CL South sends 9 to sectional

MACHESNEY PARK - Perhaps the biggest surprise was that there were no surprises at the Class 3A Harlem wrestling regional Saturday.

The top seeds pretty much held serve and Hononegah, as expected, walked away with the team title.

The Indians accumulated 186.5 points. Crystal Lake South finished second with 157.5. The Gators won 4 individual titles and qualified 9 wrestlers for the Barrington sectional.

South's Nick Fontanetta remained unbeaten on the season at 33-0 while winning the title at 103 pounds.

"I came out and tried some new stuff that I've been working in practice," he said. "It's getting better. It's starting to show, all the hard work we've been doing."

Mark Mohler (140), Kean Loupee (160) and Tyler Simmons (171) also took home titles for the Gators.

Cary-Grove finished fourth behind the host school, with Josh Nelson winning the 145-pound title.

Nelson nearly pinned his opponent twice but settled for a 9-0 decision.

"He was a little better on his feet than I expected him to be," said Nelson, who won his second straight regional title. "He was a little stronger than I thought."

Behind Lucas Rogers' win at 130 pounds, Huntley finished fifth overall.

Jacobs will be represented at the sectional by Aaron Ryan (112) and Derek Bush (285).

Mohler, despite a solid 6-1 win in the finals, was a bit disappointed.

"I was a little overwhelmed after my semifinal match and making the sectionals for the first time," he said. "It was a little hard to get pumped for the first-place match. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't wrestle as well as I should have."

Nick Peters (2nd at 112), Cullen Smith (3rd at 125), Tom Gerszewski (3rd at 135), Anthony Woods (3rd at 145) and Jason Liuzzi (3rd at 152) will also represent the Gators at Barrington.

"I've beaten all the other guys before, so I was pretty confident going into the tournament," said Loupee. "I've seen practically everyone in the tournament."

Gators coach Ross Ryan credited his seniors, Mohler, Jason Liuzzi, Anthony Woods, and Simmons with leading the charge.

"They're definitely riding this thing out the way we wanted to this year," said Ryan.

Cary-Grove's Nelson will have plenty of company at the sectional as well. Cory Meyer (2nd at 125), Terrence Fox (3rd at 140), Collin Hansen, who lost a decision to Simmons at 171, and Richard Kersten (2nd at 215), will also represent the Trojans.

Huntley will be represented by Colt Claudio (2nd at 119), Josh Symbal, who lost to Loupee at 160, and Matt Zeis (3rd at 215).

The other expected stars also came through. Harlem's Derek Elmore, who came in 30-1 on the season, didn't disappoint, winning the title at 112 pounds with a 9-3 decision against Peters.

Huskie teammate Sterling Hecox, who has lost only once this year, easily won the title at 189 with a pin and 2 technical falls.

Hononegah's Matt Dwyer, who started the day 28-2, was an easy winner at 215 pounds.