Scouting Fox Valley area wrestlers at state

Class 3A

When: Friday and Saturday

Where: Assembly Hall, Champaign

Scouting report

103: Nick Fontanetta (Crystal Lake South, 37-0), No. 1 Kevin Malarick (Stagg, 30-0), No. 3 Adrian Gonzalez (Barrington, 37-3), No. 4 Mech Spragins (Belleville West, 40-1), No. 5 Nathan Davis (Plainfield Central, 34-8), Matt Garelli (Fenwick, 35-5). Plenty of gaudy records await the Gators sophomore on the bottom half of this bracket, including Spragins (quarters?) and perhaps Davis in the semifinals after an early IHSA faux pas placed nearly the entire field from the Barrington sectional all on one side. No direct or indirect results come into play for the FVC champ against any potential opponents here, except for a Gonzalez fall over first-round opponent (Ben Clifford, Conant, 31-6) and 7-2 decision over Garelli, who lost to Gonzalez, whom the No. 2 Fontanetta has defeated twice this season. "I knew (that) my second match with Adrian would be a lot tighter than our first, but that's the type of matches that I'll expect when the tournament starts next week," offered Fontanetta, who last year was runner-up to Dundee-Crown's Miko Villanueva at the FVC and D-C regional, then eliminated in wrestlebacks (8-7) at the Barrington sectional by Villanueva once again.

112: Miko Villanueva (Dundee-Crown, 38-5), No. 1 Derek Elmore (Machesney Park, 37-1), No. 2 A.J. Juarez (Joilet, 25-2), No. 3 Frankie Campos (Bolingbrook, 26-5), No. 6 Robby Schultheis (Warren, 38-5), Brandon Rubino (St. Charles East, 37-6), No. 10 Nicholas Drendel (Aurora West, 36-6). No. 4 (Villanueva) finds himself in the toughest side of a superb bracket with a half-dozen ranked players, while the top half features Elmore and Campos, both of whom the D-C senior faced this season. The 2009 state medalist dropped an 8-5 decision at the Dvorak to Campos, and just last weekend, he fell by the same score to Elmore in his final at the Barrington sectional. "He didn't really (shoot) that much, and I probably could have been a little more patient when he was up (5-4) in the second period, but I know that I can wrestle with him, and if we meet again, I'll be ready," said the always confident Villanueva. Should that occur, the Chargers' star will need to go past his first-round opponent (Bob Garvick, Lyons, 37-11) then Juarezt, to set up a Saturday semifinal with either Schultheis or Drendel, both exceptionally strong and adept at throwing. Villanueva is the lone returning state medalist (3rd) in this weight class.

130: Lucas Rogers (Huntley), No. 3 Jason Montemayor (Grant, 39-1), No. 1 Keith Surber (O'Fallon, 47-1), No. 2 Edwin Cooper (Providence, 26-3), No. 4 Brian Murphy (Glenbard North, 40-8), No. 5 Greg Jackson (Edwardsville, 49-6). This class is all about one more rematch between the top 2 in the state (Surber vs. Cooper) with the Cooper camp hoping it to be for the state title, only this time, avenging a 4-2 OT loss last weekend for the sectional crown, to give the junior a second-straight state title. Rogers makes his first trip inside Assembly Hall, and just the second in school history after Tony Benning did so in 2007. The junior lost early on to his first-round opponent (Tim Noverini, St. Charles North, 37-8) however, his head coach, Kevin Summerville, feels his best player is ready for the challenge of the weekend ahead. "Lucas' effort against (Montemayor) in his sectional final was terrific, and despite the 3-0 loss he gained valuable experience against a great wrestler, and came away with a big confidence boost as well." Says Rogers: "I like my side of the bracket, but to be honest, everyone is very good. I need to be mentally ready to go 6 minutes in each of my matches, and I know, going in, that I am just 2 wins away from wrestling the No. 1 guy (Surber) on Saturday." Cooper lost the title match 2 years ago to Max Nowry (Wheeling) 3-0.

