Host Glenbard North opens sectional strong
The defending Class 3A dual-team state champion feasted on some home cooking Friday night in Carol Stream.
Nine of the 12 sectional qualifiers from Glenbard North advanced to the semifinals of its individual sectional for a berth at the state tournament next weekend in Champaign.
Fellow DuPage Valley Conference rivals Naperville Central and Wheaton North advanced four out of the quarterfinals.
Jered Cortez and Brian Murphy remained undefeated on the season for the Panthers at 120 and 152 pounds, respectively.
The latter has drawn Tim Noverini, a two-time state qualifier from St. Charles North, in the second semifinal.
“That’s a good matchup,” Glenbard North coach Mark Hahn said. “Noverini is real tough on top.”
“I can’t let up any cheap takedowns,” said Murphy, a reigning state runner-up.
Angelo San Juan and Chris Gonzalez are on track to meet for the fourth time this season.
San Juan, the Glenbard East 113-pounder who bested Gonzalez, a Glenbard North senior, at both the conference tournament and West Chicago regional, lost to the Panthers’ standout at the schools’ dual meet.
“I caught him the first time,” Gonzalez said. “That’s how I beat him.”
The potential clash at 220 pounds for the sectional title could very well be a sneak preview of the state tournament.
Josh Marchok, the undefeated state champion from Schaumburg, and Mike Swider, who also has yet to taste defeat this year for Wheaton North.
“For the last three years I’ve had the No. 2 ranked kid at the sectional,” said the Stanford-bound Marchok, the top-ranked wrestler in the nation at his weight class. “This isn’t anything new.”
“I’m just trying to take it one match at a time,” Swider said. “I don’t want (one-and-done at the state tournament) to happen again.”
Austin Graham is seeking to become the first state qualifier in program history for Metea Valley.
The 132-pound junior, third at his regional, turned back Glenbard West junior Zak Hassan in the opening round and pinned Elgin senior Alex Mertez to reach the semifinals against Glenbard North junior Johnny Gosinski.
“Two more matches to go,” Metea Valley coach Claudio Torres said.
The first semifinal at 160 pounds will be a West Suburban Gold grudge match between Downers South senior Willie Anaya and Willowbrook junior Danny Rowland.
The duo had second-period falls in the quarterfinals to improve to a combined 61-3 on the season.
Upper-weights Steven Franke and Evan Walsh cruised into the semifinals for Wheaton Warrenville South, while West Chicago brothers Robert and Tyler Svestka anchor the Wildcats.
West Aurora, as expected, was the hammer for the five Tri-Cities programs.
Brothers Carlos and Greg Jacquez were never headed in claiming semifinal berths at 106 and 138 pounds for the Blackhawks.
Carlos Jacquez awaits conference rival Jake Drew (Glenbard East) after a third-period quarterfinal pin, and Greg Jacquez drew Conant junior Mitch Alexander.
The elder Jacquez, a two-time state qualifier, had 5 takedowns and a 3-point near fall in his double-digit win over Glenbard North senior Cody Brandle.
Heavyweight Austin Beebe snared the final semifinalist berth for West Aurora with his 5-2 triumph over Geneva senior Jake Mills in one of the final matches.
“Getting the first takedown,” Beebe said in response to subduing Mills. “It gave me the confidence to finish the match.”
Beebe has drawn Rolling Meadows’ Jordan Diaz, who needed only 44 seconds to win his quarterfinal, in the semifinals.
“I’m going to go about it as if it’s just another match,” Beebe said.
Sean Anthony (113 pounds), Nate Pealstrom (145) and Brandon Warren (182) are still fighting for their tournament lives for West Aurora in the consolation bracket after quarterfinal losses.
“Like every coach here, I would have liked to have had everyone makes the semis,” West Aurora coach Mike DiNovo said. “The second day of the sectional on the back end of the draw is all about mental toughness. That’s what we have been focusing on in the (practice) room.”
Noverini barely broke a sweat in winning for the 33rd time in 24 attempts; the North Stars’ senior star dispatched Elk Grove senior Tom Jansen in 87 seconds.
“I want to wrestle some more,” Noverini said. “(My mindset was) just to dominate. (Jansen) was pretty strong.”
The North Stars’ Jordan Scalice and Wes Pasholk dropped quarterfinal decisions at 120 and 220 pounds, respectively.
The lone representative for St. Charles East, 160-pound Cameron Carlson, also was knocked into the consolation bracket.
Anthony Scaccia, the Batavia 138-pounder, was in the same boat after losing his quarterfinal.
South Elgin junior Cory Pych was looking at almost certain defeat as Geneva junior Brad Martens held a 2-point lead in the waning seconds.
But in arguably the most dramatic moment of the night, the Storm 113-pounder secured an escape with three seconds to go and a takedown at the buzzer for a stunning 7-6 victory.
“My coaches are always telling me to wrestle until the very end,” said Pych. “That’s what I did today. I just wanted to win the match so much.”
Martens’ last-second defeat proved to be a bad omen for Geneva as Jake Boser and Mills, both of whom duplicated Martens’ first-round victory, also dropped their quarterfinal appearances.
“We started off 3-0 in the first round and 0-3 in the second round,” Geneva coach Tom Chernich said. “That will be a good match (between Martens and Lake Park sophomore Zach Wolf in the wrestlebacks).”
South Elgin senior Cody Pych was a man possessed in his attempt to return to the University of Illinois’ Assembly Hall.
The 170-pounder whitewashed his quarterfinal foe with a third-round technical fall.
“My focus is to not look past any match,” Cody Pych said. “Anything can happen here.”
Elgin matched its sister school with two semifinalists.
Sophomore Jeffery Morrow had a pair of falls, including a quarterfinal pin over Maine West regional champion Tom Sunny, to advance at 106 pounds.
“I came into practice this week thinking I had to win these two matches,” Morrow said.
Morrow will face Glenbard North senior Richard Browne in the semifinals.
At the other end of the spectrum, Jorge Zavalla earned his berth in the semifinals at 195 pounds with an overtime thriller over Downers South senior Mark Clark.
The Maroons’ senior improved to 22-6 on the season with his 4-2 triumph.
Sal Annoreno, the sole representative for Bartlett, had few problems, advancing at 132 pounds with a quarterfinal pin.
Larkin heavyweight Devontae Joshua was the Royals’ lone semifinalist with a third-period fall.
Joshua will encounter Glenbard North senior Dan McHale, who surprised Naperville North junior Colin Goebel.
Mitch Alexander stunned Maine West regional champion Jake Korbecki 1-0 to advance at 138 pounds.
But Maine West did have some good news as Rico Zayas’ double-digit win at 145 pounds for one semifinal berth was later duplicated by Jordan Pessah (145) and Ben Kindle (160).
Rolling Meadows’ Joe Caprio improved to 38-1 on the season with a second-period fall at 170 pounds.