Ornoff on target at Barrrington
The 138-pound weight class might not be the most glamour in the state this year, but it sure has plenty of local starpower.
Such as Matt Ornoff of Mundelein. The Mustangs senior, with his victory Friday night at Barrington in Class 3A wrestling sectional action, is not only a perfect 37-0, but also one step closer to booking his place in Champaign.
After a methodical 5-0 decision over Jake Messink Friday, Ornoff next faces Sean Lynch (21-4) of Lake Zurich when the semifinal round at the Barrington sectional begins at 10:30 a.m. today. One more win sends the winner not only into the afternoon finals, but also safe passage into the 3A state tournament, which begins on Thursday.
“It’s all about working hard in the off-season. doing a lot of lifting and extra work with (Miko Miller) at VIP in Mundelein, and being conditioned so well that it allows me to be ready to go six minutes (hard) each and every time I go out there,” said Ornoff.
Messink made their bout a tightly contested defensive match until Mundelein’s four-year veteran got himself a little breathing room midway through the final period.
Lynch started fast against Nick Peters (34-9) of Crystal Lake South in his quarterfinal, and after dealing with several blood stoppages, finally put away the junior 9-7.
Grant, which last week qualified for the dual-team sectional with an exciting finish, will send a handful into battle today, including Ben Soumar (120, 36-4) and big men Quinton Quarles (220, 34-3) and heavyweight, Dan Haeffle (34-11), who faces Barrington’s Ben Calamari (31-5) in the semis.
Senior Tony Cashmore (36-6) registered a surprising pin in 28 seconds over 2011 state qualifier Eddie Scanlon (31-6) of Wheeling, to earn his spot in the semifinals against one of the top seeds, Cameron Thomson (35-1) of Barrington.
“That loss last week probably came at a good time for me, but to be honest, I was prepared to go six minutes with (Scanlon) and maybe OT,” said Cashmore, who last season was eliminated in the regionals.
Hicks was victorious, and will take on Mike Etchingham (Prospect, 30-14) who stunned a top-four seed, Sean Jones (Harlem), while teammate Shakheim Chapman (195, 36-2) was nearly flawless in his pin at 43 seconds to secure his place in the semis against Ryan Wilt (29-7) of Barrington.
Stevenson’s Justin Weber (35-4) fought off an upset bid from Wheeling senior Leo Giordano (28-11), whose gritty performance took the Patriots star right down to the wire in a 8-7 triumph. Giordano was up 4-1 in the early stages, then 6-4 in the second period, before Weber drew even at 6-6 - before going ahead for good at 8-6 at 3½.
Next up for the junior is Kayne MacCullum (Libertyville, 18-9) who is just one of two Wildcats still alive in the championship bracket. Steve Polakowski (113) is the other.
Austin Pettinato (32-9) was forced to default his 145-pound match with Coord Wiseman of Barrington in the second round due to an ankle injury.
First-round consolation matches will start the day today at 9 a.m., before giving way to another knock-out round in this double elimination tournament, as well as the semifinals. Later in the day, semifinal wrestlebacks to decide who advances into the state tournament will be completed in advance of the first and third-place bouts, which are scheduled to start at 2:30.