Scouting Fox Valley wrestling regionals
Class 3A at Jacobs
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class into Barrington sectional. Team champion to a yet to be determined dual-team site on Tuesday, February 21.
Cast: Crystal Lake South, Dundee-Crown, Huntley, Jacobs, Auburn, Guilford, Harlem, Hononegah, Jefferson.
Storyline: It’s the FVC vs. the NIC-10 in an I-90 invasion from the west, which features one of the best in 3A (Harlem) and its longtime conference rival Hononegah. FVC runner-up CL South appears to be the lone hope from its conference to challenge the top two teams from the NIC-10 with a trio of superb talent in Nick Fontanetta (120, 15-1), Nick Gil (126) and Tom Gerszewski (152), but Dundee-Crown, Huntley and Jacobs all have players in their lineup who are capable of winning an individual title, or make things extremely tough on those who hope to.
Weight to watch: 220. Mike Romanelli (Crystal Lake South, 30-8), Raymond Griggel (Dundee-Crown, 28-5), Dominic Nicosia (Hononegah, 23-16) and Cam Baxter (Harlem, 30-10). These are the top 2 from their respective conference tournaments, but there are just three spots available, making the semifinals the round to watch to see who will have to fight their way back in the back draw. The senior Romanelli edged D-C’s best wrestler in OT (2-1) last weekend, to give the Gators their third and final FVC champion.
Others to watch: 120 — Cody Ferencz (Jacobs, 19-4), Jacob O’Neal (Huntley, 22-15), Zac Denny (Harlem, 26-5), Thomas Hunt (Hononegah, 28-15). Jacobs freshman Ferencz is in his first serious postseason affair of what looks to be many for the talented rookie, and both he and his rival (O’Neal) will have their hands full with a pair of seasoned veterans, who have their eyes on much more later this month. Denny was third last year at the 3A state tournament at 112 after going 45-8, while Hunt is a perennial fixture at the Barrington sectional.
Lowdown: The aforementioned Gerszewski (35-1) is on another level than everyone else, as is his sophomore mate (Gil, 35-5) who with his 4-2 loss to No. 1 Zach Synon (Prairie Ridge, 34-0) proved he is right there with the best of them. Huntley senior Josh Symbal (182, 32-2) won his first FVC crown in his brilliant career, but the Red Raiders’ star will be ready to deploy all of his weapons as he not only looks to book his second consecutive trip downstate, but also a place high atop the podium while there in Champaign.
Class 3A at South Elgin
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class into Glenbard North sectional. Team champion to Aurora West dual-team sectional on Tuesday, February 21.
Cast: Elgin, Larkin, South Elgin, St. Charles North, Streamwood, Conant, Hoffman Estates, Lake Park, Schaumburg.
Storyline: It’s the Upstate Eight vs. the MSL in a battle for the right to stay alive in the dual-team state tournament later this month. The host Storm were runners-up to Neuqua Valley recently during the Upstate Eight tournament, while Schaumburg, off an impressive two-day effort at the MSL tourney, finished second behind state power Barrington. with Lake Park and perennial MSL power Conant are also right there in what shapes up to be a fight to the finish.
Weight to watch: 170. Cody Pych (South Elgin, 27-3), David Perez (Larkin, 27-7), Wardell Rosemon (Elgin, 25-5), Austin Manetta (Schaumburg, 15-15). Any weight class which the Storm senior is found is one to watch. With his dazzling overall record, No. 3 state rank, three tournament championships and 65 victories in two seasons, what else can a South Elgin and wrestling fans want? Both Perez and Rosemon have been terrific in their own right, and head a wonderful field which should sweep clean through the competition and stay alive another week to wrestle.
Also: 106. Jeffrey Morrow (Elgin, 25-3), Bobby Alexander (Conant), Eric Race (Schaumburg, 18-16): This class shapes up to be an interesting one after the Conant freshman (Alexander) stunned No. 1 ranked Adrian Gonzalez (Barrington) in the MSL final to instantly lift him out of state honorable mention lists, and into top 5 consideration. For the sophomore Morrow it’s been a great ride thus far, with a pair of tournament championship rings on his resume, and now the challenge to beat a giant-killer.
