Wheeling powers to MSL tourney lead
Wheeling will arrive at the second day of the Mid-Suburban League wrestling championships in a confident mood thanks to a 27.5-point lead on nearest challenger Rolling Meadows after the first day of competition.
But don't expect to Wildcats to lapse into complacency. Wheeling coach Neal Weiner will remind his athletes before they step onto the mats this morning of a much bigger lead the Wildcats held earlier in the season at the Glenbrook South tournament. And how the Wildcats lost their lead.
"We were up something like 40 points over Grant (at) Glenbrook South and ended up finishing second," said Weiner. "Today things went pretty well for us and we have 10 of 14 alive in the championship rounds. But there's a lot of wrestling still ahead of us and too much can happen during the course of a tournament like this."
After leading the entire day on Friday, the Wildcats' point total stands at 87.5 heading into today's action, with Rolling Meadows next at 60 points, Prospect in third (55.5) and Palatine fourth (53.0). The Pirates had a terrific second round as the unseeded quartet of Eddie Lopez (112), Chris Dimeo (125), Zach Zordan (135) and Ryan Cortez upset seeded opponents to help keep things interesting throughout the evening session.
MSL West champion Hoffman Estates rounds out the top five teams with 52 points.
Consolation bracket matches begin at 10 a.m. today, with semifinal bouts set to start immediately after. First-, third- and fifth-place matches are scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.
The top two seeds in all 14 weight divisions earned a spot in the semifinals, including Palatine senior and top seed Ross Grande (32-2) at 152 pounds. That weight class also features Buffalo Grove sophomore Jamie Zabrin (30-3), who faces Wheeling senior Matt Smith (24-3).
"It's all about working harder than the other guy and going at him for six minutes," said Grande. "It's what I thrive on."
The trio of talent at 152 mashed the competition to reach the semifinals, Grande by technical-fall, Smith with a major and Zabrin also via a 12-0 major decision.
"Facing Mark will be tough, but I'll need to get (in) on him, and finish my shots because he's technically so sound and has such heavy hips," said Zabrin.
Over at 140 pounds, things are shaping up to be a fan favorite for many after two of the top four seeds feed in the second round in one of the deepest groups here this weekend.
Top seed Tommy Wadas (140) beat Fremd's Brad Lurie by fall to advance and face David Aranda (21-5), who'd upended No. 4 Andrew Mercer of Prospect 3-2. No. 2 seed Robert Pechacek (27-2) of Elk Grove has a date with Demetrious Mitchell (19-13) of Hersey, who surprised No. 3 Adam Wright of Conant 5-3.
"After wrestling most of the season (up) at 152, I feel like I am my natural weight and ready to compete with anyone," said Wadas, who with his fall moved his record to 24-9.
Aranda drew even with Mercer at 2-2 after a second period takedown and looked to be prepared to go more than six minutes if need be as the final buzzer sounded to end his match.
"I finally feel 100 percent fit. I really think that was the difference in (that) match," said Aranda.
Wadas' teammate Andrew Petit (26-11) truly earned his place in the semifinals at 160 as the No. 3 seed first edged Brett Opitz (Fremd) 6-5 in his tourney opener after trailing 5-3. Later the Hawks' junior used a late penalty point for stalling to get by Dan Sutton of Palatine 2-1.
Next up for Petit is No. 2 seed Kyle Czarnecki (30-2) of Buffalo Grove.
Sure to be among the top stories before the day is through will be potential matches between state-ranked stars Peter Zintak (34-1) of Prospect and Thomas Davidson (32-2) of Rolling Meadows, who are on a finals collision course at 189, as well as Schaumburg's P.J. Starnes (32-2) and Joe Kent (Wheeling, 32-3).
Another to keep an eye on is a possible rematch of Czarnecki and Abel Rangel (21-3) of Wheeling to see if the Buffalo Grove junior can erase a 5-4 defeat from earlier this season.