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Glenbard North ends Wheeling's season

BLOOMINGTON - The maiden voyage for the Wheeling wrestling team did not go as planned on Saturday morning at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Wildcats were pitted against traditional power Glenbard North in the Class 3A state dual-meet quarterfinals, and coach Neal Weiner was disappointed with the first downstate appearance in program history.

"We didn't wrestle well at all," Weiner said. "I thought we came out flat."

Glenbard North forfeited the final three weight classes to make the 32-28 final score misleading; the Panthers won seven consecutive matches between heavyweight and 135 pounds to take an insurmountable 32-10 lead.

The draw came at 160 pounds, and freshman Ed Scanlon gave the Wildcats a 4-0 lead with a convincing 15-2 major decision.

Glenbard North narrowed its deficit to 4-3 on a simple decision at 171 pounds, and the Wildcats had back-to-back wins to increase their lead to 10-3.

Chris Johnson and Danny Vargas allowed a mere point between them in capturing the 189- and 215-pound matches.

But Glenbard North coach Mark Hahn accepted the outcome with glee.

"The difference was not giving up (bonus points) in the upper weights," Hahn said.

Glenbard North is historically stacked in the lower to middle weights, and the Panthers' Chris Vangundy had a critical win at heavyweight to begin the Panthers' onslaught.

Bryan Gonzalez had a second-period fall to give Glenbard North the lead for good, 13-10, and the Panthers' spread was systemically increased over the next five matches.

Dan Rios and Joe Gosinski continued the Glenbard North run with back-to-back wins, on a major decision and technical fall, respectively, to extend the unanswered burst to 19 points.

The 125-pound collision was the flagship match of the teams' dual meet.

Wheeling sophomore Luke Smith had the unenviable task in stopping three-time state champion Tony Ramos.

The Iowa-bound star is unbeaten against state competition this season after winning his third individual title at Champaign last weekend.

Smith was third for the Wildcats.

"I've seen (Ramos) wrestle my whole life," Smith said. "I knew he was a tough wrestler and I would have to go after him. I wanted to take on one of the top kids in the state."

Smith, who ended the campaign with a 38-4 record, held his own early, only to succumb to the multi-talented Gomez 15-8.

Jimmy Chase, another former state champion for Glenbard North, turned back Mike Smith at 130 pounds.

The Panthers then mathematically closed out the Wildcats when Rob Desio fell at 135 pounds.

David Aranda, E. Erdene-Ohir and Leo Hicks accepted forfeits from Glenbard North to account for the final score.

"I have no problem with (the three not being able to wrestle)," Weiner said. "We would have won all three of those matches anyway. Glenbard North is one of the more physical teams we've seen this year."

Wheeling ended its season at 21-4.

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