Lowdown: The team favorites might be just that, but they will have to keep an eye out for challengers from Elgin and Larkin, who no longer just fill-out the starting lineup. Andre Allen (Larkin) and Terry Stroh from Elgin have assembled solid lineups after some long-suffering rebuilding years, and each club is quite capable of filling the guest list next weekend at the Glenbard North sectional. One such wrestler is Larkin senior Brett Barry (152, 27-7) a marvelous student-athlete, who was recently awarded the prestigious U-46 Ed Washington Sportsmanship Award. The 2-time sectional qualifier has already eclipsed his 20-win season from a year ago, and has been terrific in tournament competition for the Royals. While keeping an eye on Barry, don’t forget to watch reigning state champ (Josh Marchok, Schaumburg, 34-0) as well Lake Park senior Farai Sewera (160, 32-1) and his teammate, Blake Santi (138, 33-3).
Class 3A at Stevenson
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class into Barrington sectional. Team champion to yet to be determined dual-team sectional site.
Cast: Cary-Grove, Barrington, Buffalo Grove, Deerfield, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lake Zurich, Palatine, Stevenson.
Storyline: Cary-Grove flies in as the lone FVC representative into the land of giants, where state powers Barrington (15-2-0) and Deerfield (20-3-0) renew a rivalry which saw the MSL champs defeat the Warriors (31-28) earlier this season. Barrington is looking for a third-straight regional crown on Saturday, and its talent-laded lineup will be tough to pry open by its challengers, including the Trojans, despite their strong 2-day performance last weekend at the FVC tourney where they grabbed a well-earned 4th place finish.
Weight to watch: 106. Michael Cullen (Cary-Grove, 34-1), Adrian Gonzalez (Barrington, 29-2), Mark Jolcover (Stevenson, 26-8). In the first week of the season, the freshman Cullen lost his only match of the season to Gonzalez, and while obviously pointing toward this date after that loss, last weekend, another freshman, Bobby Alexander of Conant stunned the No. 1 ranked Barrington senior, setting up a monster final between these elite six-pounders.
Also: 132. Mike Underwood (Cary-Grove, 28-9), Brian Egan (Buffalo Grove, 25-8), Brandon Arteaga (Lake Zurich, 28-11), Sam Tortorella (Deerfield, 19-13): Cary-Grove coach Ryan Ludwig said prior to the FVC tournament he was expecting big things from Underwood and he proved profit after the senior won it all, to send him into this weekend on the front foot of a very tough group here. 145. Garret Glueck (Cary-Grove), Jordan Rathje (Buffalo Grove, 29-2), Coord Wiseman (Barrington, 27-7), Lenny Bloom (Deerfield, 32-1), Matt Mueller (Lake Zurich, 20-12). There’s way too much talent here, and not enough spots open to allow all to get through. Rathje and Bloom are 2011 state qualifiers, and along with Wiseman, are all state ranked.
Lowdown: Pick a weight, any weight — that’s how it goes at this venue, with plenty of thrills and spills awaiting those who step out on the mat in this ultra competitive regional. Ludwig will be keeping an eye out for his 170-pounder Pat O’Malley (25-6) who will look to rebound following his 5th place finish at the FVC tourney. The junior will have top-rated Cameron Thomson (Barrington, 31-1) in his sites, as well as Tyler Pohn (Deerfield, 18-6), in yet another highly competitive division.
Class 3A at West Chicago
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class into Glenbard North sectional. Team champion to Aurora West dual-team sectional on Tuesday, February 21.
Cast: Bartlett, Geneva, Glenbard East, Glenbard North, Glenbard West, St. Charles East, Willowbrook, West Chicago, Wheaton North.
Storyline: Glenbard North, Glenbard North, Glenbard North — and a solid lot of contenders, each who will focus on getting as many of their wrestlers through, while the reigning 3A state champs figure out where to put their latest piece of silverware in the school trophy case. Although the Panthers will dominate in team points, there still will be plenty to watch as the day unfolds, including several of the elite in the state, including No. 2 rated Mike Swider (Wheaton North, 220, 35-0), Tim Noverini (St. Charles North, 30-1), No. 5 at 145, and Illinois-bound, Angelo San Juan (Glenbard East, 113, 343-2).
Weight to watch: 132. Sal Annareno (Bartlett, 29-3), John Gosinski (Glenbard North, 28-5), Zak Hassan (Glenbard West, 28-2): How much tougher would this group of granite be if St. Charles East senior Nick Ruffino wasn’t recently ruled out for the postseason? In this trio, there’s the Nos. 3, 5 and 10 rated 32-pounders in the state, each capable of climbing the podium in Champaign later this month. With a season-ending loss in the consolation quarters at the Downers Grove sectional providing motivation, No. 10 Annoreno is on a mission to book a spot in the state tournament in his final season at Bartlett.
