Girls wrestling: Schaumburg wins second straight sectional title

Sixty-nine area high schools converged on the main gym at Schaumburg High School Saturday afternoon for the IHSA sectional seeking to not only get as many of their wrestlers qualified for the state meet but to nab the top team honors as well.

Thanks to a strong overall team performance that included four top four finishes the sectional host Saxons cruised to a second consecutive team title with 96.5 points followed by Lockport (85) and Hoffman Estates (74.5).

Glenbard West (72.5) and Hampshire (71.5) rounded out the top five.

"We had a first, a second, and two thirds. It was good," Schaumburg Coach Matt Gruska said.

"You always want a little bit more (but) we had some tough losses there. But for those that made it they had a real good tournament, so it's now two weeks of readjust, pivot, and get ready for the state tournament "

Those in attendance for the event were treated to a pin-fest in the finals where nine straight title bouts and 10 overall ended in pins beginning with Montini senior Katelyn Bell's first period fall over Batavia junior Lily Enos in the opening 100 lb. contest to Oswego East sophomore Quinn Janssens second period victory over Hoffman senior Abigail Ji in the 140 lb. bout.

Not until South Elgin freshman Allison Garbacz' 5-1 decision over Schaumburg senior Madeline Zerafa-Lazarevi in the 145 lb. class would there be a complete three period match.

The list of early-ending matches were as follows...

#-Kameyah Young (W. Aurora) First Period over Zoey Dodgers (Leyden)--105 lbs.

#-Khloe Perez (Glenbard West) First Period over Annalee Aarseth (Crystal Lake South)--110 lbs.

#-Amelia Nidelea-Polanin (Hampshire) Second Period over Alejandra Flores (Bolingbrook)--115 lbs.

#Emma Engels (Bartlett) Third Period over Sabrina Bono (Leyden)--120 lbs.

#-Elise Burkut (Wheeling) Second Period over Lilly White (Bartlett)--125 lbs.

#-Sophia Ball (Hoffman Estates) First Period over Aubrie Rohrbacher (Huntley)--130 lbs.

#-Claudia Heeney (Lockport) Third Period over Viola Planetto (Prospect)--135 lbs.

#-Rebekah Ramirez (Lockport) First Period over Ariana Solideo (Fenton)--235 lbs.

In a couple of those matches the victor got the fall as they were actually trailing in points.

Perez who trailed her opponent 3-2 was simply trying to make her move on the mat while Burkut threw caution to wind in trying to catch up in her bout.

"I knew she was a tough one, so I had to go in there and do what I got to do. It was kind of rough," Perez said.

"I guess I decided to take (some) risks, so I just decided we're hip-tossing. I knew I could lug her right over. I just kind of hit that mental switch."

Meanwhile, Ball was successfully able to take advantage of an opportunity that came her way.

"If there's any opening, I'm going to take it. I tried to score and give no openings (or) opportunities for my opponent."

Garbacz defeated her opponent for the second after earning a pin in regionals the week before.

"I knew she was going to come at me harder and she definitely did and I stuck to what I knew."

Schaumburg junior Nadia Razzak's 14-7 win over Streamwood's Jasmine Rene at the 190 lb. class was the long-awaited result of the hard work that she put in throughout the season and served to be a bell-weather of her squad's overall effort.

"I've been working so hard to get here and I've really wanted this so bad. My team is amazing and I don't know what I would do without them. They support me so much. I want to take state--hopefully," Razzak said.