Barrington prevails in rugged Fremd regional

Barrington breathed new life into its 2009-2010 wrestling season Saturday - just one week after the Broncos fell short in their bid to win a Mid-Suburban League title.

In the keenly contested Fremd regional - where one weight bracket seemed even deeper and stronger than the last - the Broncos outlasted Central Suburban League champion Deerfield and eight other schools in a superb field to capture the team title and advance to the dual-team sectionals later this month.

The Broncos won the big trophy by 24 points over Deerfield and 321/2 over Wheeling - whose spirited run in the final two sessions lifted the Wildcats over Stevenson (125) for third place.

"It was a tight race all day long," said Broncos coach Al Strobl, just moments after his captains Kalvin Argueta, Luke Miller and Dan Santoro accepted the championship spoils. "We had some tough losses today, especially in (those) state qualifying matches, but we also had a lot of guys come through, both in the championship rounds as well as in the consolation brackets to contribute points. Today was truly a team effort."

The Broncos' lone individual crown came in the first title match from sophomore Adrian Gonzalez (34-2), who pinned his way to regional honors and a first-round bye Friday at the Barrington sectional.

The champion Broncos earned 10 medals, including a pair of seconds from Miller (152, 30-7) and Santoro (171, 35-4) - who each beat terrific opponents in Lake Zurich's Anthony Pace and Jeremy Fahler (Deerfield, 36-2) in their finals.

Despite his loss to Pace (5-3), Miller's return was perhaps the best news for the Broncos. One week earlier, Miller appeared, at best, to have a 50-50 chance of returning after missing the MSL tournament. Fatigue and overall malaise had befallen the senior for the week prior to the tourney.

"We finally were able to find out it was a thyroid problem, which was sapping my energy awhile," Miller said. "Today I feel the best that I have all season."

Against Pace (33-2) Miller fell behind 2-0 early and closed late (4-3) with an escape and penalty point, but was unable to solve the Lake Zurich senior.

"I've worked harder than ever (this) season, always asking for extra time in the room and with the coaches to get better, and everything I do is all pointed towards the state tournament and a successful weekend done there," Pace said.

His teammate, Cameron Schaffer (30-1), was part of the battle of the titans at 135 pounds - against his opponent Luke Smith of Wheeling in a match featuring two unbeatens and the Nos. 1- and 7-ranked wrestlers in the state.

This highly anticipated bout provided plenty of fireworks - and Smith (37-0) stayed unbeaten after a 13-1 major decision in which he exhibited plenty of skills, power and flair for all to see.

"I could see (Cameron) next week, and maybe again down in Champaign if all goes well, so it's important to not get too excited after today's win and to just take it all in stride," said Smith.

Luke's cousin Mike Smith (34-5) won the second of four Wildcats championship belts when he defeated Dundee-Crown junior Frank Abitua (36-5) 8-4 at 140 pounds.

"I watched (Abitua) against Travis (LaSchiava, Fremd) in the semifinals, and he threw one fireman's after another against Travis, so I was on the lookout for it in our match," said Smith.

The Chargers' Miko Villanueva (36-4) was far and away the class at 112 pounds by virtue of his punishing style - which led to a pair of falls and an 11-3 major decision in the final over Hersey's Stephfon Scales (35-9).

"Our coaching staff never let up on me (this) season, and I've been working all year on my takedowns and getting more pins and wins for myself and my team," said Villanueva, a state medalist last February.

The senior was one of five advancing, including Mike Rust at 160, after the senior likely saw his wrestling life pass before his eyes when he was upset in the first round by Stevenson's Jed Stone via a fall.

"I had my head down and I heard later he was a very good judo (dude) and he got me on my back and I really thought it was over after that," said Rust, who came back to win his next three - including his qualifying bout (13-8) over Ryan McQueen of Barrington.

Stevenson featured a half-dozen qualifiers, with Danny Sabatello (119, 32-3) and Tommy McGovern (215, 23-6) rising up.

Sabatello went past Lenny Bloom (Deerfield) by virtue of a 16-5 major, while McGovern outlasted Deerfield sophomore sensation Artie Best (33-7) by a 5-4 decision.

"For me and my workout partner (David Woodstein, second at 285), this is the culmination of all the hard work we've put in since freshman year and the addition of a great coaching staff, led by Coach (Shane) Cook, who has made the difference in all of us since taking over our program," McGovern said.

Patriots captain Jordan Sherman (33-6) wrestled back at 135 pounds to book his sectional berth.

Hersey's big three - Demetrios Mitchell (145, 45-0), Jeff Koepke (160, 44-5) and Sean Bonner (152) - will continue to wrestle, with both Mitchell and Koepke coming off championship medals.

Wheeling's big men, Chris Johnson (189) and Tiim Schalz (285), joined the Smiths atop the podium. For Johnson it was a second straight impressive tournament weekend after he won an MSL crown last week.

"It's kind of a dream for me (so) far after helping our team with a regional title last year, then this year, having the success that I've had so far," said Johnson, 37-2 after recording a fall at 4:43 over Argueta.

Fremd sophomore Ronnie Hauser (19-9), who a week ago said he enjoyed flying under the radar screen at 130 pounds, can no longer hide following an impressive championship run.

"Ronnie was, at one point this season just 2-6, but he's made a major adjustment both mentally and physically, in his approach) and now, to me, he's one of the best in the area in his weight class," said Vikings coach Ralph Cortez.

The remarkable comeback of Buffalo Grove senior Jamey Zabrin, who competed for the first time this season last weekend at the MSL tournament, continued as he won his qualifying match 16-10 over Fox Valley Conference champion Cody Churkey of Dundee-Crown.

Zabrin, who lost a 3-1 overtime heartbreaker to Santoro in his his semifinal, was bumped into the consolation round after that loss. He fought back to defeat Stevenson's Nate Rubenstein (29-9) before digging deep to outlast Churkey 16-10 in a marathon bout.

"Jamey won (that) qualifier because of his determination and his will to win, and perhaps with another week of training, he can close the gap on what promises to be yet another incredible 171-pound weight class at Barrington," said BG coach Dave Durlacher.

The Bison have five more still alive next weekend, including Jordan Rathje (119, 28-8) who overcame nearly four minutes of blood time to defeat Travell Rounds of Dundee-Crown 7-4 in his third-place match.

Palatine senior Leshon Majias (23-5) fell short in his bid for a second-straight title after state-ranked Deerfield senior Josh Katz (36-2) won the 125-pound final.