Few upsets but plenty of action at Barrington
They came with dazzling overall records, trophy cases filled with hardware and the headlines to spark the interest of wrestling fans who poured into the Barrington fieldhouse Friday to see first-hand some of the best in the state take one step closer to the big prize in Champaign next weekend.
But while stars Danny Sabatello, Luke Smith, Jeff Koepke, Blaise Butler, Josh Anthony, among others, shone brightly on Day No. 1 of the Barrington sectional, several talent-laden weight divisions also sparkled to guarantee a thrilling finish today when the field goes after the treasured spots in the 3A state tournament.
The aforementioned high-profile wrestlers all appear to be on course to advance into the finals — with Nos. 1 and 2 Smith (Wheeling, 38-0) and Butler (Boylan, 38-0) crushing the competition at 140, while Koepke (Hersey, 42-2) and Anthony (Harlem, 30-2), who are Nos. 1 and 2 at 160 pounds, nearing another highly desired final after each recorded major decisions during the evening quarterfinals.
Sabatello (36-0), the defending state champion at 119 pounds, was equally impressive in his lone match and will face Cary-Grove sophomore Trent Atkins (26-5) in one of the semifinals this morning. A victory will seal a third-straight state appearance.
“Right now, all we want for Danny to do is to wrestle hard, and smart, and to advance one match at a time, it’s just that simple,” says Patriots coach Shane Cook.
Libertyville senior Luke Gaeth (130) was involved in one of the top quarterfinals when he met Mid-Suburban League champion Jordan Rathje (Buffalo Grove, 24-7) — with the winner then meeting Matt Ornoff (Mundelein, 30-5).
Rathje struck first with a take-down, but Gaeth answered with a reversal at 3½ minutes before turning the BG junior and eventually recording a fall at 5:20.
“He (maybe) fought too much when I got him to his back, and it would help me pin him,” said Gaeth (35-10), who last season was eliminated here in a wrestle-back quarterfinal. “It was great to start the night with a fall in my first-round match, and it feels great to be one match away from qualifying.”
Lake Zurich senior Alex Nigro (26-9) edged Max Ellis of Zion-Benton 6-4 to open his night at 135 pounds, then was involved in one of the most exciting quarterfinal bouts when he came back from a 8-3 deficit to stun MSL and regional champ Kory Jauch (Rolling Meadows, 33-5) 11-10.
“I was just glad to win,” said an exhausted Nigro, whose take-down and near fall brought him even with the Mustangs captain before a wild final 30 seconds of regulation ended with the hard-working Nigro grabbing 2 points to win.
Next up is 2010 state qualifier Manny Silva (Hononegah, 34-5), who came back from being down late in his match with Cullen Smith (Crystal Lake South) to win 6-5 in OT. On the bottom half of this bracket, Lenny Bloom (38-1) will face Payton Cruz (Mundelein, 37-4), with the Mundelein junior looking to upset the No. 6-rated Deerfield senior to earn a second straight trip to Champaign.
The Wheeling trio of Smith, Chris Johnson (189, 35-2) and Mike Smith (145, 32-8) were near flawless as they each advanced with ease, with Mike Smith taking on Kevin Takavoli (Libertyville, 34-11) next.
Johnson faces Harlem freshmen phenon Sage Hecox (35-5) in his quarterfinal.
“My coaches told me to open things up in my match, and to work (hard) in that third period,” said Johnson, who is looking for his second straight state appearance.
The host Broncos’ started well with Matt Sheely (103) and Adrian Gonzalez (112) getting through, and after a rough ride in the middle of its lineup, junior Ryan Wilt (29-13) and senior Aaron Castagna (36-4) remained alive at 189 and 295 pounds, respectively.
Hersey junior Stephfon Scales (42-2) had a bit of a scare in his match with Abel Rios (Zion-Benton, 30-3), who took the MSL champion into overtime before falling 3-1. Scales is looking to a title bout against No. 1 Derek Elmore (Harlem) tonight.
“Rios is real tough, he’s tall and was hard to get (in) on, but a win is a win, no matter how you get it,” said Scales.
Warren freshmen Israel Santiago (21-5) remains in the hunt at 112 pounds, and will face No. 1 Nick Fontanetta (Crystal Lake South, 37-0) in his semifinal. Teammate T.J. Parker 160, 36-4) goes against the top-rated Koepke.
Libertyville senior Luke Miller (31-9) defeated No. 7 Brandon Weber (Stevenson, 32-7) with a fall at 3:18 and gets No. 5 Cody Churkey (34-4) of Dundee-Crown.