Barrington shines at Grant after heart-breaking week
The Barrington wrestling team had a lot on their minds Saturday when they returned to action at the Grant triple-dual meet after losing long-time coach Tim Dunn to a sudden heart attack earlier in the week.
Dunn passed away Thursday before the Broncos' scheduled meet at Schaumburg while their meet on Friday at Palatine was also postponed. Dunn had coached all levels of wrestling at Barrington since 1988, including being its head coach from 1998 to 2007.
The Broncos (4-1) did their former coach proud by going 3-0 on the day with a 60-18 victory over Lane Tech in round one, a 43-20 win over Stevenson (5-1) in the second round, and a hard-fought 42-28 triumph over the host Bulldogs (3-4) to close out the day.
After shutting out Lake Zurich 84-0 on Friday, the Patriots went 2-1 Saturday with a 34-28 victory over Grant and a 36-25 victory over the Champions (5-3). The Bulldogs beat Lane Tech 45-27.
"We wanted to come together today and do what we could. The kids wrestled super hard, and I know coach Dunn is smiling really big up there based off their effort and their attitude that they wrestled with," said Barrington coach Dan Keller, who is in his second season as head coach. "He was the best and it was a tough week, but as a Barrington wrestling family we wanted to come together."
Augusto Rhenzo (9-1), a 2023 state qualifier, was among the standouts for the Broncos. He went 3-0 on the day as did teammates Ryan Dorn (8-2 at 120), Daniel Blanke (132), Brady Wright (144), Ayden Salley (190), and Clarence Jackson (285). Kaleb Pratt (8-2 at 106) went 2-1 for Barrington.
Rhenzo and Silas Oberholtzer closed out the Grant meet with pins after trailing the Bulldogs 28-27 with three bouts left.
"This year my goal is to be state champ," said Rhenzo, whose team won the powerful Moore-Prettyman tourney last weekend. "I just have to stay focused, keep doing what I'm doing, and I'm working very hard."
Stevenson's Anthony Adams went 3-0 at 215 while teammates Shawn Kogan (7-2 at 132), and Evan Mishels (106) both went 2-1. Tyler Reiff opened the Pats' meet against Grant with a pin as coach Shane Cook missed the meet due to a funeral.
"We had a great meet against Grant. We've got three starters out right now, and we had some guys step up for us," said Stevenson assistant coach Mike Martinez. "We know Barrington is a top-tier team, and we're just proud of how the guys battled and competed today."
Grant's troops were led by Christian Wittkamp (10-2 at 165), who went 3-0. Grant's Vince Jasinski (7-2 at 113) went 2-1 as did Ethan Tarvin (126), and Erik Rodriguez (10-3 at 138).
Mikey Cronkite pulled out a wild 12-10 decision over Barrington's Marino Bernardi at 175 in the match of the day.
"We haven't beaten Stevenson in eight or nine years so we're closing the gap on them," said Grant coach Mark Jocolver, who is in this second season as head coach. "But I thought we competed very well against Barrington and Stevenson and we've got a lot of room for growth."