Wrestling / Class 3A state preview
Where: Assembly Hall, Champaign
When: Friday - 8:30 a.m. start; Saturday - 9 a.m. semifinals; 6:30 p.m. Grand March and title matches.
What to watch: The switch from two to three classes this year will give fans almost too watch down on the big floor of Assembly Hall, while taxing the 15,000-plus on hand in its annual bracket scoring game.
Gone are the 24-man brackets which told their own story as wrestlers weaved in and out of the championship and back-draw brackets with a new 16-man bracket, which for the first time is seeded by a complex formula which includes wins, previous years' state champions and medalists, number of losses, and other criteria.
The jury is and will still be out on all of the new protocol, but give the IHSA credit for finally taking care in the placement of the top four in each division to, at the very least, erase potential matches in the quarterfinals between Nos. 1 and 2.
Main Matt-man
Since arriving at Prospect four years ago, there has been a buzz about Matt Boggess, who is 41-0 at 140 pounds. Highly regarded and successful on the club level with the Arlington Cardinals, lofty results were expected by many almost immediately after stepping onto the mats in his rookie season.
Boggess would win the first of 4 Mid-Suburban League titles, grab a second-place medal at the regionals, but fail to get out of the Barrington sectional and end his first year at 25-4. His failure to reach the state tournament that February provided all the motivation he would need for the following season which saw him go 43-0 through the regular season and in three post-season tournaments and a spot in the coveted 24-man bracket at 130. With hopes sky high, Boggess went easily past his first opponent, only to suffer a stunning loss to Zeke Rowan (Mt. Carmel) 4-1 to send him into a tailspin and the consolation bracket. Two matches later he was eliminated.
"I never thought that I would lose (to) Rowan and was probably thinking at the time about getting into the semifinal round and just looked past Rowan," recalls Boggess. "I don't think I really recovered from that loss because I just wasn't ready for my matches in the back-draw."
One year later, a new and improved Boggess, complete with an arsenal of conventional weapons and by his own admission the owner of a more mature approach to his sport and life in general, ran through the competition with such ease that he and Josh Kratovil (Lincoln-Way Central) were declared the clear-cut Nos. 1 and 1A and favorites at 135.
The pollsters proved correct, yet just seconds into the final, Boggess was struck down and for what appeared to be an eternity, appeared to have suffered a serious injury to his neck as a stunned and silent packed house watched one of its heroes carted off the a nearby hospital.
In what Boggess described as a bruise to the right side of his brain due to a concussion, the long process of healing, rehab and eventual stepping out and onto the mats finally came full circle prior to the start of his senior year.
"There was a lot of hesitation on my part to go (hard) in training and in my matches, and then I caught an elbow to my head once again and was out for another month and made my spring and summer leading up until the fall a real scary time for me," said Boggess, who is approaching 155 career victories against just 9 losses.
With plenty of photos and stories on the Kratovil match just inches away from him in his room, Boggess would begin his training in earnest this season, before missing the first couple of weeks after tweaking his knee.
"The first week back in early December was the hardest, but even when I wasn't able to wrestle, I was working out and eating right in preparation of my comeback," he said.
Once back, it has been very bad news for his opponents. Boggess brings a perfect 41-0 record into the tournament, in a weight class which has a serious threat at every turn on his side of the bracket.
"Looking at (my) side, there's no doubt it's going to take a full six minutes in four matches to win it all," he said.
The top-rated Boggess opens today against No. 5 Andy Spangler (Neuqua Valley, 37-6) then would meet either No. 6 Luke Nelson (Brother Rice, 30-4) or Pat Greco (Marmion, 33-4) tonight. A victory in the quarterfinals will feed, more than likely No. 3 Eric Oyster (Plainfield Central, 37-3) tomorrow and one win away from No. 2 Mark Marianovich, the four-time state qualifier and 2008 fourth-place medalist from Marian Catholic in the final.
"It will be a battle this weekend, but then it has been the past year for me," Boggess said.
Weight watching
119 pounds: Patrick Scully (Hoffman Estates, 37-6, No. 5), Louis Mazzetta (Libertyville, 36-10, No. 11), Connor Drew (Warren, 35-5), Mike DeSario (Lake Park, 34-0, No. 4), Keith Surber (O'Fallon, 40-1, No. 1), Jameson Oster (Lockport, 37-6, No. 2), Al Juarez (Joilet Township, 24-4, No. 3).
Surber, last year's third-place medalist at 112, entered Lincoln-Way Central sectional No. 1 rated but left only in third after Oster 10-6 decision. So what does this all mean? If triple-crown winner Scully (MSL, regional and sectional champ) can get past Juarez in his state opener, then the natural climb up the top half of this bracket leads the 2007 state qualifier straight into Oster (he is 1-1 with this season) in the semis. Mazzetta opens with the three-time state qualifier Surber, while Drew with Ambrose.
