Geneva leads Tri-Cities qualifiers
The 132-pound collision between Sal Annoreno and Zak Hassan proved to be one of the few highlights for the three local contenders at the Class 3A West Chicago individual wrestling regional Saturday.
Annoreno, a junior from Bartlett, had three takedowns and a reversal to turn back the Glenbard West top seed 8-3.
The Annoreno triumph marked the lone individual championship for Bartlett or Tri-Cities entrants Geneva and St. Charles East.
Defending dual-team state champion Glenbard North had seven champions and 12 total qualifiers to dominate the nine-team championship.
It marked the 12th staight regional team title for the DuPage Valley Conference behemoth.
“My overall thought is that I’m very happy with Sal Annoreno,” Bartlett coach Karl Bratland said. “I keep telling him that he’s going to be a state champion.”
“I had to keep a positive mindset,” Annoreno said. “The same thing that I have been doing all year. That’s what got me here.”
The first regional championship in his standout career with the Hawks provided the senior with his third major individual title this season after previous wins at Buffalo Grove and the Upstate Eight Conference championship.
Unfortunately for Bartlett, though, Annoreno was the lone athlete to make the sectional cut to Glenbard North next weekend.
Tom Gbean had his Bartlett career come to a stunning halt when the senior 182-pounder was caught in a move and pinned in the third-place match against Glenbard East junior Matt Chlebek.
The Hawks’ third possible hope, sophomore Antony Zipparro, failed to score against Geneva junior Brad Martens in the top consolation match at 113 pounds.
“As a team we fell a little bit short,” Bratland said. “This is my first year as head coach. We were hoping to get some more guys out. They’re still learning to compete at the (varsity) level.”
Martens’ 6-0 win was the first of two successful Geneva athletes to advance the hard way.
“You go in there like it’s the last match of the year,” Martens said of the do-or-die nature of third-place matches. “The adreneline was pumping.”
“Brad took care of business as he was supposed to,” Geneva coach Tom Chernich said. “He did what he had to do (to advance).”
Jake Boser became the Vikings’ final sectional qualifier with a 3-2 victory over Glenbard West junior Bernie Gallegos at 195 pounds in their third-place showdown.
“I wrestled him like six hours ago,” Boser said of the elimination of the walkover, which mandated a rematch. “It’s always that first takedown that means the most in a match.”
Jake Mills had already guaranteed himself a spot in the field at Carol Stream by making the championship match at heavyweight.
Despite dropping a first-period fall to Glenbard North senior Danny McHale, Mills earned his 27th win of the season with two preliminary victories.
The Vikings’ Mark Henriksen (145), Tony Castelvecchi (152) and Henry Zupke (220) all had their seasons come to an abrupt end with losses in their respective third-place matches.
St. Charles East coach Steve Smerz had visions of extended personal runs by his top athletes vanish due to injuries.
Neither returning state medal-winner Isaiah Vela nor former state qualifier Nick Ruffino were able to answer the bell.
Ryan Rubino had his quest for a trip to Champaign evaporate when he succumbed to a fall with five seconds remaining in his third-place bout at 106 pounds.
Ryan Valesh also had his sophomore year end suddenly to Glenbard North junior standout Johnny Gosinski at 132 pounds.
Ian Crawford lasted all six minutes against West Chicago senior Dan King at 170 pounds, but the Saints’ junior was victimized as well in his third-place battle.
Cameron Carlson had already secured an automatic bid by gaining entrance to the finals at 160 pounds for St. Charles East.
But the Saints’ junior was no match for Danny Rowland, the one-time Marmion star who transferred to his hometown Willowbrook last year.
Rowland had all the offensive points in the double-digit victory.
“Injuries are part of the sport,” Smerz said. “We’re still kind of young. We have a core group of guys. As I have always said, you have to find a way to win those close matches to advance (in the postseason). The future still looks bright.”