Lowdown: “Sal’s weight class in truly a tough one, but once you get to the postseason, they are all tough, and I truly believe Sal can compete and beat anyone in the state, and he’ll be ready to put it on the line this weekend,” says Hawks head coach Karl Bratland, who is excited about the opportunity ahead for another senior, Tom Gbean (182, 20-8) as well as Anthony Zipparro (113, 25-7), Jake Joiner (152, 26-9) and Nick Mokodanski (19-9) at 160 pounds. “Gbean has been coming on strong lately, and he is so athletic and strong, and never out of a match. It will exciting to see what he can do down the stretch.”
Class 2A at DeKalb
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class into Sterling sectional. Team champion to Sycamore dual-team sectional on Tuesday, February 21.
Cast: Burlington Central, Belvidere, Belvidere North, Boylan, DeKalb, Kaneland, Rockford East, Sycamore.
Storyline: It’s always been about team with Burlington Central head coach Tony Rigitano and the BC head coach will be stressing that concept even more in the room this week as his Rockets look to take off against a tremendous trio of opponents, led by No. 7 Sycamore (14-3-0) which just last week beat No. 6 Yorkville to capture win the NI Big-12 conference title. Central has seen its competition all throughout the season and when it lost to Sycamore (43-26) early on, the Spartans were without both Kyle Atkins (113, 10-1) and Matt Copple (220, 11-4) who appear ready to go after their conference winning performances last weekend.
Weight to watch: 145. Johnny Major (Burlington Central), Steven Lalowski (Sycamore, 33-2), Jason Woods (Rockford East, 29-5). A rematch of Major (23-3) vs. No. 1 Lalowski would suit the Rockets’ senior just fine after he dropped a 4-0 decision in their only meeting on the Spartans’ home mats, and Major would like nothing more to start his bid to earn a third state appearance on a high note.
Lowdown: Rigitano has received superb results from a pair of seniors, Buddy Toth (160, 28-0) and Omar Awad (170, 29-3) and each is positioned to do quite well on Saturday, while junior Brady Weinrich (28-7) will have his hands full with Greg Adkins (Belvidere North, 29-13), Brad Green (Dekalb, 20-14) and Brendon McGehee (20-17) of Sycamore, but the junior, who was first at the Kaneland tourney, has been at his best of late. Toth enters this regional as No. 3 in the state, according to IllinoisBestWeekly.com.
Class 2A at Marengo
Advancement: Top 3 from each weight class into Grayslake North sectional. Team champion to Woodstock dual-team sectional on Tuesday, February 21.
Cast: Hampshire, St. Viator, Vernon Hills, Crystal Lake Central, Marengo, Wauconda, Woodstock, Woodstock North.
Storyline: It’s all aboard the Crystal Lake Central bandwagon once more after the Tigers, under .500 all season-long, still managed to outlast all of the competition to win their 5th consecutive FVC championship last weekend. Truth be told, it will difficult for any club here to challenge Central for top honors, including Vernon Hills and Wauconda, both from a strong wrestling conference at the NSC, as well as Hampshire, which in its first season in the FVC did very well, finishing 15-16 overall in just its 4th year of existence.
Weight to watch: 113. Tyler Espino (32-7): The Whip-Purs’ co-captain recently went over the 100-win mark to become the first in program history to do so, and the 4th-place medalist at the FVC tourney last weekend will look to put an exclamation on his career as he looks to go one week further this season after advancing into the sectionals last winter.
Lowdown: Seniors Ray Stagen (23-10, 132) and Cody Kleiser (24-9, 145) look to join their teammate (Espino) next weekend in Grayslake, as this duo have also been key figures in the rise of Hampshire wrestling, and who were also honored on Senior Night as the first group of 4-year wrestlers to go through the program under coach Terry Wilkinson.
Class 1A at Harvard
Advancement: Top 3 in each weight class into Byron sectional. Team champion to Oregon dual-team sectional on Tuesday, February 21.
Cast: St. Edward, Aurora Catholic Central, Harvard, Hebron, Marian Woodstock, Mooseheart, North Boone, Wheaton Academy.
Storyline: St. Edward senior Evan Finnane (17-2), who signed to play football at Army earlier this week, begins his quest to a second consecutive trip downstate at a regional venue which is expected to be dominated by the host Hornets, who are currently 1A’s No. 3 rated team. Finnane’s only two losses of the season came at the hands of FVC champ Kasen Christiansen (Grayslake North) and Scott Taylor of Marian Central, who happens to be here, and will hope that Finnane has forgotten his 5-3 decision in the third-match at the Richmond-Burton tournament in early December.