Wrestling: Prospect takes down all comers at Fremd triple-dual

With three of the four teams ranked in the top 18 in the state, the Fremd triple-dual meet was a showcase of Daily Herald area wrestlers Saturday in Palatine.

No. 15-ranked Prospect (18-7) came away as the big winner of the quad meet as the Knights went 3-0 by defeating No. 18 Libertyville 41-27, the No. 10-ranked host Vikings 41-29, and Wheaton North 60-6 to close out the day

The Wildcats (9-4) edged Fremd (16-2) 33-31 in the first dual meet ever between Libertyville coach Dale Eggert and Fremd coach Jeff Keske, who was a three-time state qualifier under the guidance of Eggert during his high school days at Libertyville.

The Wildcats also rolled to a 51-27 victory over Wheaton North (6-14), while the Vikings toppled the Falcons 54-22 in the opening round.

Prospect got three wins from 132-pound junior Will Baysingar (31-1), who won the 120-pound state championship last year. The Knights also got three victories each from Lennon Steinkuehler at 138, Connor Munn at 152, and Sean Mitchell at 285.

"Our goal is to make it back to team state and hopefully bring back a trophy," said Prospect coach Tom Whalen. "I'm happy about our wins and the way people stepped up today, and our guys are used to doing what's best for the team."

The third-round meet starting at 138 pounds was a dogfight from start to finish between the Wildcats and Vikings as the meet went back and forth the entire way. A pin by Fremd's Wiley Jessup at 113 gave the hosts a 26-23 lead with three matches left.

Libertyville all-stater Caelan Riley's 13-5 decision over Fremd's Evan Gosz (26-2) gave the Wildcats a 27-26 lead before a technical fall by Fremd's Jake Crandall (126) put the Vikings up 31-27.

But an injury to Fremd's Maddox Khalimsky in the first round resulted in Libertyville getting a forfeit win to close out the meet with the narrow 33-31 triumph.

"I don't know that we're really thinking about the team scores as much as some great matches, and I thought Cole Matulenko went up a weight class (against Fremd) and beat a really good kid at 220," said Eggert, whose team had to forfeit two bouts in every meet.

"We just had good performances out of the guys that we put out on the mat and that's all that you can really look for."

The Wildcats got three wins each from Riley, Matulenko, and Josh Knudten (182) while Anthony McClendon went 2-0 at 152.

Fremd's University of Illinois-bound Charlie Fifield (31-3) went 3-0 at 145 while teammates Jessup and Crandall also won three bouts.

"We were a little short-handed today, but we're hoping to get our full lineup back and be at 100 percent in a few weeks," said Keske, who graduated from Libertyville in 2005.

"It's an honor to be able to coach against a guy like that (Eggert) and have those guys on our schedule. To be able to compete against that guy and watch how he does things, that's a great example right there that I would like to follow. They do things the right way over there and I want our guys to see that."

Wheaton North was led by 152-pounder Devin Medina (27-6) with three wins while teammate Michael Rosch went 3-0 at 170. J.D. Jones (138) and Joe Kruse (285) both went 2-1 on the day for the Falcons.

"The injuries have obviously been putting us with some holes in our lineup," said Wheaton North coach Kevin Formanski, whose squad had to forfeit four matches against Prospect.

"But you're not going to get better unless you face good guys, and I'm not going to shy away from tough competition."