Antioch, Wauconda have good days at regionals

Where's Tanner Jurinek?

Not listed in the Class 2A Grayslake Central wrestling regional program.

No matter. The Antioch sophomore - unseeded in the 126-pound bracket and a Sequoit who had never grappled before his freshman year - earned plenty of recognition Saturday, defeating the Nos. 2 and 1 seeds in his only matches to capture one of Antioch's six individual titles.

Jurinek had entered the postseason with a 12-18 record.

"I was a little nervous before the meet, but I was looking forward to competing and working hard," admitted the low-key Jurinek, who edged top-seeded Joey Crudele of Grayslake Central 6-5 in the final at 126.

"Imagine," Antioch coach Wilbur Borrero said, "what he'd be able to do after putting in a full offseason of wrestling. Tanner is gutsy and talented."

Antioch, the team, is formidable and decorated. And, effective Saturday afternoon, the reigning Grayslake Central regional champion. Sequoits Edgar Albino (120 pounds), Caleb Nobiling (138), Ben Vazquez (145), Evan Vazquez (152) and Briar Russell (220) also emerged victorious at the seven-team gathering, as Borrero's crew racked up 216 points to runner-up Grayslake Central's 136.

Vernon Hills took third (105), followed by Grayslake North (95.5), Carmel Catholic (78), Lakes (74) and Lake Forest (61.5).

Antioch totaled 12 sectional qualifiers in all. The top three finishers in each of the 14 weight classes will vie for state berths at next weekend's Deerfield sectional, and Antioch was the lone team to advance to the Class 2A Woodstock North dual team sectional Feb. 22.

"We talk regional all season," Borrero said. "It's our main goal every year, doing well (at the start of the state series). It's not about going undefeated in the regular season or seeking individual glory."

Grayslake Central reached five title bouts Saturday, winning four of them. Sophomore Anthony Alanis (42-4) kicked off the finals session by downing Antioch freshman Gavin Hanrahan 9-4 at 106 pounds.

Alanis led 2-1 after one period and 4-2 after two.

"Third period, I turned it up," Alanis said. "That's when I try to break people. Stamina and heart - you have to have both in the final period."

Rams coach and Hersey product Matt Joseph also received championship efforts from Tyler Weidman (113 pounds), Aaron Cramer (170) and Matty Jens (182). Cramer (41-1) won via fall at 1:15 and at 1:34 in his semi and final, respectively.

"My message to the team was, 'Be aggressive, put up the points and don't get caught up in an opponent's record,' " said Joseph, the Class AA state runner-up at 189 pounds in 2001. "Everybody started 0-0 today."

Vernon Hills senior and 160-pound champ Will Ludolph (2-0 Saturday, 21-4 overall) needed only a combined time of 1:25 to record a pair of pins. The Cougar doused foes' hopes with his mighty fireman's carry takedown.

The regional's top seed at 195, senior Jake Psaras (29-8), collected Vernon Hills' other gold.

Lakes senior John Sullivan (20-3) solved Vernon Hills junior Max Accettura (33-2) 3-1 in the final at 285, and Lake Forest's Seth Digby defeated Antioch junior Anthony Streib 2-0 for first place at 132.

"I'm proud of our team," said Antioch's Nobiling, who used an explosive move to pin Carmel's Ethan Onan 36 seconds after the start of the 138-pound final. "Our coach is all about encouraging unity.

"We showed unity today."

<h3 class="breakHead">Class 2A at Crystal Lake Central: </h3>

Crystal Lake Central showed off its top talent and depth to win its regional on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers had five wrestlers win individual regional championships and took advantage of strong performances in the semifinals to take first place in its Class 2A regional.

Crystal Lake Central finished first with 205 points while Wauconda finished second with 161.5.

The top three finishers at each weight on Saturday advance to the Class 2A Deerfield individual sectional next weekend.

Greco Rendon handed the Tigers their first regional of the day at 132 pounds when the No. 2-seeded wrestler took down top-seeded Ryan Koelblinger with a pin. No. 3-seeded Cayden Parks earned an upset in the semifinals at 145 with a 6-3 decision over Woodstock's Alex Iversen and then went on to beat Wauconda's top-seeded Colin Husko with a medical forfeit.

Lucas Galdine led the championships off with a win at 106 for Wauconda. The sophomore used pins to win both his semifinal and championship matchups.

Cole Porten won the 138 title by winning with a pin in his semifinal matchup and then a 6-0 decision in the final. Gavin Rockney (113) and Cooper Daun (126) both finished in second place for Wauconda.

Porten returned to the mat after battling a back injury this season. Moments like Saturday were a reminder that he's getting closer to the level he wants to compete at and is grateful to be in a position to win a regional title.

"It felt pretty good," Polten said. "I came back from a back injury, now I'm getting back into the swing of things again. I'm feeling good this year."

Prairie Ridge won two regional titles and had a second-place finish. Mikey Meadows used a 5-2 decision to win his semifinal matchup at 126 before he defeated Wauconda's Daun with a 3-0 decision in the title match. Eddie Ferree earned a second-place finish at 160.

- Michal Dwojak