145: Josh Nelson (Cary-Grove, 27-6), No. 1 Max Schneider (Lane Tech, 36-0), No. 3 Demetrios Mitchell (Hersey, 48-0), No. 2 Donny Simpson (Romeoville, 25-1), Joey Uccardi (Plainfield Central, 35-3), No. 6 Alex Cizek (Neuqua Valley, 35-9), Gino Castiglione (Conant, 27-13). The balance of power shifted this past weekend when No. 3 Uccardi was upset by upstart Castiglione at the Glenbard North sectional, while No. 5, O'Shea Smith-Taylor (Belleville East) was eliminated altogether downstate at Granite City. Nelson makes his second appearance here and will face Pete Krahulec (Lincoln-Way Central, 32-7) and would likely face Cizek next, who is here for the second-straight time as well. "It's always an advantage to have been here before, and we'll have a game plan in place to help give me the best chance to win my opener," said Nelson, who feels his takedown during his sectional final against Mitchell was exactly what the doctor ordered to help jump-start his weekend. Schneider was second last year at 135, as was Simpson at 140.

160: Kean Loupee (Crystal Lake South, 34-6), Eric Moreno (Bartlett, 36-3), No. 1 Nick Proctor (Neuqua Valley, 37-2), No. 3 Jeff Koepke (Hersey, 47-5), No. 5 Josh Ronne (Libertyville, 40-8), No. 4 Shane Siefert (Carmel, 32-4), No. 6 Sam Brooks (OPRF, 32-6), No. 9 Joe Strocchia (Hinsdale Central, 36-8), Willie Anaya, Downers Grove North, 36-8). It would be hard to imagine anyone but No. 1 (Proctor) not leaving Assembly Hall without the oversized championship trophy under his arm, however, after the NV senior this class is there for the taking, with no clear cut No. 2 in the group, but plenty of talent, including Loupee and Moreno. "I didn't want to get anywhere near wrestlebacks and be forced to win 3 times to qualify for state," said Loupee, after he recorded a fall against Mike Rust (Dundee-Crown) in the quarterfinals at Barrington to guarantee his first trip downstate. The Gators' senior dropped a 5-4 decision to Rust during the semifinals of the FVC tournament 2 weeks earlier. Proctor was 3rd in 2008, 2nd last season, and enters the weekend with 152 career victories.

215: Jake Randich (South Elgin, 44-2), No. 1 Dan Kiebler (Leyden, 33-1), No. 3 Josh Marchok (Schaumburg, 37-2), No. 3 Matt Dwyer (Hononegah, 34-2), No. 5 Steve Miller (Stagg, 33-4), No. 6 Rob Bain (Bolingbrook, 33-4), No. 9 Parker Settecase (Glenbard East, 38-4). The talk of the tournament might be of this weight class, which is as deep and talented as any other, and features one of the best first-round bouts in Dwyer vs. Bain. South Elgin star Randich opens against CCL champ Tom Kelly (Loyola, 33-4) with a victory sending the junior against Internet fan favorite Miller Friday evening and then one match away from top-rated Kiebler in a Saturday morning semifinal. "We like our chances in the bracket. Jake will have three tough matches to get to the finals, but he's had two great weeks of practice, and he is in a good place mentally," said Storm head coach Mark Cameron of his 3-time state qualifier, who became the first-ever in school history to get downstate, after doing so at Driscoll High School the past two seasons.

Class 2A

171: Taylor Schuck (Burlington Central, 29-2), CJ Navarro (Rochelle, 28-3), Jared Koch (Woodstock Marian, 23-3), Phil Cappitelli (Lakes, 34-6), Trenton Kriha (Rich South, 30-1), Nico Jimenez (Marmion Academy, 36-4). Schuck, the Rockets' senior, became the first BC wrestler since his brother Matt to advance downstate after crushing a superb group at Sterling en route to a sectional championship. "I am really excited to win a sectional title, not only for myself, but for the school and our program," said Schuck, who now has victories over Nos. 1 and 2 (Navarro-Koch) after a 7-1 victory over Koch in the semi' and a major (12-3) against Navarro in the title bout. "I wanted to go into that sectional and dominate everyone I faced, and after doing so, I really believe if I stay on course and continue the way that I've been going, I'll get myself into the final on Saturday night," Schuck said. Schuck will open up against the winner of the Kriha (No. 5) - Jimmy Prince (Grayslake North, 34-8) match on the top side of the bracket, and wouldn't see any other the top dogs until the final.