Promising starts for Wheeling, Rolling Meadows

Two of the top wrestling clubs in the Mid-Suburban East flexed their collective muscle Thursday night in conference double-dual action at host Hoffman Estates.

Wheeling and Rolling Meadows, both of whom hope to make a run at division favorite and reigning champ Prospect before the regular season comes to an end, impressed by defeating both Fremd and Hoffman Estates in the conference openers for all four teams.

"It was a long night, but a pretty good one," said Wheeling coach, Neal Weiner whose 8-0-1 Wildcats ended their evening by rolling over the home side 69-and earned a hard-fought 36-24 triumph against Fremd. "Dan (Ruettiger) has done a great job over there at Fremd, so we knew that would be a tough dual. But it's still early in the season, and we're a little rusty with a lot of things, including our position (which) we'll continue to work on in order to improve."

The Wildcats' dual with Fremd (3-3-0) was first clearly in favor of the Vikings, who raced out to a 20-9 advantage fueled by consecutive victories powered by MSL and regional champion Alex Jacobs (220) and big man Zach Nemec. They finished a 20-9 run with a technical fall (from Jacobs) and a 3-2 decision (by Nemec, over Zach Yfantis).

"There were some good matches against Wheeling as well as Rolling Meadows in our second dual, but everyone here knows it's early and there's still a lot of work to do," said Ruettiger. "So far, I am seeing improvement each time out from these guys, especially our young guys who just need time on the mats to improve at this level."

With the bout even at 24-24, freshman JP Smith provided the victory which turned the tide for the Wildcats, firing back from a 4-0 deficit against Grant Barwacz to edge the 2015 sectional qualifier 6-5 at 132 pounds.

"That was a great match by both guys, and for JP to turn his opponent two times in that third period to finally grab the lead was really something for him and our team," said Weiner.

A pin from Triststan Guaman closed out the Vikings for good.

Fremd was involved in another tight battle when it took on Rolling Meadows afterward. The Vikings trailed at times by as much as 11 but had drawn within 29-23 following a technical fall victory by Barwacz. But Meadows' Liam Collins (138) and sophomore Michael Womeldorf (145) dashed Fremd's hopes with back-to-back decisions.

"We wrestled hard with Rolling Meadows, but when you've got two holes in your lineup and give away (12) points because of it, it's going to be tough some nights when you're up against a good team like Rolling Meadows," said Ruettiger.

Meadows, meanwhile, was pleased to have enough pieces in place to get the outcome it was after.

"We got a real gutsy performance from Jackson Kohlberg with his decision to put us up by eleven (29-18)," said Rolling Meadows coach John Bassler, "and the guys we needed pins and bonus points from throughout the lineup came through - and others who stayed away from getting pinned or majored made their contribution to the cause. That's how you win duals."

The Mustangs (3-0-0) were without both MSL champ Jacob Holm and two-time state qualifier Tulga Zuunbayan, who came over from Wheeling this season on a transfer.

"If we can stay healthy and at full strength, we might have a lineup that can challenge Prospect and others in our conference, but we've got to get there first," said Bassler, who received word that Holm will be cleared for action when the team travels to Elk Grove for a Friday dual.

Nick Delporte (170) enjoyed a big night with a pair of falls, one coming when the junior bumped up to 182 against Fremd. Collins went 2-0, as did Womeldorf.

Heavyweight Maciej Pogorzelski dropped a 6-0 bout with Nemec in what might be a preview of the championship match at 285 pounds at the MSL tournament in mid-February.

Despite being humbled by both its opponents on Thursday, Hoffman Estates coach Tony Ganas was still quite pleased with his group, whose record now stands at 3-12.

"I thought we competed really hard against Rolling Meadows in our opener," Ganas said. "We had a chance in a couple of our matches, especially in two of those overtime losses, but the way I look at those is that you have to be in a tight overtime or ultimate tie-breaker in order to gain experience, and for those young guys in those matches, I really feel like they learned a valuable lesson."

In the Hawks' 49-15 loss Rolling Meadows, Hoffman Estates got wins from D'Leon Boykin (7-5) at 152, and later, falls from Seth Caro (113) and Omar Quadri (126).

Against Wheeling, Hawks heavyweight Nathan Edwards surprised the Cats' Yfantis with a pin at 1:27.

"I asked Nathan why he wrestled so much better in his second match of the night (against Wheeling) instead of the first, and he told me he went out more relaxed and just wanted to have fun."

"I told the guys you work very hard during the week in and out of the room, and the reward is to compete and have fun at the end of the week. And when one of your leaders says those types of things, everyone hears it and it becomes a positive thing in the room.

"We've got a great bunch of guys on this roster, and we're beginning to turn the corner to see a light at the end of the tunnel."

The Hawks will host Barrington on Friday in an MSL West division dual.