Harper wrestlers aim for regional success

After finishing the regular season last weekend at home in the Harper Open, the Hawks wrestling team will travel to Triton College today for the second time in three weeks to compete in the district meet.

The Hawks, who held the No. 1 spot in the NJCAA non-scholarship poll for several weeks, fell to the No. 2 spot in the latest poll.

The Hawks had been ravished with injuries that saw coach Dan Loprieno use several different lineups early in the season. Those days appear to be over.

"We are all healthy," Loprieno said. "We are as ready as we are going to be."

If each wrestler wrestles to his seed, the Hawks figure to have postseason success.

The one school that could stop Hawks wrestlers from advancing to the national meet is Lincoln College from Meramec, Mo. All the schools in the meet except for host Triton College and the Hawks are scholarship junior colleges.

The Hawks have won the district meet six times in the past decade, according to Loprieno.

Loprieno believes that as many as 10 Hawks could be wrestling in the finals. Leading the way are freshman Arber Bebo (Addison Trail) in the 184-pound class and fellow freshman Eduardo Dominguez (Mundelein) at 125.

"This would be a good tournament for (Domiguez) to win," said Loprieno.

Lopreno calls 133 pounds the toughest weight in the region, and Crystal Lake graduate Gerard Golston will wrestle at that weight for the Hawks.

There is no team advancement. The top four finishers in each weight class advance to next weekend's national meet in Des Moines, Iowa.