Elgin, Larkin continue to tune up
The Larkin and Elgin wrestling teams continued their tune up Tuesday night in advance of the postseason as both clubs rolled over a short-handed neighbor St. Edward.
With the Green Wave fielding just 4 wrestlers in its starting lineup, the visiting Maroons posted a 57-0 victory, before the host Royals cruised to a 78-6 win.
Junior Evan Finanne came back from suffering his first pin of the season in his opening match with Elgin’s Toby Schimel to record the lone victory of the night for the Green Wave with a fall at 1:39 over fellow heavyweight Devontate Joshua.
“I was kind of upset with myself in that first match with (Schimel) who caught me with a headlock, and nearly caused me to blackout before he pinned me,” said Finanne, who will go into regionals with a 17-11 record.
“We had split our matches at a tournament earlier in the season, so I was looking forward to tonight’s match, but even with that loss, I feel like I am more prepared than last year for the state tournament series.”
Finanne was the regional champ, before being eliminated at the Byron sectional when eventual state runner-up and hometown hero Mitchell Keppy sent him into the consolation bracket, where Kewanee’s Marselle Dunn ended his season there.
“As long as I stay away from Mitchell Keppy in the postseason, I think I’ll be all right,” joked the affable big man.
Schimel (26-7) can sympathize with his counterpart after taking it on the chin at the Glenbard North sectional last February in a highly competive 215-pound weight class that featured eventual state medalists Josh Marchok (Schaumburg) and Parker Settecase of Glenbard East.
“I got demolished at the sectionals,” admitted the Elgin senior, who nonetheless won 23, including a pin in the third match at the Schaumburg regional to help keep his season alive one more week.
“It took me a little longer this season to get my conditioning where it should be after the football season was over, but I still feel I can be better, even though I am giving away so much weight when I go out there.”
The Maroons’ heavyweight, who usually comes in at 230 pounds, far below what many of the behemoths that he takes on, still has a plan despite sometimes giving away 50-plus pounds in his matches.
“I just go after them and just bang away, figuring it might wear them down if the match goes 6 minutes,” offered Schimel, who during the fall season plays both offensive and defensive tackle.
“Toby is quite capable of having a long run in the postseason, as can guys like Jeff Mallow (112), Charlie Wiltgen (119), Tyler Lake (152), Jorge Zavala (189) and Nathan Andresen, who was a sectional qualifier at 103 last year,” said Elgin head coach Justin Goebel.
“This is a much better group we have here this year because they work so hard, and push each other every day at practice. What we need is some success in the postseason to build off, and help us go forward from there.”
The Maroons will join Larkin at the Schaumburg regional next weekend, but not before the Royals host Streamwood this Friday for Pack the Place and Senior Night beginning at 6 p.m.
Tuesday night, the Royals’ Brett Barry (152, 14-6) and David Perez (160, 15-7) both medalists last weekend at the Upstate Eight tournament, and the lone returning sectional qualifiers for head coach Andre Allen, voiced their expectations from here on out.
Barry, who qualified last season as a sophomore, said his experience at the Glenbard North sectional helped fueled his desire to go even further this year.
“To get there as a sophomore, and to be able to compete with so many great wrestlers, and gain that experience should really help me a lot if I can qualify into the sectionals once again,” said Barry, who went 1-2 at 145 pounds, and ended his season at a respectable 28-19.
The junior Perez, a 2-time sectional qualifier, who missed some time early with an ankle injury, is ready to go after a not so dazzling effort at the Upstate Eight.
“I was disappointed with myself, I just didn’t wrestle very well there, but it really made me step up my training this week,” said Perez, who won 10 in 2010.
“When you put all the extra time in, and you get yourself into the sectionals, you realize that all that work is worth it and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”
“Both Brett and David are quite capable of getting themselves back to the sectionals, and maybe even further,” says Allen, who was quick to add senior Andy Koehnke’s name to that list.
“Andy is so dedicated to this sport, and he puts all the extra work needed, and just goes about his business like a real professional,” Allen said of his 189-pounder, whose record stands at 24-14.