Tough tests await several area teams
The Northern Illinois Big XII Conference showcases some of the finest Class 2A wrestling programs in the state.
Yorkville, Sycamore and DeKalb are all ranked in the top 10. Kaneland is No. 14 in the Illinois matmen.com rankings after an impressive showing at its 10-team invitational last weekend.
The Knights, without competitors in five of the 14 weight classes, nipped Burlington Central for the Margaret Flott Memorial Tournament title with seven champions.
“I’ve never seen that happen before,” Kaneland coach Monty Jahns said after Connor Williams (113 pounds), Esai Ponce (126), Sonny Horn (132) Danny Goress (138), Steve Hlatko (195), Ben Kovalick (220) and heavyweight Zach Theis all won titles. “Nobody gave up in the entire tournament.”
The Knights will receive a boost on Saturday at the conference tournament, to be hosted by Ottawa, with the return of junior Stephen Gust, the 106-pounder who is 17-4 on the season.
“We have a chance to be in the top three,” Jahns said. “The conference is improving every week. Conference is a warm-up for the (DeKalb) regional.”
Goress (25-3), ranked seventh among 138-pounders, is the Knights’ lone defending conference champion.
Ponce (20-1), also ranked No. 7 at 126 pounds, and Kovalick (28-2), No. 5 at 220 pounds, are the Knights’ other best bets to secure an individual title in the 14-team tournament.
Kaneland has had to forfeit the three weight classes between 145 and 160 pounds all season, and Jahns’ goals reflect the deficiency in the middle weights.
“Coming out of the blocks that’s pretty tough (to overcome),” Jahns said of the Knights’ conference dual-meet results. “We wrestled a tough early schedule. The kids have improved.”
Upstate Eight: Like the Northern Illinois Big XII tournament on Saturday, there will be no divisional distinction when the 14 programs of the Upstate Eight Conference convene this weekend in Bartlett.For Batavia, St. Charles East and Geneva, who finished respectively from first to third in the regular-season River Division standings, the teams#146; potential for producing champions has a degree of uncertainty to surmount.The heart of the St. Charles East attack is generated from its lower-middle weights, but the Saints will be without the services of Isaiah Vela and Nick Ruffino at 126 and 132 pounds, respectively.#147;We#146;ve had our share of injuries,#148; St. Charles East coach Steve Smerz said. Ruffino is a defending conference champion, and Vela used his second-place showing as a freshman last year as the engine for a state run that produced a fifth-place medal.The Saints#146; other reigning conference champion, state-ranked Ryan Rubino, will move back to his customary 106-pound slot after wrestling the majority of the Saints#146; dual matches at 113 pounds.Ryan Valesh (12-2) has been a revelation for the Saints as a substitute 132-pounder, and Peter Bellino has returned after a four-week absence to give the Saints a much-needed boost at 138 pounds.#147;Obviously, we want to wrestle well at the conference tournament because there are ramifications for the state series,#148; Smerz said. #147;There#146;s going to be some tough competition in our conference tournament.#148;Batavia lost one of its main cogs last weekend when Joey Shump, a defending conference champion, sustained a finger injury in the championship match of the 120-pound division at the Batavia Tournament.The surprise River Division team champion Bulldogs will relay on junior standout Mickey Watson at 195 pounds, and Laren Eustace, who stunned the field for the 140-pound championship last season.But the Bulldogs#146; sophomore did not receive any breaks from the Upstate Eight bracket gods.St. Charles North senior Tim Noverini, the only two-time state qualifier in program history, is wrestling up a weight at 152 pounds this weekend.Eustace would face the North Stars#146; fourth-ranked 145-pounder in the quarterfinals with a first-round victory over Waubonsie Valley junior Sean Sarsauskas.Geneva coach Tom Chernich is taking an unorthodox approach to the two-day tournament.#147;We#146;re not going to put our best lineup out there,#148; Chernich said of his decision to bump several athletes up a weight. #147;Wrestling is an individual sport. We#146;re focusing on the (Class 3A West Chicago) regional. It#146;s the best thing for them (the boys wrestling one class higher) to be wrestling their best for the state series.#148;The 220-pound division has all ingredients for an epic final.Henry Zupke, the Geneva senior who captured the 215-pound title last year, and Neuqua Valley senior Casey Greenberg, who emerged victorious at 189 pounds, are on opposite sides of the bracket.The Vikings#146; heavyweight contender, senior Jake Mills, and highly-regarded Neuqua Valley junior Andrew Geers could provide another donnybrook in the semifinals at 285 pounds.DuPage Valley: The DuPage Valley Conference championship is next weekend at Glenbard East in Lombard, and conventional wisdom has defending state champion Glenbard North as a prohibitive favorite.#147;Second place is going to be up for grabs,#148; Wheaton North coach Steve Holland said at the Batavia Tournament last Saturday.West Aurora will have its senior leaders Greg Jacquez, a returning state qualifier, Brandon Warren and Austin Beebe to anchor its attack.Warren and Beebe are ranked respectively at fourth and seventh at 182 pounds and heavyweight.#147;Conference is going to be a tough tournament,#148; said Warren (27-4), who was undefeated in the Blackhawks#146; league duals. #147;I want to win it.#148;Beebe (27-6) was also perfect in league matches, though he missed two conference duals due to college visits.#147;It#146;s going to come down to my conditioning,#148; Beebe said. #147;I want to be in the best possible shape.#148; 35682392Laura Stoecker/lstoecker@dailyherald.com ¬ St. Charles North's Tim Noverini and St. Charles East's Peter Bellino in 130 match on Wednesday, November 25. Noverini took the match. 32162314Esai Ponce was one seven Kaneland wrestlers to win a title last week at the Margaret Flott Memorial Tournament.Daily Herald file photo