Girls wrestling: Hampshire tourney produces plenty of highlights
An underdog mentality fueled Natalie Corona during her run to the finals at the Whip-Pur Women’s Classic in Hampshire on Saturday.
Entering as the No. 2 seed in the 145-pound weight class, Corona breezed through her first two bouts, pinning her opponents in less than one minute. It was more of the same in the championship, as the McHenry senior took down Lincoln-Way Central’s Ella Giertuga, the No. 1 seed, and pinned her in 30 seconds to win the title.
“I was seeded second and I knew I had to go out and wrestle hard,” said Corona, who credited her double leg takedown as a key to her success on Saturday. “I’m having fun this season and that’s my goal. My team did a great job of supporting me and everyone was really uplifting. My main goal is to go out and have fun.”
Corona was one of several McHenry County-area girls who earned first-place finishes in the 34-team tournament. Hampshire had a trio of winners including Stella Piazza (120) and returning IHSA state medalist Samantha Diehl (190). Both wrestlers won by pin, with Piazza beating Montini’s Sarah Bell and Diehl wrangling two takedowns before a third period pin of Kaneland’s Sadie Kinsella.
“I’ve wrestled Sadie a lot and we’ve gone back and forth,” said Diehl, who placed third at last year’s IHSA state finals in Bloomington. “We were partners at nationals and I knew it would be a hard match. I like to capitalize on the stuff my opponents do. I tried to put her in bad positions and I got caught once with a reversal, but I knew it would be a good match and it was.”
Crystal Lake Central’s Cait Jones, a regional champion last year, won the 155-pound title with four consecutive pins. One of three Tigers wrestling in the tournament, Jones, the No. 2 seed, knocked off No. 1 seed Nikol Orendarchuk of Wheeling with a second period pin. A reversal early in the period helped Jones seal the victory.
“My approach was to take it slow because I’ve been pacing a little too fast in my matches,” said Jones, who cited her hip toss as a key technique. “I paced myself through my matches and I took time in between matches to recover. I got through my matches as fast as I could. I was really good defensively and offensively.”
Annalee Aarseth brought home the 115-pound championship for Crystal Lake South, earning back-to-back pins before snatching a trio of pivotal takedowns during her 9-2 win against Metea Valley’s Janiya Moore in the finals. Aarseth, a returning state finalist from last year, took Moore down twice in the second period of her win.
“I stayed focused the whole time and I was against another high-level competitor,” Aarseth said. “I kept my mind focused on my techniques instead of her techniques. I always went for the first shot. I was looking for setups on my sweep singles and double legs and I zoned in on making those shots as perfect as possible.”
In the final championship bout of the evening, Richmond-Burton’s Madelyn Peterie dominated the third period of her victory against Zion-Benton’s Emily Ortiz at 130. Peterie, the No. 3 seed, notched three of her four takedowns in the third period to score a 16-7 major decision over Ortiz, the No. 1 seed in her weight bracket.
“I just have to be grateful for all of the opportunities I have to wrestle and how the hard matches are what make me better,” said Peterie, who went 4-0 with three pins Saturday. “I need the hard matches to make me better and I need to stay positive about everything. I like my doubles and the basics worked really well.”
Woodstock co-op was the highest-scoring area team, placing fifth with 98 points. Brianna Crown (155), Hannah Olsen (130) and Danica LaTessa (125) took third for the Blue Streaks, who landed one winner (Keegan Kruse - 145 B) and two runner-up finishes in Zoie Peters (155 B) and Charlotte McMahon-Thomas (120 B).
McHenry took sixth place with 93 points. Alexa Colin-Garcia (110) finished second and Brooklynn Anderson (190) placed third for the Warriors, who finished one spot ahead of Hampshire. Led by Diehl, Piazza and first-place winner Carly Salgado (100 B), the Whip-Purs placed seventh with 90.5 points. Annabelle Mueller (105), KyLynn Larkin (100 B) and Molly Ashfield (145 B) each finished second.
Despite having just five wrestlers, Richmond-Burton took 10th with 64 points. Brooklyn Peterie (135) and Allison Schultz (170) both placed fourth, while Breanna Warren (120) finished sixth for the Rockets. Crystal Lake South, which placed 13th with 56 points, had two first-place girls in Aarseth and Ella Hall (120 B).
Jacobs and Marengo tied for 22nd with 38 points each. Nichole Baginski (4th - 120 B), Julia Felton (5th - 110) and Aaliyah Guichon (6th - 105) were top finishers for the Golden Eagles, while Brie Linak (3rd - 120 B), Alyssa Larson (4th - 170 B) and Charlie Bown (6th - 170) earned top honors for the Indians.
Dundee-Crown and Crystal Lake Central tied for 25th with 30 points apiece. Addison Perez (4th - 110) and Violet Wheatley (5th - 130) led the Chargers and Jones was the lone top finisher for the Tigers. Huntley finished 33rd and Cary-Grove followed in 34th. Shelby Pijut (3rd - 145 B) earned high honors for the Trojans.