Scouting DuPage County wrestling
Top teams: Montini, Glenbard North, Wheaton North, Glenbard West, Naperville North, Hinsdale Central, Downers Grove South, Glenbard East, Addison Trail, Fenton.
Top athletes: Addison Trail: Christian Arrellano, jr., 120; Guillermo Juarez, jr., 106; Jake Matthews, fr., 126; Brian Reyes, jr., 145; Nick Stamra, soph., 182. Downers Grove North: Nate Cummings, sr., 120; Jim Flavin, sr., 220; Quintan George, 170; Ethan Smith, sr, 285. Downers Grove South: Jacob Houlous, sr., 170; Dylan Knoch, jr., 132; Matt Straus, jr., 113; Sergio Villalobos, sr., 195. Fenton: Isaiah Brock, sr., 285; Dylan Butts, sr., 182; Anthony Park, sr., 170; Danny Ramirez, soph., 132. Glenbard East: Jesus Lopez, jr., 220; Cole Martin, sr., 160; Reese Martin, soph., 126; Alex Posada, jr., 145; Alec Wolff, sr., 182. Glenbard North: Abe Assad, jr., 170; Mershad Bashang, jr., 195; Bryan Esquival, jr., 126; Luke Kohout, sr., 152; Anthony Marre, sr., 160; George Marre, jr., 145; Quintin Terry, sr., 220. Glenbard South: Edin Ah, jr., 132; Miani Alexis, jr., 145; Adam Haushahn, sr., 195; Ivan Zuniga, soph., 138. Glenbard West: Aaron Castellanos, sr., 132; Catron Frazier, sr., 113; Peyton Nimsakont, sr., 145; Connor Skryd, sr., 220; Will Vesevick, sr., 138. Hinsdale Central: Liam Drury, sr., 145; Caleb Lagestee, sr., 170; Luke Skokna, jr., 160. Hinsdale South: Easa Aristizazal, sr., 145; Julian Kinsey, sr., 170; Derrick Singleton, soph., 113. IC Catholic Prep: Joey Bianchini, sr., 113; Victor Vargas, sr., 220. Lake Park: Anthony Gulyk, sr., 220; Demarco Lee, jr., 195; Vince Liebich, sr., 152; Zach Schleimer, sr., 182. Lisle: Connor Keabaugh, jr., 182; Jack Kelly, soph., 145; Kevin Paz, jr., 285; Charlie Waldusky, jr., 195; Zack Zidcuka, jr., 220. Metea Valley: Harsh Anchan, sr., 120; Josh LaBarbara, soph., 170; Phillip Sims, jr., 138; Jacob Tjards, sr., 182; Mekhi White, sr., 195. Montini: Will Lewan, sr., 152; Fidel Mayora, soph., 138; Joey Melendez, sr., 120; Matt Ortiz, jr., 160; Real Woods, sr., 126. Naperville Central: Tyler Driessens, soph., 106; Kyle Guttosch, jr., 113; Nick Keating, sr., 145; Jackson Punzel, jr., 182. Naperville North: Anthony Gallegos, sr., 138; Ben Kruk, sr., 120; Gabe Matar, sr., 170; John Simmelink, sr., 182; Lucas Van Poucke, sr., 126. Neuqua Valley: Kyle Borske, jr., 220; Jacob Boumans, jr., 170; Alec Castillo, sr., 195; Jake Mohler, jr., 152; Dennis Murphy, jr., 126; Robert Pena, jr., 285; Danny Sanderson, sr., 145; Koshal Shah, jr., 106. St. Francis: Ben Bougadis, jr., 126; Michael D'Orazio, sr., fr., 113; Vincent D'Orazio, sr., 132; Colin James, jr., 145; Danny Skold, jr., 220. Waubonsie Valley: Lucas Bratland, sr., 152; Evan Bruner, soph., 106, Matt Carmody, jr., 182; Michael Foster, jr., 160; Garrett St. Clair, jr., 220. West Chicago: Ernest Cardenas, sr.; Victor Castellanos, sr.; Chris Garcia, sr.; Jacob Hernendez, sr., Noah Kotke, sr.; Malik Millazo, sr.; Carlos Munos, sr.; Cosme Ramos, sr. Wheaton Academy: Derek Johanik, jr., 220; Connor Scanlan, sr. 160; Noah Szajkovics, soph., 126; Alex Ventimilla, fr., 113; Graham Wall, sr., 285. Wheaton North: Logan Balosky, fr., 106; Jeff Dowell, jr., 160; Natan Jara, jr., 189; Jaime Suarez, sr., 132; Wheaton Warrenville South: Peyton Berry, jr., 145; Preston Berry, soph., 138; Nata Dalan, sr., 160; Hunter Edwards, sr., 120; Ramiro Ferrer, sr., 220; Max Wilson, sr., 195; Willowbrook: Alex Bernardino, soph., 195; Tom Iozzo, soph., 152; Jack Jessen, sr., 182; Richie Scheelk, jr., 126; Zach Seymore, soph., 120. York: Alex Gutttierez, soph., 113; Kevon Robinson, jr., 195.