125: Luke Smith (Wheeling, 32-2, No. 4), Chaz Alex (Grant, 26-13), Jermaine Lee (Dundee-Crown, 33-12), Tony Ramos (Glenbard North, 44-2, No. 1), Jon Morrison (Sandburg, 40-1, No. 2), Chris Dardanes (OPRF, 31-5, No. 3).
Something has to give with one of the returning state champs (Ramos, 125) and Morrison (119) not walking to the top of the podium when all is said and done. Two-time MSL, regional and sectional champ Smith makes a return visit and is on a collision course with Morrison in the semis. Ramos has defeated Morrison and Dardanes, while Smith lost to Morrison at own tournament final. Loads of three-time state qualifiers in this bunch.
160: Kyle Czarnecki (Buffalo Grove, 37-1, No. 4), Josh Ronne (Libertyville, 39-9), Jeff Koepke (Hersey, 38-13), Andrew Petit (Hoffman Estates, 36-12), Adam Schammert (Leyden, 35-6), Jahwon Akui (St. Rita, 34-2, No. 1), Nick Proctor (Neuqua Valley, 37-3, No. 2), Juan Soliz (Sandburg, 38-3, No. 4), Andrew Rudd (Batavia, 33-7, No. 6).
What does it tell you about this class when Gary Walliser of Granite City has an amazing 46-6 record and is ranked No. 11? With that said, it wasn't safe at any of the four sectional venues at this weight last weekend, with No. 1 (Akui) upset and Nos. 5 and 9 (Dominic Schmit, Wheaton North and Grant Millette, Willowbrook) eliminated. Czarnecki, one match away from the medal round a year ago, appears to have a good draw on the bottom half, where he is away from most of the power, and on course to reach the semifinals. Roone will get Soliz in his opener, while Schammert, who after three previous sectional appearances, finally makes it downstate.
171: Lee Munster (Grant, 41-0, No. 1), Dan Santoro (Barrington, 37-8, No. 8), Jamey Zabrin (Buffalo Grove, 36-4, No. 11), Mark Stenberg (Lockport, 36-3, No. 2), Sterling Hecox (Machesney Park Harlem, 34-4, No. 3), Matt Dwyer (Rockton Hononegah, 40-6, No. 4), Danny Watson (Batavia, 39-1, No. 5).
This year's group of granite is a who's who of star power as 2007 state champion Munster has beaten Stenberg (major decision) and Dwyer at Sycamore, one of three tournaments in which the Grant junior was named outstanding wrestler. He has squashed many others who have stood in his way to help make him the favorite here despite having Dwyer (quarters) and Hecox (semi-finals) in his path.
Broncos bust out
There have been a couple of lean years at Barrington since its elite class of the 2006-07 season moved on.
In his first year after taking over for long-time head coach Tim Dunn, former Lake Zurich state champion Al Strobl preached patience last year, while promising better things ahead in two to three years. Only one year after talking of the Broncos' reconstruction project, the building appears way ahead of schedule.
A trio of state qualifiers, Luke Miller (152), Dan Santoro (171) and freshman Adrian Gonzalez (103), have not only climbed into the top 10 in state polls, but also helped fuel a run to a co-championship in the MSL West with Schaumburg.
No. 8 Miller (39-6) grabbed a sectional title last weekend, while No. 8 Santoro (37-8) was runner-up to Munster and Gonzalez (35-7) likely solidified his No. 6 spot in the state with a 3rd-place medal. "All three of those guys are a part of a terrific group of kids that we have on our roster, a roster that had just one senior in our starting line-up," said Strobl. "Both Luke and Dan want to go onto the next level and wrestle, and their work ethic, leadership and extra training shows they are ready to make that step up."
Strobl figures Santoro competed in over a 100 bouts during the off-season and Miller and Gonzalez 80-plus apiece as all three were members of the Cadet National Team. The Broncos' coach says the fact that both are strong in the classroom, which makes each wonderful students in the room, where their progress has quickened the learning curve for them and their mates. Rookies of the year
After taking home a NSC and regional championship to start the post-season, Mundelein freshman Matt Ornoff (37-5) made his coming out party official at 103 when he captured a sectional title with an impressive 6-minute effort against No. 3 Tommy Laskowske of Palatine (39-4) in the final. A major upset last weekend in the sectional quarterfinal of No. 1 Eddie Klimara (Providence, 29-1) sent shock waves throughout this division and hope to all. "We're now seeing how all of the extra training and camps during the offseason and support from his family is making the difference," said Mundelein coach Tom Buenik of Ornoff, who opens against No. 10 Bob Gavrick (Lyons) this morning. Josh Marchok (Schaumburg, 33-9). Schaumburg's Josh Marchok (33-9) was another fantastic freshman who was absent from the MSL Tourney, but then came back to win a regional title at Elgin at 189 with a fall in 47 seconds. "We thought about at the halfway point of the season that Josh might surprise some people along the way, because all of his losses to that point came from state-ranked kids," said Schaumburg coach Matt Gruszka. "He has the maturity of a 4-year veteran, with the body of a freshman, wrestling in a men's weight class. But he is savvy and truly understands the sport."