Depth nets Libertyville title at Hawk invite

Depth prevailed in the Hawk Wrestling Invite on Saturday at Hoffman Estates.

Libertyville captured the team trophy with a score of 180 points. Lincoln-Way Central and Naperville Central tied for second with 164.

Libertyville coach Dale Eggert credited the Wildcats' victory to his competitors who battled for points in wrestle-backs after losing early, instead of to his individual champions.

"We had some guys lose matches I thought we'd get," Eggert said. "In the wrestle-backs we had several guys come back and get a lot of big wins."

Eggert pointed out that the Wildcats' two individual champions were not the most for one school at the meet. Harlem, which finished fourth, had three while Lincoln-Way Central and Naperville Central each had two.

What ultimately led to Libertyville's victory was 13 of a possible 14 wrestlers finishing in the top six of their weight classes.

"That's where we got it," Eggert said. "I'm sure a lot other teams had as many champs as we had and as many finalists as we had. But that's what did it, our all-around performance."

Eggert commended the performance of senior 285-pounder Jorge Arreola, who although he dropped his second match, picked up 3 pins en route to a sixth-place finish in the weight class.

"I just felt like I had a good chance to come back in the wrestle-backs and do something," Arreola said.

Arreola said it is always a good feeling to come away with a team crown at an invite.

"It shows we've got a really solid team," Arreola said. "We've got a couple champions, but we've got a lot of people placing in the top five."

The Wildcats' individual champions were senior Matt Bystol at 130 pounds and senior Josh Ronne at 171.

The match at 215 pounds saw a close battle between two of the state's best.

South Elgin's Jake Randich - who came in as the state's 10th-rated wrestler in his weight class - improved his record to 20-0 by winning a 4-2 decision over Libertyville's Luke Miller, who was rated fifth.

"I think it's huge, because that win should move me up a lot," Randich said. "It also gets me a better idea of knowing where I'm at."

Randich has a distant eye on the state meet and knows the win over Miller could help his seeding.

South Elgin finished sixth in the 12-team meet.

Champions Andy Kovalsky (140) and Adam Gebner (152) paced Naperville Central to its second-place finish.

Harlem's Sterling Hecox (189) was named the meet's outstanding wrestler.