Scouting Fox Valley area regionals
Class 3A at Fremd
Cast: Dundee-Crown, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Fremd, Hersey, Lake Zurich, Palatine, Stevenson.
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class advance into Barrington sectional. Team champion advances to dual-team sectional at yet to be determined site.
Outlook: There will be little room for error at this venue as scored of state-ranked wrestlers dot the bracket landscape, making the competition for a top 3 finish as fierce as any in what appears to be one of the toughest regionals in the 2010 state series. Dundee-Crown's big 3 of Miko Villanueva, Frank Abitua and Corky Churkey, who all brought home FVC championship belts last weekend, offer D-C its best chance for a walk to the top of the podium Saturday night, but not without a serious challenger of two awaiting. Villanueva (33-4, 112) who used a second-place finish regional finish last winter as the inspiration needed to go onto a state medal 4 weeks later, is the undisputed favorite, with Hersey sophomore Stephfon Scales (33-8) looking for the opportunity to avenge an early season loss (3-1) to Villanueva. Abitua (33-4) finds himself in a nasty group at 140, which includes Travis LaSchiava (Fremd, 25-4), Mike Smith (Wheeling, 31-5) and Dakota Wapotish (26-8) of Barrington, the Nos. 1 through 3 finishers at the MSL, and a talented junior from Lake Zurich in Zach Ullman (20-7). And, it's hard to imagine that one of the 4 talented 171-pounds: Churkey (34-4), Dan Santoro (Barrington, 33-3), Joel Rangel (Wheeling, 29-6) and Nate Rubenstein (Stevenson, 30-7) might be done after this weekend. A potential of No. 1 versus No. 7 at 135 awaits the faithful Saturday night with Luke Smith (Wheeling, 34-0)) the favorite at 135 against Lake Zurich senior Cameron Schaffer (28-0). On the team side of things, with a trio of heavyweights from the MSL, Barrington (19-2), Hersey (28-3) and Wheeling, along with CSL champ Deerfield and NSC 3rd-place finisher Stevenson (16-5) the picture becomes cloudy in the race for the championship cup, and a place in the 3A dual-team sectionals in late February.
Class 3A at Machesney Park Harlem
Cast: Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South, Huntley, Jacobs, Harlem, Rockford Auburn, Boylan, Guilford, Jefferson and Hononegah.
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class advances into Barrington sectional. Team champion advances to dual-team sectional at site yet to be determined.
Outlook: Fortunate fans at this venue, not only will have the chance to watch three of the best in the land in their weight divisions (Nick Fontanetta, 103, 31-0, Crystal Lake South, Derek Elmore, 112, 30-1, Harlem, Blaise Butler, 135, 34-1, Boylan), but also be a part of potential breaking news at 189 pounds. With rumors abound that either No. 2 Sterling Hecox or Matt Dwyer (Hononegah, 29-2) may bump up to 215 to stay away from No. 1 Lee Munster (Grant), texters and twitters alike will be at the startling line and ready to post as soon as the tournament brackets are released. Aside from this bit of drama, it appears at both Crystal Lake South and NIC-10 champ Hononegah (21-7) will have first dibs at the team title. FVC champ Colt Claudio (Huntley, 30-4) will look to make it two in a row, with Colin Dodd (Hononegah) and Jake Papke (Harlem) having plenty to say about how things will end at 119. Kean Loupee (160, 29-5) and Mark Mohler (140, 27-4) give the Gators their next best hope after Fontanetta for top honors, while the same can be said for the Jacobs trio of Aaron Ryan (112, 22-11), Joe Ladick (135, 23-10) and big man Derek Bush (17-7). Cary-Grove senior Josh Nelson (22-5) begins his quest for a second straight downstate at 145.
Class 3A at St. Charles East
Cast: Bartlett, South Elgin, Batavia, Glenbard North, Geneva, Lake Park, St. Charles East, St. Charles North, West Chicago, Wheaton North.
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class advances into Glenbard North sectional. Team champion advances to Leyden dual-team sectional.
Outlook: Whenever opponents see the name Glenbard North at a wrestling tournament, they know there will be plenty of high-level competition for the top spots all across the 14 flights of competition. And, although the Panthers are not quite where they've been in recent years, last week they still managed to capture their 12th straight DVC crown. In advance of the competition, the home side is considered the favorite, however Upstate Eight champ Lake Park, along with St. Charles East and South Elgin each can be very good tournament teams, and will have their say when all is said and done. This 10-team field boasts one state-ranked wrestler after another from 103 through 160, but the best, and highest rated is South Elgin junior Jake Randich (215, 37-1) who enters play as the solid No. 2 behind Leyden senior Dan Kiebler. The Storm is coming off a strong finish down the stretch, which included a third-place finish at the Upstate Eight tournament, and a victory over perennial state power Neuqua Valley (36-34). "We feel confident the guys are ready and well prepared for this weekend, and we're approaching this tournament as a team event, where every point counts, and bonus points could be the difference in for the team," says Storm head coach Mark Cameron. Must see matches could include a rematch of the UEC final at 152 between Joe Kubica (Lake Park, 31-5) and St. Charles East senior Nick Scimeca (30-5), Eric Moreno (Bartlett, 29-5) at 160, and any bout which includes Batavia star, and 2009 state runner-up, Logan Arlis (31-0) rated No. 1 at 119.
