Girls wrestling: Schaumburg claims third straight regional title; Warren wins at Grayslake Central
Schaumburg continued its historic postseason run Saturday in Glen Ellyn.
One week after claiming its third consecutive MSL championship, the Saxons won their third straight regional crown when they ran away from the field at Glenbard West.
“(To) win our third straight regional says a lot about how hard our team has worked during the offseason and right into the season, and a win will give us all a boost heading into sectionals next weekend,” the Saxons’ Nadia Razzak said.
The No. 1-rated 190-pounder in the state rolled over and through the competition to give her club four individual champions on the day.
Schaumburg’s Isabella Rivas (37-3) stunned York’s Charlie Dolan (26-2) in her 135-pound final with a pin at 3:53, while Saxons junior Sharon Olofunfemi (36-5) pinned two-time DuKane Conference champion Ava Burns of Lake Park to collect the top prize at 135.
Not to be forgotten was the effort at 145 pounds by Saxons sophomore Emily Fowler (23-17), who recorded a pin at 3:25 over Bartlett’s Melanie Nava to win the regional crown.
The Saxons found themselves ahead of the 29-team field after Friday’s preliminaries and slowly forced their closest challenger to chase the rest of the day. In the end the Saxons amassed 228.5 points, 50 more than second-place Conant, which edged third-place Glenbard West at 179.5.
Razzak represented a high-profile group of nearly 20 state-ranked wrestlers, many of whom are quite capable of challenging for a top-three finish at state.
Typical of the depth and talent here was the 130-pound weight class that had four top-10 wrestlers, beginning with No. 2 Keagan Edwards of Glenbard North (44-3), who was stunned by No. 10 Jasmine Zavaletta of Conant (35-5) in their semifinal.
At the same time, No. 7 Emily White of Bartlett (33-3) avenged a couple of early losses to No. 6 Catherine Diehl of Wheaton Academy (32-3) in their semifinal.
White, a two-time state qualifier, later pinned Zavaletta for the title.
No. 1 Nadii Shymkiv of Glenbard East (32-2) won a hard-fought 5-0 decision over No. 10 Brissia Bucio of West Chicago (31-7).
“It's all about pushing the pace, being physical out there and not letting up on my opponents,” said Shymkiv (32-2), a state runner-up a year ago.
No. 2 Zoey Dodgers of Leyden defeated all four of her opponents to claim her second straight regional crown.
“I love to compete, and with the postseason here (now) I am laser focused on each match, and opponent, and my goal is to get back downstate and do even better after making it to state for the first time,” Dodgers said.
Other champions from the area were: Angelina Manlapaz (Willowbrook, 15-2), Karolina Konopka (Glenbard West, 39-2), Suzanne Stalley (Glenbard North, 38-7), Dayanara Elias-Mena (Hoffman Estates, 9-2) and Asreilla Wallace (Glenbard North, 38-6).
The top four from each weight class advanced to the Schaumburg sectional next weekend.
At Grayslake Central:
With its strong semifinal round, and some terrific work in the wrestleback rounds, Warren lifted the regional championship trophy for a second consecutive season at Grayslake Central.
“It's a tribute to the hard work this group of girls have put in, and have continued to do so, and right now I am very proud of everyone on this team,” said Blue Devils coach Nick Grujanac, who will accompany seven of his wrestlers to the Phillips sectional in Chicago next weekend, including 140-pound champion Tyanna Jackson.
“It's amazing to win a regional championship, to be a part of another team championship, and I am so happy for my team, which is so young but has put in all the extra work to help us win today,” said Jackson, now 38-2 after her pin over Antioch’s Sasha Johnson (36-8) to avenge a 15-9 recent defeat in the final of the Lake County Invite.
The Blue Devils (197 points) outscored league rival Stevenson by nearly 50 points for top honors, with Antioch, Maine South and CSL champion Maine East fifth overall.
Stevenson celebrated a tourney-best four individual champions: Athena Zappas (115 pounds, 34-1), Natasia Kobets (120, 13-3), Karina Lojowski (135, 32-2) and Isabel Hilinski (155, 19-4).
“We've all put in a lot of work during the offseason, so it feels good to win a regional title and to go into sectionals feeling way better than I did last year,” Zappas said.
“(Our) room works so hard. We all watch film and do a lot preparation before we go into tournaments, so the work is paying off,” Hilinski added.
The home fans were treated to watching Gianna Arzer claim the 130-pound title, her 100th varsity victory.
“I missed all of my freshman year with an injury, and nearly all of this year after surgery on my labrum back in July. To come back basically last week and win here at home is just a great feeling,” Arzer said.
Teammate Miranda Tellez (28-4) won at 145 pounds, while Round Lake senior and two-time state qualifier Riley Kongkaeow earned her second straight regional title at 100 pounds.
“It feels great to be back on the mat and to win another regional title,” said Kongkaeow (17-3) who was on the injured list for nearly two months.
Antioch sophomore Josie Blau proved to be too much for her opponents, pinning her way to a 170-pound title.
“I worked a lot in the offseason to improve my top position, and today that work paid off all day, especially in my final,” Blau said.
Blau pinned junior Lexi Rosenthal of Highland Park at 4:34 in the final.
Sophia Fortis continued her pin-happy postseason run that has now reached five straight after the fifth came in her 235-pound final with Omowonoula Fajimolu from Evanston.
The Maine South junior used up just 3:26 minutes to earn her second regional title. Fortis recorded a pair of falls two weeks ago to win another CSL crown.
“My approach and mindset is so much better than last season, and I've made more of a commitment to my training, so I've seen the benefit of all of that this season,” Fortis said.
Maine South freshman Katleyn Gallegos (18-3) pinned Antioch’s Londyn Lloyd (27-10) to win at 110 pounds.