Batavia wins WSC tourney title
The Western Sun Conference had the ultimate tiebreaker to decide the finest wrestling program in the league Saturday afternoon at Sycamore.
The regular-season title is decided exclusively by the schools' dual-meet results, but Yorkville defeated the host Spartans to deny Sycamore an undefeated conference season.
Batavia ended the Foxes' hopes for a perfect league run, and Sycamore did likewise to the Bulldogs.
Declared tri-champions, the programs' lack of separation was still intact as Sycamore held a narrow lead over Yorkville and Batavia entering the championship round.
"Out of our six finalists, we knew we needed to get bonus points out of half of them," Batavia coach Tom Arlis said. "We had to get bonus points, or we weren't going to win (the team title)."
The tournament championship was in the balance when Batavia sent out wrestlers on the championship match in three consecutive weight classes: Andrew Rudd, Danny Watson and Luis Campos between 160 and 189 pounds.
Rudd survived a frenzied showdown with Rochelle sophomore CJ Navarro; Watson needed little more than a minute to earn a fall, and Campos' hard-fought 4-2 win Geneva junior Ryan Ward propelled the Bulldogs to the team championship.
Batavia defended its conference tournament title with 177.5 points; Sycamore was three behind, followed by Yorkville (167.5) and DeKalb (151.5).
Rochelle edged Geneva for fifth; Glenbard South received a dominant performance from junior heavyweight Austin Teitsma to place seventh, and Kaneland had two finalists to take eighth.
Logan Arlis' season-long unbeaten streak was extended to 33; the Bulldogs' junior repeated his championship effort at 112 pounds when DeKalb junior Tyler Larson was forced out with an injury six seconds in to the third period.
"I was winning the match pretty handily (when the default occurred)," Arlis said. "I have no problem going for six minutes. I don't even worry about my record."
The Bulldogs' Charlie Ryan also defended his individual title at 130 pounds, using a second-period reversal and 2-point near fall as the springboard his 14-8 victory over DeKalb senior Tyler Walt.
"He beat me during the regular season this year," Ryan said of his first encounter with Walt. "I knew he was going to be my competition. I'm glad I got him when it actually mattered, for the conference championship."
The Bulldogs' Tyler Patton attempted to make it two straight for Batavia at 135 pounds, but Yorkville senior Nathan Messenger did not allow a point in winning the title.
"I wasn't very happy about being the second seed," Messenger said.
Rudd was the first to take the mat to begin the climatic portion of the tournament.
The senior nearly ended the match against Navarro with a first-period pin, and a technical fall was within reach early in the second period.
But Navarro caught Rudd with a violent takedown, almost completely turning the tables.
"I let up for a split second, and he took advantage," Rudd said. "I knew I was controlling the match and would win it if I got out of it."
Rudd did just that, winning the thrill-a-minute 160-pound title 22-12.
That brought Watson to the mat, and the senior not only earned a 73-second fall but also captured MVP honors with his third one-sided match of the day.
"(The coaches) wanted me to secure the win first and go for the pin from there," Watson said.
Campos then solidified the Bulldogs' standing with the only offensive points of the match - a third-period takedown - to turn back Ward at 189 pounds.
"I just kept my head in it," Campos said. "I knew it was going to go down to the end."
"Luis' win was spectacular," coach Arlis said.
The two finalists for Kaneland - senior Jay Levita at 145 pounds and heavyweight Jimmy Boyle - both fell short in the championship match.
The plight for Boyle was understandable; Teistma, the Raiders' undefeated 245-pound junior, extended his unbeaten streak to 31 with two first-period falls.
"I just went after it," Teistma said. "(Maintaining the winning streak is definitely pressure packed) but, I like it."
"He's the strongest kid I have ever coached," Glenbard South coach Derrick Crenshaw said. "He's still learning. It's pretty hard for us to compete with the rest of the teams when we don't have a feeder program. I've been saying that for 10 years. But it's tough when the other schools have freshmen on varsity, and we need three or four years."
The Raiders' Ryan Mckean reached the finals at 152 pounds but failed to score against DeKalb senior Joe Giuliano.