Class 3A at Schaumburg
Cast: Elgin, Larkin, Streamwood, Conant, Elk Grove, Hoffman Estates, Maine South, Maine West, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg.
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class advances into Glenbard North sectional. Team champion advances to Leyden dual-team sectional.
Outlook: Schaumburg (18-2-1) enters as the favorite after winning its first MSL title in school history last weekend, and with 7 rated in the top 20 in the state heading into Saturday, the Saxons look to riding high from the momentum it built at the conference tournament. Senior Cam Martin (27-6) from Larkin is likely the No. 2 seed, behind Josh Marchok (32-2), who for a few weeks was rated No. 1 in the state at 215 pounds. Martin, a sectional qualifier a year ago, will be joined by Toby Schiel (Elgin, 19-9) in this group, while Martin's teammate, Patrick Lipscomb (25-14) will do battle with 2-time state qualifier and MSL champ, Patrick Scully (31-7) at 119 pounds. Tim Einhorn (Larkin, 135, 22-14), fourth at the Upstate Eight tournament 2 weeks ago, and another Royal, Joey Rodriguez (140, 27-12) each have a solid chance of advancing in their respective divisions.
Class 2A at Belvidere
Cast: Burlington Central (13), Hampshire, Sycamore (4), DeKalb, Kaneland (10), Rockford East and others.
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class advances into Sterling sectional. Team champion advances to Geneseo dual-team sectional.
Outlook: Oh my !!! That's what fans in the area had to have said after the IHSA posted the contestants asked to attend this regional at Belvidere. No less than 23 state ranked wrestlers can be found all throughout, including 16 rated in the top 10 in state polls this week. And the team race?? Yikes! No. 4 Sycamore (17-2), No. 10 Kaneland (17-10), No. 11 DeKalb (15-12) and the local favorite, No. 16 Burlington Central (16-7) are all here, not to mention Rockford East, which brings its share of talent to deal with. "This is the time of the year that you expect to be involved in a tournament as difficult as this, and we welcome the challenge, and say this is what it is all about," said Central head coach Tony Rigitano. "We've wrestled a very tough schedule all season-long, with the hope that it has prepared the guys for a regional like this. Yes, with four teams in the top 20, this is a very competitive tournament, but we look forward to the competition." With so many divisions jammed-pack with terrific wrestlers and gaudy records, here's a quick look at a few, which include area players -125: No. 11 Johnny Major, Burlington Central, 25-11), No. 8 Deven Scholl (Kaneland), No. 9 Jake Jones (DeKalb), No. 10 Jeff Flanigan (Sycamore) and Nick Homey (Belvidere North). Major defeated Homey (3-1), and lost to Scholl (4-1), while both Scholl and Jones have defeated Flanagan. 171: No. 3 Taylor Schuck (Burlington Central, 23-2), No. 7 Devon Walker (DeKalb) and Mike DeCampa (Rockford East). Schuck was named MVP at the Sterling tournament, and won the title at Kaneland, and has a handful of victories over top-flight 3A opponents. 130: No. 4 Shane Burke (Burlington Central, 28-5, 130) and No. 9 Tim Maroder (189, 30-4) as well as Tim Vincent (23-12) now at 215, all received praise from Rigitano for their work this season. Hampshire big men Nathan (215) and Tyler (285) Sorg give their club the best hope of advancement this weekend.
Class 1A at Harvard
Cast: St. Edward, Harvard, Durand (Co-op), Genoa, Hebron, Poplar Grove, Rockford Lutheran, Winnebago.
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class advances into Byron sectional. Team champion advances to Oregon dual-team sectional.
Outlook: Big Northern power Harvard (23-7) gets the nod over all others here, after going 4-0 in the final week of the season, including a 2-point win over 2A Richmond-Burton. The state dual-team qualifier from a year ago boasts plenty of terrific individual wrestlers, with No. 5 Dan Stott (160) likely its best. Stott dropped a 2-1 decision to No. 4 Jack Dechow of Richmond-Burton. St. Edward seniors Price Davis (160, 14-10) and heavyweight Shane Finnane (11-5) go after their second consecutive sectional appearance.