Larkin tops Elgin in Crossface Classic
Beating a rival is something most teams look forward to. Beating them after losing the year before makes the win that much better. Being able to win a trophy because of the victory puts the cherry on top.
Larkin’s wrestling team came away with the headgear in the second installment of the Crossface Classic, beating crosstown rival Elgin 50-21 Friday night.
Winning nine matches total, including five by pins and three by forfeit, the Royals (7-8, 3-2 Upstate Eight River) were able to maintain control over a young Elgin squad that had seven sophomores in its lineup.
Edgar Trejo (120 pounds), Jacob Quintanilla (132), Alex Duran (152) and Victor Young (160) were each able to pin their opponents in the second period while big man Jerry Hernandez (285) was able to end his match in just 45 seconds for Larkin.
The tone for the night was set early on, with the first match going into the sixth period. Elgin 182-pounder Ricardo Gonzalez took an early 1-0 lead after breaking out of a Victor Cuevas hold. That’s where it stayed until Cuevas was able to break free of Gonzalez twice, once in the third then again in the fifth.
It may have just been 3 points on the board for Larkin at the time, but Larkin coach Steve Hoyt knew it was big.
“It’s like a snowball effect. The more you see it the more you believe it,” Hoyt said.
The Royals lost the next two matches with Isaac Schennum (195) wining 6-1 and Abel Barraza (220) pinning his opponent for the Maroons, giving Elgin an early 9-3 lead. But a Hernandez pin followed by Pierre Stanford (106) and Luis Guadarrama (113) walkovers put Larkin up 21-9 and the Royals never looked back, adding one more walkover from Allan Lau (145).
The Maroons (2-8, 1-3) came into the match off a win at a dual against Streamwood, but were unable to keep that momentum. One of the bright spots for Elgin was senior Zach McCullough (126), who was able to pickup a hard fought, and long, 10-7 victory.
Zach showed a real tough match there (tonight),” Elgin coach Tom Stewart said. “It was probably the best he has wrestled all year.”
The same could be said for Nathan Romero (132), who came out on top with a 3-2 victory, and Matt Gedritis (170) who won by pinfall, continuing a trend of sorts that has begun for Elgin.
“We’ve been in a lot of matches this year, but our experience is where we are lacking,” Stewart said. “We get (into bad positioning) and the next thing you know we’re giving up points. But if they keep trying and keep working I think we’ll finally get there.”
As for the Crossface Classic trophy, which will sit next to the Town Jug Larkin has possession of for beating Elgin in football, Hoyt thinks the headgear will like its new home.
“It’s very nice (to get the trophy). A lot of our guys don’t even know about it because they’ve never even seen it,” Hoyt said. “It will be on display for this year and hopefully many years to come. We plan on making a nice home for it here.”