Lake Zurich battles past Warren
It was a fight to the finish Friday night when host Lake Zurich faced Warren in a North Suburban Conference wrestling dual meet.
But in the end, three forfeits were just too much for the visiting Blue Devils to overcome as the host Bears pulled away in the end for a 40-27 victory.
Lake Zurich (7-3, 2-0) took an early 6-0 lead on a forfeit win by 182-pounder Dan Hull. But a late, 8-6 overtime comeback victory by Warren 195-pounder Jeremiah Hixson over Mike Luby cut the lead to 6-3 as Hixson overcame a 6-1 deficit late in the match.
Then Warren's Anthony Soto posted a hard-fought 3-2 decision over Jack Turner at 220 to deadlock the score at 6-6 after three bouts.
The Bears went ahead 9-6 after Ethan Medina's 6-3 decision over Jacob Bolender at 285 before a pin by Lake Zurich 106-pounder Luca Poeta boosted the Bears' lead to 15-6.
But Warren (3-6, 1-1) bounced back strongly to take an 18-15 lead as teammates Carlos Ordonez (113), and Jose Ordonez (120) recorded pins to give the Blue Devils a slim 18-15 lead.
"I think Warren wrestled really well. If they had a full lineup it might have been a lot closer than it was, and I give them a lot of credit," said Lake Zurich coach Jake Jobst.
The back-and-forth meet saw Lake Zurich force an 18-18 deadlock when Tallon Smith (126) posted a 13-9 decision over Warren's Dylan Grunwald.
Then the Blue Devils regained a 21-18 lead when 132-pounder Zack Pisckiewicz defeated Nick Salerno.
The Bears took the lead for keeps at 24-21 on Arty Varfi's forfeit win at 138 before undefeated 145-pound junior teammate Scott Busse (10-0) pinned his opponent in 2:39 to extend the lead to 30-21.
Thomas Troutman's 9-1 major decision at 152 kept the Lake Zurich momentum going before teammate Nolan Schuetz (forfeit win at 160) made the score 40-21 with one match left.
"He (Busse) is one of the hardest workers in the room, just nonstop wrestling," added Jobst. "And I think that he's staying on his attacks, and chain-wrestling really well."
Busse has high hopes looking ahead to the grueling 2021-22 season.
"Basically I'm just continuing to push myself in practice with the best guys in the room," said Busse. "I feel pretty good about my undefeated record, and this year I want to win a state title."
A pin in 1:48 by Warren's Nevan Mitrovic at 170 accounted for the final score.
"All things considered we wrestled tough. We're dealing with a lot, and everyone is dealing with a lot," said Warren coach Brad Janecek. "I only had one senior in the lineup so hopefully we'll get them back soon and keep getting better."