Fremd's Fifield overcomes adversity to challenge for top honors at state
CHAMPAIGN - That Charlie Fifield is able to be in the field of 16 at 145 pounds at the Class 3A state wrestling tournament this weekend is not only a tribute to the genius of modern sports medicine, but also a testament to the work ethic, determination, and dedication in which Fifield put forth in order to reach the state tournament.
The Fremd senior saw his junior year erased when he twice had serious knee injuries, potentially jeopardizing his wrestling career.
"It was early October at the Super 32 that I tore my left meniscus, then months later, I tore my right meniscus ending my chances to compete for a chance at nationals . All I did was rehab over the summer," said Fifield (43-4) who with his sectional title last weekend earned the No. 2 seed here.
"(Then) last fall, I 'half-tore' my right meniscus. Once again my doctor said that might be it for wrestling this season, but there was no way I was going to miss my senior year, so I trained harder than I ever have to help my team, and to give myself a chance to get downstate," added Fifield, who pinned Tyler Starr from Bradley-Bourbannais in his opener on Thursday, and will now face Cael Andrews (Batavia, 39-8) in second-round action Friday.
"Charlie and I came in four years ago, and he's been the ultimate team leader and even better he is just a terrific young man," offered Fremd coach, Jeff Keske, who would guide his club to a regional title earlier this month.
Teammate Wiley Jessup (40-5) stunned top seed Ino Garcia (38-5) to get the 3A portion of the tournament off in spectacular fashion. The Mid-Suburban League and regional runner-up finished fourth last weekend at sectionals, but quickly put that behind him with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over the Batavia sophomore, and will now face Max Spiegel (29-4) from Andrew.
Vikings freshman and No. 4 seed Evan Gosz (39-3) moved on at 113, while two-time state qualifier Joel Muehlenbeck (Prospect, 41-8) beat league rival Brady Phelps in an overtime tie-breaker contest, 3-1, and now meets No. 3 Deion Johnson (Homewood-Flossmoor, 35-6) in his second-round match.
Will Baysingar (Prospect, 132, 45-1), Ethan Stiles (Conant, 152, 27-1) and Hersey senior Manny Mejia (Hersey, 220, 44-5) all advanced on Thursday as well.
Schaumburg junior Caden Kirchner (126, 31-8) beat a quality opponent from Lyons Township, Gunnar Garelli (33-11), to stay alive in the front draw, where he'll next meet North Carolina State-bound Vincent Robinson (30-2) of Homewood-Flossmoor.
Barrington's Zach Meyer will have the chance to avenge his loss to Henry Chang (Conant, 29-6) in their MSL final when the two league rivals meet Friday morning.
"Henry has no quit in him, and he's been getting better with each match. Words cannot describe how proud I am of him," said Conant coach Andrew Guilde.