Boys wrestling: Marrello, Crystal Lake South stay unbeaten in FVC with win over Burlington Central
Crystal Lake South finished with just one dual victory last season.
Those struggles appear to be a thing of the past after the Gators, who’ve now quadrupled their win total from last season, remained undefeated in Fox Valley Conference action after a 47-25 victory against Burlington Central in a pivotal wrestling dual Friday night. The Gators took eight bouts and recorded five pins in the win.
“We have really good team chemistry and we’re all there for each other,” said Aiden Marrello, one of the five Gators to pin on Friday. “We push each other and the coaches are great. We hit a rough patch last year and we all want to improve on that this year. We have great guys in the practice room who work hard every day.”
C.J. Talbert delivered the first big win for South (4-1, 3-0 FVC), wrangling a third-period pin to beat Danny O’Connor at 113 pounds. Clinging to a 9-6 lead, Talbert turned a takedown into three back points before locking in the pin to give the Gators a 12-0 lead. Barrett Redmond received a forfeit at 106 to start the dual.
“It felt good,” Talbert said. “We have really good coaches.”
Central (4-7, 1-2 FVC) earned a key win at 120, where returning state qualifier Eduardo Vences snatched a crucial takedown in the third period to score an 8-3 decision over Logan Aarseth. At 126, South’s Ricardo Briones erased a 10-2 deficit in a big hurry, using an effective cradle technique to turn a potential defeat into a pin against David Wyruchowski.
With the Rockets trailing 18-3, Axel Rodriguez stepped up with a strong performance at 132, snatching four takedowns to earn a 16-1 technical fall over Zach Fischer. Confidence and movement proved to be an effective attack for Rodriguez, who had at least one takedown in each of the three periods of his match Friday.
“I was able to work better on my feet,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been training a lot harder in practice and I felt confident before I even wrestled tonight. I felt good about how I was moving, my setups and my shots. My way of fighting was the most important thing.”
The two FVC teams traded wins over the next two weights. South’s Nate Randle, a champion at Rockford East’s Giardini Invitational, pinned Henry Deering in the second period at 138. At 144, Central’s Britton Wessel notched a key reversal, which led to a near fall and a 11-5 decision over Peyton Wurster.
After Josiah Bradburn received a forfeit for the Gators at 150, the Rockets added another crucial win at 157, where R.J. Perez fled for a third-period escape to clinch a 7-4 decision over Gavin Hastings. With the Gators leading 30-14, Marrello sparked a string of three consecutive victories that clinched the dual win for his squad.
“I worked on some things that my coaches and I have gone over in practice,” said Marrello, who pinned Central’s Samvir Devineni at 165. “I worked on some things I want to get better at and things I want to be more comfortable with in matches.”
Zach Stinson nabbed South’s second pin by cradle of the evening, breaking a 4-4 tie to beat Chase Studt in the second period at 175. Gabe Randle followed with a dominant showing at 190, reeling in a team-high five takedowns during his 19-3 tech fall over Daniel Gonzalez to give the Gators a 47-14 advantage.
Despite the dual loss, Central finished strong, with Michael Junitz shutting out Jordan Millard for a 15-0 tech fall at 215 before Ben Hultgren pinned Camden Moffet at 285.
“I felt like he was diving in on my shots and I was significantly stronger than him, so I was able to get him into those front head positions,” Junitz said. “... We have a young team and we’re getting used to the competition, but so far, I feel like we’ve progressed very well.”