Boys wrestling: Warren duo brings home state championships; Fremd’s Gosz triumphs at 144
CHAMPAIGN — The area hit the trifecta Saturday night at State Farm Center on the campus of the University of Illinois.
Fremd senior Evan Gosz, and Warren’s Caleb Noble and Aaron Stewart’s march into the finals would see this brilliant trio deliver sparkling efforts to claim state titles, much to the delight of the big crowd on hand.
Noble (44-2) would claim his second straight title when he turned Caden Correll (Normal West, 48-1) inside-out to avenge an earlier loss in the season to the No. 1 man at 113 pounds with a lethal six minute attack to earn a 17-5 major decision victory.
Stewart, atop the 175-pounds polls from the very beginning of the season, held upset minded RJ Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor, 40-7) who played it safe, but was unable to pry open the Blue Devils star during a 5-2 victory.
"The plan coming in was to dominate each and every opponent that I faced down here. (Robinson) was very defensive, but it's something you just have to learn to deal with," said Stewart, now 43-2.
Noble would tilt his contest with Correll in his favor from the opening whistle, building a 5-1 advantage after four minutes before a third-period explosion would see the Warren sophomore end this affair with a 17-5 major decision triumph.
"I felt all along that I could open things up on Caden, and (that) if I did, it would be a 7-9 point difference for me. But I didn't expect things to end the way they did," said Noble, who thrilled the crowd with an acrobatic flip after the final whistle.
Gosz (47-2), like Stewart, was anointed the No. 1 spot at 144 when the season opened. Three times a state medalist, he gave the big crowd reason to roar when he pinned reigning state champion, and his good friend, Zach Stewart (Marmion Academy, 33-3) at 3:12.
"I was nervous leading up to this final, and for that matter, nervous before each match over the three days because of how deep and talented our weight class was," said Gosz.
"When I (felt) that I had Zach almost pinned, I just tightened things up on him, and when the referee gave me the pin, all I could remember was how loud the crowd would cheer. It was almost like a fever dream," said Gosz with a wide smile
The Michigan State-bound Gosz, who finishes his career with an astounding 169-9 overall record, earned Fremd’s first title since Robert Panayi did so in 2005.
Schaumburg senior Brady Phelps (42-5) ran into No. 1 Dom Munaretto (St. Charles East, 51-1) who won his second state title in three years after a 19-3 technical fall victory in the 120-pound final.
"Dom is a great opponent, but I went in with the mindset to attack if I wanted a chance to compete with him. It wasn't enough, but this was a great final state tournament for me," said Phelps, a four-time state medal winner, who will take his 135-17 career record into Tuesday's dual-team sectional at home against Lane Tech.
No. 2 William Cole (Round Lake, 50-4) would concede seven first period points to No. 1 Jonathan Rulo (Belleville East, 35-0) who held off Cole in a 7-2 decision in the 285-pound final.
"I came in hoping to get some revenge from an earlier loss to Jonathan, but it was tough to do when he set the tone with that big first period," said Cole, who was fourth overall last season here.
The second-place trophy Cole would earn is 10th in program history.
The much anticipated rematch between Grayslake Central’s Vince DeMarco (47-3) and Notre Dame junior Ray Long was not the outcome the Central fans and DeMarco had hoped for.
Long went out to a 6-2 lead in the first period. DeMarco fought back to level things at 6-6 before Long (46-4) went on a 9-3 run en route to a 15-12 final.
Looking to avenge a sectional loss one week ago to Long, DeMarco found himself chasing his 106-pound final early on, but his resolve allowed him to make this a close contest right up until the very end.
DeMarco was fourth here a year ago at 106.
Fremd earned three state medals, two of which came in breathtaking fashion with the clock nearing zeroes in each instance.
Drew Fifield (36-7) won in dramatic fashion (12-11) in the closing moments of his blood-round contest at 138 pounds before going on to take home a sixth place medal.
"Without the support of my teammates, coaches, parents and especially my brother Charlie (who wrestles at Illinois), none of this would be possible," said the emotional Vikings junior who embraced his older brother moments after his one-point victory.
