Munster, Grant set to meet mighty Minooka
After a one-year hiatus, Grant is returning to the Elite Eight team wrestling tournament Saturday morning in Bloomington.
The 14th-ranked Bulldogs (22-2) rolled past New Trier 39-24 in the Libertyville team sectional Tuesday night to advance to the IHSA Class 3A state quarterfinals against No. 2 Minooka (21-2) at 9 a.m. at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
Minooka nipped third-ranked perennial power Providence 25-24 in the Pekin sectional to earn its trip downstate.
The winner of the Grant-Minooka dual meet will face either seventh-ranked Glenbard North (17-9) or No. 25 Wheeling (21-3) in the semifinals at 2 p.m. Wheeling reached the state meet for the first time in school history with a huge 33-22 upset over host Libertyville.
The championship match is slated for 6 p.m. Minooka, featuring five state qualifiers, and No. 1-ranked Oak Park-River Forest are favored to square off for the 2009 crown.
The Bulldogs will certainly have their hands full with Minooka, but they have a great starting point with elite junior Lee Munster (46-0 at 171) leading his squad into the team competition.
Munster completed his 45-0 individual tourney season by winning the Class 3A 171-pound state crown last Saturday in Champaign, becoming a two-time state champion after he captured the 119-pound state title as a freshman.
"It's going to be a real tough dual for us," said the Northwestern-bound Munster. "If we make good decisions, we have a chance of keeping it close and maybe pulling some upsets and getting a victory out of it."
Beside Munster, Grant boasted four other individual state qualifiers, including junior Chaz Alex (27-16) at 125, senior Roque Bustos (33-14) at 130, junior Jason Montemayor (33-10) at 135 and junior Carl Williams (22-18) at 285.
Grant owns an abundance of experience and depth, as its lineup also includes seniors Nick Guenther (15-7) at 140, Tyler Dempsey (33-9) at 152, Tyler Becker (37-4) at 160 and Jake Brown (21-9) at 215. Junior Jack Kramer (24-18) has been another key wrestler, at 119.
The Bulldogs have shined in the latest decade, winning the first of their seven straight regional titles in 2003.
After falling short on numerous occasions, Grant won its first dual team sectional championship in 2004 before losing in the sectional finals in 2005.
The Bulldogs came back stronger than ever in 2006, bringing home the third-place Class AA trophy from state in only their second Elite Eight tourney.
They followed up that performance with another appearance in the state quarterfinals in 2007 when Munster was a freshman before heading downstate again this season.
"I've been surprised with the team this year and we've been through a lot," said Grant coach Ryan Geist.
"We've always found a way to somehow be successful, and I think they support each other very well."
Geist knows his team will be hard-pressed to pull off the upset in the quarterfinals, but he is very optimistic.
"Minooka is a very tough team, and the one thing they do well is they don't give up and that is a tough obstacle to overcome in wrestling," Geist said.
"We need to match their intensity - if not surpass it - and we should be fine."