CL South claims Harvard title
Crystal Lake South's first-place trophy at the Harvard Sciacca-Holtfreter wrestling tournament was the first in school history.
The Gators' previous best finish in the tourney was a third-place, but led by individual champions Nick Fontanetta (112 pounds) and Tom Gerszewski (140), they edged the host school 171 points to 165 and took home the big hardware Saturday night.
Antioch finished fifth overall with 140.5 points, followed by Naperville North (132.5) and Dundee-Crown (126).
The Gators placed 8 of their 13 wrestlers on the podium, including Nick Gil (119) and Kean Loupee (160), who each finished second overall.
“The kids really showed up and competed,” said Gators' coach Ross Ryan. “I'm really impressed with some of our underclassmen. It's just a tribute up and down the lineup to our kids in the practice room. They're helping each other out tremendously.”
Gerszewski came out of the box quickly in his 140-pound bout, scoring a takedown early in the first round and holding on for a 5-3 decision.
“I knew I had to win it,” he said. “It's my senior year and I just wanted to get the job done.”
Dundee-Crown also had two individual winners. Travel Rounds at 119 won one of the more dramatic bouts of the night, scoring a reversal just before the buzzer in the second overtime to edge Gil, 7-6.
“I was just trying to get a nice takedown in the first overtime period, but he was tough and kept good position,” said Rounds. “I just had to put everything out there because there were just a couple of seconds to go.”
Cody Churkey won his 215-pound bout in less dramatic fashion, with a pin at 3:33.
Huntley finished in ninth place overall, but Lucas Rogers won the 135-pound weight class, pinning Fremd's Ronnie Hauser with just 11 seconds before the final buzzer.
“This is the third time in my career wrestling Ronnie and at all times its been a close match,” said Rogers. “I wrestled him last year in the sectional finals and it came down to the wire with me winning by a point. This year was the same. I got a stalling point in the third period, but just caught him in a headlock.”
Burlington Central finished in 12th place. The Rockets' top finisher was Joe Gannon, who took third at 152 pounds.
Led by individual winners Mike Gussarson (125) and Zach Epker (189), Antioch finished fifth overall. George Gonzalez (152) and Teddy Montemayor (215) took second places for the Sequoits.
Antioch edged out Naperville North by 8 points. Max Obriecht (130) and Steve Gutka won individual titles for the Huskies.
Gutka broke open a close match at 160 pounds with a third-period takedown.
“It was just a little throw that the coach from Overtime taught me,” Gutka said. “Sometimes it works, and it was just a good time for me.”
Fremd finished 10th overall. The Vikings' top finisher was Hauser, who finished second at 135 pounds.
Pontiac finished third overall despite having just one individual class winner. Richmnond-Burton took fourth.