Big finish powers Wheeling to 38-27 win over Conant
Oh, what a big finish for Wheeling.
After falling way behind host Conant on the Cougars' home mats Thursday night, the Wildcats roared back to win 7 of the last 8 matches to capture a 38-27 victory in a Mid-Suburban League crossover dual in Hoffman Estates.
The Wildcats (9-2, 1-1), who had been idle since the Glenbrook South tournament on Dec. 19, had trouble regaining their form as Conant raced to a 24-2 lead following a fall from Travis Sylvester at 3:29 over Alex Martell at 140 pounds to cap a terrific start, which included consecutive wins from Mitch Alexander (119), Vince Gottardo (125) and Kevin Lejman (130).
"We were a little flat at the start tonight, which I contribute to our lack of competitive wrestling in three-plus weeks, and to Conant, which is a well-coached team that always wrestles hard," said Wildcats coach Neal Weiner. "But our strength this year is from the middle of our line-up (and) up, and tonight it showed."
Fittingly, it was the state's No. 1 man at 135, Luke Smith, who stopped the bleeding for the visitors and jump-started the 'Cats comeback when a textbook set-up produced a fall at 3:37 over Josh Yoo at 140 pounds.
Junior Mike Smith gained a 6-3 decision over a gritty Gino Castiglione before Rob Desio used a near fall in the third period to break open a close bout with Gino Prestia to win at 152 (9-4).
Ed Scanlon, who Weiner said has been one of his team's bright spots this season, needed 1:20 to pin Anthony Patricelli to pull the Wildcats close at 24-20.
"I have a lot of confidence in our lineup, beginning with Luke and all the way up (to) heavyweight," said Joel Rangel, who put Wheeling (6-4) in front for good at 26-24 when he registered the second of four consecutive falls. "And that's why I wasn't really to concerned, even when we fell behind as we did."
Brandon Jagielski (189) and teammate Chris Johnson (215) spent a total of less than two minutes on the mat as both delivered falls, making the final bout at heavyweight important only to its combatants, as the night had already been decided by the Wildcats' late explosion. Senior Nate Benedetti defeated Tim Schalz of Wheeling 3-2.
Johnson, who burst onto the scene last year and is likely to be named the No. 2 seed later this month at the MSL tourney, needed 26 seconds to pin his opponent.
"We're a real young team, and in fact, tonight we started three freshmen and five sophomores, many against the strength of Wheeling, which would end up costing us," said Conant coach Chad Hay. "We wrestled well in the lower end of the lineup to build (that) big lead, but we gave up a lot of bonus points, which is something we have pride ourselves in not doing.
"But the work ethic is very high, and we continue to improve, despite our set-back tonight. The future is looking bright with all of these young guys that we have in the room this season."
Wheeling travels to Prospect on Friday night for an MSL East dual, while the Cougars meet one of the best in the MSL West in Barrington.