran coach Al Zinke has a loaded front part of the lineup this season which has helped the Chargers climb to a No. 15 ranking in Class 3A according to Illinois Matmen.
Miko Villanueva (15-1; 103), Frank Abitua (14-2; 112), Jeremy Lee (15-1; 119), Jermaine Lee (14-2; 125), Josh Lee (130 pounds), Cody Muscat (12-2; 145), Jack Lewis (15-0; 152) and sophomore Cody Churkey (13-2; 160) have all started fast out of the gates for the Chargers. Senior Alex Laverd (135) has 9 wins this season. Zinke singled out specific praise for the quick progress of Churkey and the workmanlike, versatile effort turned in by Laverd.
Zinke said many of those mentioned wrestlers will go down in weight at Harvard (weights noted next to records).
"I think from 3 all the way up to 60 all have legit shots for us," said Zinke. "We've got a lot of kids with great records."
After the Harvard tournament, D-C transitions right into the toughest regular-season tournament in the state, the Dvorak Memorial, which is slated to be held Monday and Tuesday at Harlem High School.
"It will be a grind," said Zinke. "Saturday night we'll be done with Harvard and we'll get the kids in their beds and then we get in Sunday at noon to the hotel for the Dvorak and by the time we come home it's Christmas Eve. It's really busy."
Crystal Lake South is paced by senior Joe Fontanetta (9-4 at 160) and sophomore Kean Loupee (9-4 at 145). Senior Alec Uidl (171) and junior Mike Fetherling (130) each have 6 wins.
Huntley is paced by sophomore Lucas Rogers (10-2 at 125) and junior Colt Claudio (9-6 at 119). Both went 5-0 over last weekend for the Red Raiders.
The Harvard tournament is named after former Harvard wrestling coaches Sciacca and Holtfreter. When it started 42 years ago, it was the first 16-team wrestling tournament in the state of Illinois. Veteran Harvard coach Tim Haak took over for Holtfreter 22 years ago.