Wrestling: Scouting dual-team sectionals
Class 3A dual-team sectional preview
at West Aurora West
6 p.m. — Maine West (20-3-0) vs. Naperville Central (10-10-0). Winners face either Barrington or Grant in state quarterfinals this Saturday at U.S. Celluar Coliseum in Bloomington.
Maine West’s keys: Rico Zayas (145, 35-8), Jordan Passah (152, 27-7), Colin Gratz (132, 37-3), Jake Korbecki (138, 35-5), Ben Kindle (160, 32-11), Max Kanak (182, 28-12).
Storyline: This current group of seniors has been steadily improving, culminating in a sensational finish at Niles West, where the Warriors only won their first regional championship since 1999 but also qualified eight into the sectional, where both Zayas and Passah advanced downstate. Zayas finsihed just 1 win away from placing downstate. The Warriors’ strength is in the heart of their lineup, but their big men — beginning with (Kanak) and right through Zack Watson (195), Rogelio Rodriguez (220) and Robbie Jones (285) — combined for nearly 70 victories and are capable of earning bonus points tonight. If Maine West west, it would mean a first-ever trip to the dual-state tournament.
“There’s a lot of experience out on the mat for us, and it’s group of young men who work hard and enjoy being teammates with each other,” said Maine West coach Lance Weber. “Naperville is a lot like us, they are hard-working. But if we wrestle the way we know we can tonight, then we have the result we’re all looking and hoping for.”
Naperville Central’s keys: Ryan Berg (195, 35-8), Tom Mitrenga (152, 35-9), Luke Roth (182, 26-16), Ben Williamson (126, 28-15), Kirk Cherep (132, 30-15), Mitch Lee (113, 25-17).
Storyline: Robert Powers does a terrific job with the Redhawks, who began the season 1-8-0, but turned things around to win 9 of their last 11 before capturing the Naperville North regional crown by 1 point over Downers Grove South. Regional and sectional champ Berg and his teammate Mitrenga are clearly the best in the Redhawks’ lineup, but a key match to watch might be Cherep vs. the Warriors’ Gratz in a wrestleback rematch from the sectionals which saw Cherep defeat his opponent. Mitrenga upended Kindle (8-2) in his state qualifier bout, while Lee and Williamson were eliminated in their respective qualifying matches as well.
South Elgin (7-11-0) vs. Glenbard North (15-4-0). The winner faces either Edwardsville or Minooka in state quarterfinals this Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington
South Elgin’s keys: Cory Pych (170, 38-5), Cody Pych (113, 31-11), D.J. Greene (220, 22-12), Nick Citta (138, 21-16), Marco Aguirre (132, 22-14).
Storyline: The Storm have a daunting task ahead of them when they step onto the mat against the defending 3A champs, who won their first state championship after 11 previous trips to the tournament last February. Mark Cameron’s club waited until the last moment to pull out their first regional crown in program history with heavyweight Nick Kowalski (13-14) recording a pin to help keep Conant at arm’s length. “This is the worst (dual) record we’ve had, but we really beefed up our nonconference and tournament schedule, and we feel it has been a terrific benefit to all, and has really helped prepare them for the postseason and beyond,” said Cameron, who is the first coach to lead a U-46 school to a regional wrestling title. Cameron may have to tweak his starting lineup tonight due to injuries, but he watched a program high 8 qualify into the sectionals, including his best, Cory Pych, who just completed a superb run at the state tournament which led to a third-place medal there. The Storm coach brought 11 of his guys down to Champaign to train, and manage their weight while cheering on the Pych brothers. Perhaps ith helped stoke the dreams of the underclassmen to one day be down on the floor of Assembly Hall competing.
Glenbard North’s keys: Jared Cortez (120, 47-0), Brian Murphy (152, 30-1), Jon Marmolejo (126, 43-8), Johnny Gosinski (132, 37-9), Dan Eldridge (195, 28-12), Chris Gonzalez (113, 44-10).
Storyline: Glenbard North starts with tremendous 1-2 power-packed punch of two-time state champion Cortez and Murphy, a junior who twice now has finished just a heartbeat away from back-to-back state titles after losing last Saturday night to Eddie Klimara of Providence. The strength of the Panthers is in the lower part of their lineup, with state medalists Marmolejo and Gosinski the pack leaders, But it would be foolhardy to overlook their big men, particularly Dan Etheridge (28-12) who suprised a strong 195-pound field by taking home a six-place medal.
at Wheeling
6 p.m. — Barrington (15-2-0) vs. Grant (19-4-0). The winner faces either Maine West or Naperville in state quarterfinals this Saturday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington.
Barrington’s keys: Coord Wiseman (145, 37-12), Adrian Gonzalez (113, 34-5), Kevin Conrad (120, 31-11), Cameron Thomson (170, 37-4), Ben Calamari (285, 33-8), Mark Shealy (182, 32-6), Daniel Davidson (220, 26-19).
Storyline: Ken Hoving’s team breezed through the competiton at both the Mid-Suburban League and regional championship tournaments. The Broncos hoped to send at least 8 individuals to the 3A state tournament last weekend. But things went terribly wrong over the two days at Barrington, and when the tournament came to an end, many of the Broncos’ high profile men fell just short of joining a program-high 6 downstate, including regional champ Ryan Wilt, who was injured, and ruled out for the rest of the season. Things didn’t get much better in Champaign, and only Wiseman carried away a state medal (6th place). To make matters worse, one of the state’s best at 113 (Jared Parvinmehr) suffered a concussion on a throw, and is also out for tonight, with his return possible should the Broncos get past Grant this evening.
“Everything was looking very good for us just a couple of weeks ago, but things can happen, and they did,” said Hoving, who took over for Al Strobl following the Broncos’ Elite Eight appearance. “We’re very fortunate to have a deep, deep roster, and we’ll need to lean on some new guys, and our veterans also, and although I still like our chances against Grant tonight, we’ll have to be in top form in order to get past them.”
Hoving will call up junior Matt Sheehy, who was buried behind Gonzalez and Parvinmehr this year after winning a regional title last season with 29 victories to his credit. Mark Shealy and Davidson are anxious to erase heartbreaking defeats in their state qualifying matches, while Nick Shealy (152, 28-13) and Michael Lurz (160, 28-10) will look to rebound after early wrestleback losses eliminated the duo at the sectional tournament.
Grant’s keys: Quinton Quarles (220, 40-6), Tony Cashmore (170, 37-8), Dan Haeffele (285, 35-13), Ben Soumar (120, 36-6), Ben Kramer (106, 31-12), Devin Monroy (138, 27-12).
Storyline: Always one of the coached programs in the half of the state, the Bulldogs, led by Ryan Geist, found a way to get by Dale Eggert and his Libertyville club with back-to-back thrilling victories, first at the NSC tournament, and one week later at the regionals in Libertyville to earn a place opposite Barrington. Earlier in the season, the Bulldogs fell to their opponent (38-19) tonight, but have had plenty of quality wins throughout, including one over 2A power Sycamore, and a first-place finish at the Erb Invite at Glenbrook South. The Bullodgs’ trio of Soumar, Monroy and Jonathan Wells (182, 11-5) all missed the chance of joining their teammates in Champaign, as they all lost in their state qualifying matches during the sectionals, At Barrington, however, Cashmore defeated Thomson in the semifinals (4-3) while Haeffle, the star in the Bulldogs’ narrow win over Libertyville at regionals, edged Calamari (4-2) at the same time, making those potential rematches must-see bouts.
— Mike Garofola