Seeds play a big role in how area regionals will turn out

In all his years of coaching, Neuqua Valley coach Mick Ruettiger has never seen a regional that included Illinois' Nos. 2-, 3- and 6-ranked teams, plus a team ranked No. 22 by Illinois Best Weekly.

Ruettiger and his Wildcats get to be a part of such a group Saturday as part of the Class 3A West Aurora individual regional.

"I've been to regionals where there are two or three very good teams, but I can't think of any regional that's been this deep with good teams, plus a lot of good individuals outside of those teams," Ruettiger said.

Waubonsie Valley will also join a regional that includes No. 3 Neuqua Valley, No. 2 Minooka, No. 6 Plainfield Central and No. 22 West Aurora in the clear-cut toughest regional for team advancement taking place anywhere in Illinois.

"It is what it is," Ruettiger said. "We've never complained before, and our schedule this year was made for us to be able to compete in a regional like this one."

Ruettiger spoke by cell phone on his way to Wednesday night's seeding meeting for the regional.

"Those seeds are going to be fought for hard tonight," he said. "Sometimes you'll get the short end of the stick, and sometimes you'll come out on top. The seedings will be very important."

Neuqua's Matt Cavallaris (112 pounds), Adam Stine (135), Andy Spangler (140) and Nick Proctor (160) all carry lofty individual rankings and figure to get through to the individual sectional.

For the Wildcats to advance as a team, they'll need other solid wrestlers like Alex Cizek (145), Alex Zozulia (189), Mike Zozulia (215) and a host of others to score as many points as possible.

Waubonsie Valley's David Scarano (125), Mike Lyons (160), Daniel Kelly (171) and Sherrod Stancil (285) have all won 20 or more matches, and they carry the Warriors' highest hopes of individual advancement.

The wildest 3A regional taking place might well occur at Wheaton North, where Batavia, Glenbard East and Wheaton North are all ranked in Illinois' top 25.

Add Naperville Central, which placed ahead of the Rams and Falcons at last weekend's DVC tournament, and teams like Marmion and Wheaton Warrenville South that bring in a handful of bona fide studs, and it's anyone's guess which team emerges to advance.

Again, the seeding meeting for this one couldn't have been a breeze.

"The seeding could be the difference, because while the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in a weight class are battling just to get to the finals, the No. 1 seed has a better chance to get bonus points along the way," said Batavia coach Tom Arlis.

Batavia's Logan Arlis (112), Andrew Rudd (160) and Danny Watson (171) are highly ranked and have the potential to rack up bonus points, while Adrian Laskero (112) and Dominick Schmidt (160) lead the way for Wheaton North.

Glenbard East's Parker Settecase (215) won a DVC title this year, while Sam Pennisi (171) and Spencer George (285) reached the DVC title mat.

A pair of DVC champs in Naperville North's Frank McKeown (103) and Mike Albanese (285) each figure to make a run at a regional title, while DVC champ Adam Gebner (152), Andy Kovalsky (135) and company lead the way for Naperville Central.

WW South also has a quartet of title mat contenders in Spartacus Chino (135), Tim Savenok (145), Jim Franke (160) and Mike Olp (189). West Chicago's Jonny Padilla (135) carries his squad's best hope of sectional advancement.

Glenbard West's Sam Littlehale (112), Mike Letmanski (125), Ethan Knowlton (130), and Dave Weaver (171) are the Hilltoppers' best bets to advance.

The 3A Elgin regional has a pair of DuPage County teams present in Glenbard North and Lake Park. The No. 7 Panthers are the only ranked team in the field, led by returning state champions Tony Ramos (125) and Jimmy Chase (130).

Lake Park's Joe Rovituso (103) and unbeaten Mike DeSario (119) each won Upstate Eight Conference titles this year.

Hinsdale Central and York are the two ranked teams at York's 3A regional, where Addison Trail and Willowbrook each feature a handful of potential sectional qualifiers.

The Blazers' George Iliopoulos (119), James Sokolnik (125), Kerin Ramirez (140) and returning state qualifier Arber Bebo (189) lead the way for Addison Trail, while Willowbrook's best chances rest with freshman phenom Steve Congenie (140) and senior Grant Millette (160).

In Class 2A Montini will begin its run at a second consecutive team state title at the Fenton regional. The Broncos are arguably the best team in Illinois in any class, led by seniors Isaiah Gonzalez (160), Carl Foreside (189), Grant Goebel (215) and a full lineup of top-shelf talent.

Fenton features a trio of legitimate threats to wrestle in Champaign in Carlos Gomez (135), two-time state qualifier Josh Castellano (145), and heavyweight Francisco Ochoa. Glenbard South is also present at Fenton, led by unbeaten heavyweight Austin Teitsma and Mike Peters (135).

In Class 1A Lisle is the cream of the crop at Saturday's Walther Lutheran regional, led by a pair of ranked wrestlers in David Pawlowicz (160) and Kevin Murray (215). Driscoll's hopes at the Harvard regional rest on the shoulders of returning state qualifiers Chris Heading (119), Tom Randich (171) and Jake Randich (189).