Cullen helps Cary-Grove turn back Jacobs
After waiting nearly 25 minutes, wrestling fans got their wish Friday night when two of the top 106-pounders in the state met under the spotlight inside the intimate room at Jacobs.
The small but noisy crowd roared throughout the six-minute bout between the sensational duo of Michael Cullen from Cary-Grove and Austin Ryan of the host Golden Eagles. And everybody got their money’s worth when Cullen’s arm was raised following an impressive 9-4 decision.
There was plenty more to cheer about for the Trojans, who fought off a valiant fight from Jacobs.
Trailing by 27-18, visiting Cary-Grove won 4 of the last 5 bouts to pass up Jacobs and win their Fox Valley Conference dual in Algonquin 34-30 as Matt Hughes and Emerson Kersten proved to be the difference-makers.
“Obviously we’re pleased to get the victory, but we’re not overall satisfied with the effort,” said first-year Cary-Grove coach Ryan Ludwig, who saw the momentum from Cullen’s victory over his conference rival disappear afterward when the Eagles’ Jake Gatz gave the hosts their first lead of the night with a 6-3 decision at 120 pounds.
“Last year they beat us by 50,” said Jacobs coach Chris Taylor, “so tonight was further proof that our program continues to improve and get to a level where we can be right there with some of the best in our conference. We’re getting closer, and all of us are pleased with how we’re progressing, but at the same time, this is also the type of night and opportunity that we’d like to see us come away with a victory — especially when we’re so close to doing so.”
Things certainly didn’t begin that way for Taylor’s team, which quickly found itself down 12 points after falling victim to back-to-back pins by the Trojans’ Pat O’Malley (170) and Max Kersten (182).
But the Golden Eagles erased the deficit with a little firepower of their own when Gabe DiFecchio and Mark Mamola answered with consecutive lightning strikes: DiFecchio needed 1:09 to pin Greer Bozeman, and Mamola just: 58 to finish off Brandon Caccavalo.
“When you pin you win, but when you don’t ... ” said Ludwig, his voice trailing off.
Jacob Orth (113) and Cody Ferencz (126) added 12 points for Jacobs with falls over their counterparts.
Cullen, whose lone loss of the season was a 1-0 defeat to No. 1 ranked Adrian Gonzalez (Barrington) during the semifinals of the Moore-Prettyman tournament, set the pace early when he opened quickly with a 4-1 lead. He extended it to 7-1 after the first period, when the freshman recorded a near-fall.
“Austin didn’t start well as he allowed (Cullen) to dictate the match,” said Taylor, “but he got himself back on track later on, and did a great job staying away from a major (decision) loss, which was great for the team and showed why he is our captain and leader of the team.”
Mike Underwood helped stopped the bleeding for the Trojans with an impressive 13-2 major at 132 pounds to bring the visitors closer at 27-22. But Collin Zaio’s exciting 4-2 win in OT over Matt Fina helped give Jacobs a little breathing room at 30-22.
Following Garret Glueck’s forfeit for 6 points at 145, Matt Hughes came through for Ludwig and his mates with a hard-fought 7-5 triumph over Brad Schumacher to put the Trojans ahead for good.
“(They) wanted to stay away from Glueck, so they gave him the forfeit, but Matt wasn’t even ready to go out because he thought he would get the forfeit at 152,” began Ludwig. “He raced onto the mat and got us a huge win, followed by another sophomore, (Emerson) Kersten, who clinched things with his 6-1 decision at 160.”
Cary-Grove will travel to Sycamore today for a long day of competition at the home of the 2A power, while Jacobs has a date at the Geneva Invite.