Teammate Owen Jakubczak (36-9) won in overtime over Warren star Anthony Soto in his 285 blood-round contest to stay alive before going on to garner a fifth-place medal.
Jakubczak would defeat two-time state medalist Abisai Hernandez (Mundelein, 41-9) in their fifth-place match, 11-5.
Jakubczak is currently fielding several offers to play football in the fall.
The state medal count for MSL champion Hersey is now at 36 after Elijah Garza (132, 42-11) and senior Max Mukhamedaliyev (144, 45-9) secured their fourth (Garza) and fifth place medals.
"To be honest (advancing) into next weekend's dual-team state tournament will be far more satisfying than anything I can accomplish on an individual basis," said a proud Mukhamedaliyev, himself a three-time state medalist who will wrestle next fall at the University of Chicago.
Next up for the Huskies will be their dual-team sectional this Tuesday in Fox Lake against host Grant.
The third time was truly a charm for Schaumburg senior Callen Kirchner (45-9) who now has his first state medal after two previous visits here.
"You always believe in yourself, but with this my third time (here), it was clear this was my last chance, so it feels great to get a state medal," said Kirchner, now 143-34 for his career with a chance to add more when the Saxons host Lane Tech on Tuesday in a dual-team sectional semifinal.
The dazzling duo from Grant, Vince Jasinski and Erik Rodriguez, finished their regular season on a high note as each brought home the Bulldogs’ 50th and 51st state medals following their superb three-day efforts.
Jasinski (46-8) was fourth overall at 126 pounds, while his partner in the room Rodriguez earned his 50th win on the season when he beat Joseph Knacksteadt (OPRF) in their third-place match.
"All the hard work, and extra time spent this season has proven to be worth it for both myself and Vinnie. And for me, I am just so excited," said Rodriguez (50-7) who had the most wins in this high profile weight class.
Maine South senior Tyler Fortis (39-4) would end a superb career for the Hawks with a fourth place state medal to go along with a fifth place finish a year ago at 285 pounds.
The two-sport star who excelled on the defensive line for a Hawks football team that lost to eventual state champion Loyola Academy in their 8A state quarterfinal game will play for Eastern Illinois in the fall.
Buffalo Grove freshman Olekandra (Sasha) Havrylkiv (33-3) made his mark on the 113-pound weight division by finishing fourth to give the Bison their 14th medal.
Over in 2A in a match that many figured would be the 165-pound final between No. 1 Zachary Montez (Geneseo, 43-2) and No. 2 Ilia Dvoriannikov (Vernon Hills, 43-6), it would see this dynamic duo instead meet in the third-place match where the Cougars junior would prevail, 4-3.
"I wasn't able to make (it) into the state final, so finishing third didn't matter as much to me," admitted Dvoriannikov, who was runner-up a year ago at this same weight class.
The trio of Gavin Hanrahan (126), Chase Nobiling (144) and Ben Vazquez (175) would deliver state medal efforts to give the Sequoits 44 overall state medals.
Hanrahan (28-8), who missed several weeks early on with a broken thumb, overcame an overtime loss in his semifinal match on Friday to grab a second straight third-place finish.
"It was tough coming out here today after that loss last night, but I felt like I got myself mentally ready to help me go after a third-place medal," said Hanrahan, a four-time state qualifier.
Nobiling (44-10) was fourth overall, Vazquez (41-9) fifth after two previous in his third appearance here.
Wauconda senior Gavin Rockey (46-10), twice a state runner-up, gathered himself up after a disappointing 1-0 loss in his state opener to win his next four to earn himself a third place.
"When you realize wrestling in the state final is not possible, immediately upset and mad, but it's just the way this sport (goes). So I just came here today ready to go after it," said Rockey.
Stevenson assistant, and former longtime Rolling Meadows head coach Dave Froehlich, served as the Grand Marshall of the annual Grand March.
Froehlich, third here in 1971 while at state power East Leyden, would become an All-American at Northwestern, before going on to become the head coach at Rolling Meadows from 1979-2014, where he amassed 380 career victories.