WW South dominates Newbill field
Wheaton Warrenville South senior Andrew Leonard has lost but twice this wrestling season.
Both matches were against Waubonsie Valley 195-pounder Mason Kroening, ranked second in Class 3A.
"(Leonard) has to work on the fundamentals and some of the finer points to beat those elite wrestlers," WW South coach Matt Janosek said.
But the seventh-ranked Leonard had an individual performance Saturday afternoon at the Newbill Invitational at Geneva to mirror that of the Tigers as a team.
One of five WW South athletes to reach the championship match in the 22-team field, Leonard beat the first-period buzzer by less than a second to improve to 23-2 on the season.
"I have been working on my advanced defense," Leonard said. "I have really improved on my ankle-hook-to-the-leg-in move. The cradle (applied for a fall in the championship round) is my best move."
Nate Dalan and Placide Niyegena captured back-to-back weight-class championships for the Tigers at 160 and 170 pounds as WW South dominated the tournament with 199.5 points.
Plainfield Central (148) and Lake Zurich (134) also received team awards.
"It means a lot (to win the team title)," said Niyegena, who had a 3-point near-fall in the waning seconds to cement a decisive 12-2 decision over Champaign Centennial 170-pounder Jerimiah Risinger. "We have been working really hard in all the weight classes."
Dalan ended his match - in peculiar fashion - 13 seconds into the third period in the 160-pound finale against Lake Zurich junior Nick DiMaggio.
"He basically pinned himself," Dalan said of the championship match against DiMaggio. "I wasn't expected to get a pin there."
"I thought I was in a fine position," DiMaggio said. "I got put on my back. It was a good call. I made a mistake."
"(DiMaggio) was JV last year," Lake Zurich coach Dan Strickler said.
The Tigers' Hunter Edwards and freshman sensation Preston Berry dropped championship matches at 113 and 132 pounds.
"A lot of our boys wrestled with intensity and got after it," said Janosek, whose team was coming off a huge 36-30 DuPage Valley Conference victory over Naperville Central on Friday. "It was nice to see everybody step up and have a solid day."
Addison Trail and West Chicago finished in slots Nos. 15 and 16.
Brian Reyes' third-place victory in overtime at 138 pounds was the highlight for Addison Trail.
"The kids did a nice job after the first round," Addison Trail coach Rob Serio said. "We had a lot of sevenths. If you can win three matches, it's a good day."
Tres Lally improved to 23-2 for West Chicago after claiming the third spot at 195 pounds.
"I'm not really happy about the one match I lost (to Leonard in the semifinals)," Lally said. "I screwed up at the start, and it's hard to come back after that."
Host Geneva and West Aurora finished sixth and seventh, respectively, as each team had a champion and runner-up.
Geneva 138-pounder Mike Donatelli needed less than a minute of the second period to terminate his championship match with a fall.
"I got the escape," Donatelli said. "(Carmel freshman Yovaniel Garcia) went for a shot, and I saw my opening. I threw him. It's very special (to win my home invite)."
One class later, at 145 pounds, Anthony Silva of fifth-place Marian Central pinned the Vikings' Kevin Huck in the championship bout.
"We're hoping with the new year our lineup will look more like it should," said Geneva coach Tom Chernich, who had to forfeit as many as five classes last month. "Unfortunately we get a couple of guys back but then lose a couple of guys. (Honor Nguyen, out with mono) would have been the No 1 seed in the tournament."
Isaac Jacquez has the distinction of being a potential four-time Class 3A state qualifier this season.
The West Aurora senior standout put in an MVP-worthy performance in claiming the title at 120 pounds.
"The key to this (title) was to keep on (Marian Central junior Daniel Valeria) and stay on him," said Jacquez, who had back-to-back falls to reach the finals. "I didn't really care about the score. I was just concerned about working on my offense."
Jacquez is 23-2 after his 17-4 victory in the finals.
The Blackhawks' Steve Norman fell a little short, dropping the 182-pound championship to Keontay Holmes of fourth-place Alton.
"I thought I had a pretty good day," Norman said. "I started off a little slow and started picking it up throughout the day."
Dundee-Crown filled only eight of the 14 weight classes in finishing in 14th place.
Heavyweight Isaiah Ziegler and 126-pounder Brandon Rico were fourth and fifth, respectively, to lead the Chargers.
Lake Zurich heavyweight Mike Bertoia has crafted an extraordinary start to his senior season.
After an injury-plagued junior campaign, Bertoia continued his remarkable string of first-period falls with four more to capture the 285-pound title.
Not a single one of his nine opponents has reached the second period against the Bears' 267-pounder.
Bertoia (9-0) recorded his four victories in a cumulative time of two minutes and 48 seconds.
Brother Rice junior Myles Ruffin lasted all of 36 seconds in the championship against Bertoia.
"It's just challenging myself every day in the practice room," Bertoia said of his unblemished run of first-period pins. "I kind of expected (this performance) going in. I hold myself to high standards."
The Bears had nine athletes place sixth or better.
"I felt like we had a really good day," Strickler said. "I'm really proud of the guys."