Boys wrestling: Crystal Lake Central celebrates senior night by beating Jacobs

Logan Gough wanted to go out with a bang.

Wrestling in the final home dual match of his career at Crystal Lake Central, Gough immediately went to work during his match against Jacobs 285-pounder Javier Ramirez. Pushing the pace and using superior size to his advantage, Gough quickly pinned Ramirez in the first period to seal a 47-31, senior-night victory for the Tigers.

“I knew what I was going for,” Gough said. “I like the body a lot, because it’s really easy for me to take the smaller guys down. I had like 60 pounds on him, and I had the advantage of being stronger and bigger, so I tried taking him down in the first period. I like a lot of underhook offense, and snatch singles work well for me.”

Five seniors earned varsity starts for the Tigers (16-7, 6-2 FVC), who filled a full lineup and capitalized on four forfeits from the Golden Eagles (2-12, 2-5 FVC). Dylan Ramsey was the first of two Crystal Lake Central seniors to win on Tuesday, building an early lead before executing a quick throw to pin Gavin Greco at 126.

“After that first takedown, I knew I had to get to my attacks,” said Ramsey, whose throws have been a staple of his arsenal since last season. “I went to the upper body, I felt it, and I threw it for the pin. You can just feel for it. When they start pushing, I let it rip. Last year, I used it all of the time, and it became my go-to.”

Nate Kozlowski added a pin of Daniel Delbosque at 157 to aid the Tigers, who will close out their conference slate with a road dual at Dundee-Crown on Thursday. While Jacobs was unable to overcome four forfeits, the Golden Eagles led 10-0 after two bouts. Travis Wilgosiewicz shined at 106, using double legs and ankle picks to compile six takedowns in his 19-4 tech fall over Colton Legan.

“I kept my stance low, and I kept going for the legs, and it kept working,” Wilgosiewicz said. “I looked for the ankle pick at the end, and that felt good. I’ve been using them a lot this year, and I’ve used a blast double in almost all of my matches. We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning, and we’ve been working hard in practice.”

Nathan Flaskamp followed with a tech fall at 113, scoring bonus points on turns to earn an 18-1 victory against Jair Viveros and give Jacobs a 10-point advantage. Although Ramsey’s pin at 126 put Crystal Lake Central up 16-12, Ben Arbotante answered with a a pin at 132 for the Golden Eagles. Keeping the arm of Brandon Carbone, Arbotante maneuvered for a pin in the second period.

Absences at the middle weights proved costly for Jacobs, which forfeited matches at 144, 150 and 165. With Daniel Zuelhke finishing a 19-3 tech fall over Andrew Vormittag at 138 and Kozlowski pinning at 157, Crystal Lake Central rallied off five consecutive victories to take a 41-16 lead.

Despite being out of contention for the dual win, Jacobs showed plenty of fight down the stretch. At 175, Jesus Reyes erased a 4-0 deficit against Ethan Stroh, nearly pinning in the third period and winning via 10-5 decision. One bout later, Brian Ayala stunned the home crowd with a last-second victory at 190. Trailing 10-5, Ayala scrambled to pin Luke Hartman with four seconds left in the bout.

“I was gassed, but I had to do what I had to do,” said Ayala, whose win put the Jacobs bench and fans on their feet. “It was just the adrenaline. Everybody was screaming at me, and I knew I had to do something. It means everything when my teammates support me.”

Lucas Retzler kept the Golden Eagles moving at 215, working for a second-period pin against Jack Kassner and completing a string of three straight wins. Makoa Evert (120), Daniel Snow (144), Nick Marchese (150) and Nick Zuehlke (165) all received forfeits for Crystal Lake Central.

Jacobs will face Crystal Lake South on the road Thursday before hosting Burlington Central next Wednesday.