Lisle defeats Walther Lutheran again
Having beaten Walther Lutheran by 34 points back in November, the Lions needed to repeat the feat to earn a berth in Saturday's Class A team wrestling quarterfinals from Tuesday's Lisle sectional.
"We felt pretty good coming in, but you still have to wrestle the match," Lisle coach John Davis said. "We wrestled them earlier in the year and had some success. They wrestled us tough. The score doesn't indicate the way the match went. There were some we came out on top and some they came out on top."
More often than not the Lions came out on top, scoring a 53-15 victory over the Broncos (18-4). They will meet PORTA from downstate Petersburg on Saturday at Moline's Wharton Field House. The Elite Eight moved from NIU's Convocation Center on Monday.
"They have a good dual-meet team," Walther Lutheran coach Bruce Tuomi said. "They didn't win a place at state, but they have a bunch of kids who are sectional place-winners and state qualifiers, so they're solid. They've got a chance. They've got a chance to get into the trophies."
The Lions (20-1) won 10 matches, getting bonus points on eight of them.
"I told the kids pins are important," Davis said. "We need pins, and if you have pins those 6 points make a heck of a lot more difference than 3. So any time you can get a pin, get those pin points because it makes it easier on us."
Lisle started with a pin at 112 pounds from Brian Reese, got a technical fall at 119 from Matt Rafacz and then another pin from Adam Gleason at 125. Henry Yan's decision at 130 made the team score 20-0.
"I thought we scrapped pretty well. A couple of matches could have gone either way," Tuomi said. "Last time we won three matches, we were hoping to win five or six."
Matt Nigro's pin of Michael Branda at 160 made the score 35-6, and the Lions could just about make their plans for Moline. After Walther Lutheran's William Jenkins and Larry Barajaz won their matches, the Lions finished with three pins, by Ryan Burris at 215, Gio Esposito at 285 and Brandon Wolak at 103.
"My deal is just to not give up, to keep working hard," said Esposito, a senior. "It's a team effort now. Individuals are over with, so my goal is to win and get my team get downstate."
Saturday's Class A team wrestling schedule
Quarterfinals, 11 a.m.
Illinois Valley Central vs. Herrin
Macomb vs. Stillman Valley
Wilmington vs. Vandalia
Lisle vs. PORTA
Semifinals, 2 p.m.
Third-place and championship matches, 6 p.m.
All matches at Wharton Field House, Moline
All Lisle had to do was follow through.