Grant charges ahead

In Class 3A dual team sectional championship action, No. 14 Grant (22-2) handled New Trier (13-9) easily as the Bulldogs earned a trip downstate with a 39-24 victory over the Trevians at Libertyville.

The Bulldogs will face Minooka in a state quarterfinal Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.

A decision by 125-pounder Chaz Alex got Grant on the scoreboard before victories by teammates Roque Bustos at 130, Jason Montemayor at 135, and Nick Guenther at 140 staked the Bulldogs to an early 18-3 lead.

Then a 9-2 decision by Tyler Dempsey at 152, a pin by Tyler Becker at 160, and a forfeit win by state champ Lee Munster (46-0) at 189 gave Grant a huge 33-12 lead with four bouts to go.

"It was a great chance for me to redeem myself from a rough (individual) sectional and I didn't want that to be my last match especially being a senior," said Becker. "We're going to have our work cut out for us (at state), and we're going to be a big underdog, but I think we have a chance."

Jake Brown added a decison for Grant at 215 as did teammate Ben Soumar at 103.

"We didn't wrestle our best, but our kids were ready to wrestle and we did it," said Grant coach Ryan Geist. "I take my hat off to my kids because it hasn't been easy, but the hard work has paid off and it is nice to make it back to the Elite Eight because there are a lot of good teams."