Naperville Central too much for Maine West
Wrestling dual meets have their own crucial dynamic, and Naperville Central adopted elements from across the board Tuesday night in Aurora.
Opening with back-to-back major decisions, later using consecutive falls and a pair of unexpected close victories, the Redhawks fashioned them all together for a 40-24 victory over Maine West at the second West Aurora sectional final.
The Redhawks, who lost 9 of 10 dual meets to begin their season, advance to Bloomington to meet Barrington in the first Class 3A quarterfinal Saturday morning. It marks the second Elite Eight appearance in program history for the Redhawks (11-10).
Maine West, which won its first individual regional in 13 years to advance to the dual-team sectional, finished its campaign at 20-4.
“We got bonus points right away,” Naperville Central coach Rob Porter said of major victories by individual state qualifiers Luke Roth and Ryan Berg at 182 and 195 points. Maine West responded to the Redhawks’ opening salvo behind big wins by Rogelio Rodriquez and Robbie Jones’ pin at heavyweight.
But the Warriors’ 10-8 lead was short-lived. Naperville Central won the next five bouts for a 22-point unanswered burst. Steven Splan and Ben Williamson recorded consecutive falls as part of the five-match run at 120 and 126 pounds.
“My coaches told me that I better pin my guy,” Splan said. “I just went out there and gave it my all.”
Williamson also needed less than two minutes.
“It really helped the (team) tempo,” Williamson said. “(Splan and I) really put the pressure on them.”
The Redhawks sandwiched their two maximum point wins with an unexpected win by Mitch Lee at 113 pounds and Kirk Cherep surviving in triple overtime at 132.
“The back-to-back pins put us in cruise control,” Porter said.
The five straight wins by Naperville Central turned a 2-point deficit into a 30-10 lead, but Maine West was far from finished.
With the heart of its lineup ready to flex its muscle, the Warriors cut the Redhawks’ lead to 30-24 with Jake Korbeck prevailing at 138 pounds. State qualifiers Rico Zayas and Jordan Pessan then recorded a technical fall and pin at 145 and 152 pounds to open the door for the Warriors.
“From the time I got out there I wanted a pin,” Pessan said. “I was really hoping that I got one.”
But the theme of abbreviated matches continued at 160 pounds; Naperville Central standout Tom Mitrenga mathematically eliminated the Warriors with a fall in 63 seconds.
“They’re a good team in a great conference,” Maine West coach Lance Weber said.
It was the second year in a row the DuPage Valley Conference qualified two of the final eight teams for the 3A state finals.