Scouting report: The surnames Roth, Behnke and Congenie occupy special status in the history of Willowbrook wrestling. Jessen was looking to add his name of undefeated state champions for the Villa Park school last February in the Class 3A championship match at 182 pounds. But Marian Catholic senior Kordell Norfleet denied Jessen a 51st consecutive victory. It was the second runner-up finish for Jessen, who signed a national letter of intent to wrestle at Northwestern next fall. An eight-time All-America in three disciplines at the famed Fargo national tournament, Jessen has one aim in mind for his senior year. "(Jessen) wants to be No. 1 in the nation," Willowbrook coach Brandon Murphy said. "He is top-ranked in some polls, (Nos.) 2 and 3 in other polls." Jessen has essentially averaged 50 wins during his first three years for the Warriors. "Statistically, he has been enormous for us. There's not a lot of secrets to success other than putting the time in and patience. He has put in the time and is always patient."
Montini is clearly the local team to focus on this winter. The top-five nationally ranked Broncos have six returning all-staters. Melendez, Woods and Lewan captured state championships at 113, 126 145 pounds, respectively. Ragusin was runner-up at 106 pounds; Mayora (145 pounds) and Ortiz (152) were third and fifth. "They'll be tough to beat as long as they stay healthy," former Montini luminary Mike Mucha - the new coach at the Neuqua Valley - said of his alma mater. "They're ranked fourth in the country," Metea Valley coach Claudio Torres said of the Broncos after a one-sided loss to Montini to open its season
Other than Jessen and the Montini sextet, the only other area returning state medalists in Class 3A are Downers Grove athletes Cummings (North) and Villalobos (South). But there is rarely a scarcity of talented wrestlers in the area. Multiple sectional qualifiers dot the landscape as the difficulty of even qualifying to the Class 3A finals in Champaign - let alone placing - is considered a tremendous accomplishment because Illinois is routinely considered top three in the nation for prep wrestling.
Naperville North coach Tom Champion has grand hopes for returning state qualifier Van Poucke. "The state finals," Champion said of his expectations for Van Poucke. "I would love to see four qualifiers and a state finalist."
The current school year marks the conclusion of the DuPage Valley Conference as a nine-time league. Storied power Glenbard North had its remarkable runs in league championships and regional titles ended by future DuKane Conference members Wheaton North and St. Charles East. Glenbard North senior Assad should be a leading contender for top honors at 170. The Panthers' Anthony Marre is scary at 152. Terry is yet another state-medalist threat for Glenbard North. Suarez looks to do damage for defending league champion Wheaton North at 138.
Edwards and Ferrer are state-worthy bets for WW South at near opposite ends of the weight spectrum. Naperville North and Metea Valley advanced Kruk, Matar, Sims and White out of the Batavia regional, arguably the toughest in the state. Keating and Guttosch achieved the same distinction for Naperville Central. The overall favorite is considered wide open in the DVC.
Waubonsie Valley will ride Aurora Central Catholic transfer St. Clair. Mucha has inherited eight returning starters at Neuqua Valley. Lake Park will look for senior leadership from Liebich, Schleimer and Gulyk. "They're all football players," Lake Park coach Anthony Cirrincione said. "I think all three will get to the state tournament. I think there's turnover everywhere (in the conference)."
"We are really hoping to win the conference tournament and advance as many guys in the postseason," Mucha said of his primary first-year aim.
The two divisions of the West Suburban Conference will undoubtedly garner attention this year. The leagues eschew conference tournaments as the regular-season dual meets are the sole criteria for declaring team champions. "I'm in favor of it," Downers South coach Sean Lovelace said. "There is not a team in the Gold or Silver that we don't see. We see enough of the teams already. It gives us a chance to go to another tournament." The Mustangs boast one of the top athletes in the area in Villalobos, third last year. "He is currently ranked No. 1, for what that is worth," Lovelace said. Cummings was sixth last year for Downers North at 106 pounds. With the titanic presence of Oak Park-River Forest invariably felt in the Silver, highly regarded Glenbard West will tab returning state qualifier Frazier as the team anchor. "He is coming in with confidence," Glenbard West coach Nick Posegay said of Frazier, a 113-pounder last year. "I don't think the weight-class jump will be that much of a problem for him. I think our senior-heavy team will be in the mix (for a Silver championship)."
For the smaller schools in DuPage County, IC Catholic Prep senior Bianchini won the gold medal in Class 1A at 113 pounds last year. Vargas was also all-state for the Knights with his sixth-place finish. Glenbard South, Wheaton Academy and St. Francis are looking to make noise in Class 2A.