Wrestling: Regional scouting, Northwest

Wrestling: Regional scouting

at GrantWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday (1 p.m. finals)

Advancement: Top three individual finishers advance to Barrington sectional; Team champion advances to Rockford East dual-team sectional.

Guest list: Barrington, Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South, Dundee-Crown, Grant, Lake Zurich, McHenry, Round Lake.

Lowdown: Fox Lake has provided hours of entertainment for many who make the drive north to enjoy the water and sun. For other visitors, such as the Barrington wrestling team, this venue has not been so welcoming in the past.

Perhaps that will change this weekend.

The Broncos, despite some terrific challengers here with Lake Zurich and McHenry, enter the regional as the favorite to advance to the dual team sectional following a strong effort at the Mid-Suburban League tournament, where the Broncos scored 281 points and had five individual champions.

"We wrestled really well last weekend, and Wheeling was just a little bit better than us," said Barrington coach Dave Udchik. "But if we come ready to roll, which I believe we will, then there's a very good chance that we advance from here and into the dual-team sectionals in a few weeks."

Barrington is wary of both Lake Zurich and McHenry, which boast enough talent to make the team picture volatile.

"Lake Zurich will give us a difficult time, especially at the upper weights," said Udchik.

Kyle Fleming (195, 24-4), North Suburban Conference champ Josh Dyer (220) and big-time pinner Mike Bertoia (16-2) at heavyweight will gobble up valuable points along the way for LZ.

McHenry has a new head coach and several young and talented newcomers on the roster to go along with a couple of quality veterans, especially Lucas Busse (120, 27-1).

The 182-pound weight class will be one to watch, with a trio of state-ranked athletes ready to go.

The Broncos' Dan Rasmussen (No. 8) will have all he can handle with McHenry's freshmen phenom Jaden Glauser (30-0), rated at No. 6 this week.

"Ras has a tough battle ahead of him, as does Alex Crook (220, 29-8) and Jake Cysewski at 152," says Udchik.

Cysewski (33-8) along with Kai Conway (106, 27-7), Jarid Shinhoster (132, 31-4), Markus Hartman (145, 35-1) and Jake Meyer (170, 28-8) were MSL champs last weekend, and this group possesses a full array of weapons capable of adding valuable bonus points to the Broncos scoresheet along the way.

at LeydenWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday (2 p.m. finals)

Advancement: Top three individuals advance to Conant sectional; team champion advances to TBA dual-team sectional.

Guest list: Leyden, Addison Trail, Glenbard West, Oak Park-River Forest, Proviso East, Proviso West, Schurz, Wheaton North, York.

Lowdown: As long as reigning 3A state champion Oak Park-River Forest is assigned to this venue, it will be tough for anybody else to realistically think about advancing as a team. The Huskies are not at the same level they've had in recent seasons, but make no mistake - Paul Collins' team is still a handfull. OPRF is led by 2016 state champ and three-time state medalist Jason Renteria at 132 pounds and is clearly the team to beat despite the presence of another high-profile club, Wheaton North, which ended Glenbard North's 18-year run on DuPage Valley Conference titles last weekend.

For an inexperienced Leyden team, most of the athletes will be first-time postseason competitors. An important exception is senior Shane Dziadosz (23-9), who was one win away from getting downstate a year ago.

"Getting that close motivated me to work harder than I've ever done before, and I can honestly say I feel like I'm peaking at just about the right time of the year with regional about to begin," said the three-year veteran, who won 32 times at 113 pounds last season. "I've gotten bigger and stronger through lifting, and head coach John Kading and our assistants have supported and pushed me all throughout to get me ready for the postseason."

Dziadosz, along with Riley Lomenick (Wheaton North), will be chasing the two-time state medalist and current No. 2 state-rated Jaime Hernandez (OPRF) for the top spot.

at StreamwoodWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday (2 p.m. finals)

Advancement: Top three individuals advance to Conant sectional; team champion advances to TBA dual-team team sectional.

Guest list: Conant Elk Grove, Hoffman Estates, Maine West, Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Lake Park, Streamwood.

Lowdown: This one shapes up as another fight to the finish between Conant and Prospect - just as last year, when the Cougars were unable to overcome the one-two punch of Matt Wroblewski, Alex Koczwara and two more Knights champions as Prospect prevailed 196-189.5.

This season, both teams finished off the pace of MSL champion Wheeling after both finished second in their respective divisional races.

"Not winning our division or conference is a little disappointing, but the one that really counts is regionals," said Wroblewski (25-0) the No. 2-rated 220-pounder in the state who will be after a third consecutive regional title. "And if we get this one, we have a chance of getting back downstate for the third straight year.

"We'll be at full strength with Andrew (Baysinger, 106, 24-4) after missing conference, so there's no reason we can't win this regional.

Conant coach Chad Hay, known to spend hours number-crunching each weight bracket at tournament time, was at it again the day after his Cougars finished third at the MSL tourney.

"Prospect should have five No. 1 seeds, us three or four, while we could have the edge with No. 2 seeds," said Hay. "It's at a handful of other weights that will be key for us, and I would think for Tom (Whalen, Prospect's coach) as well."

The Rolling Meadows trio of Jackson Kohlberg (126, 30-3), Liam Collins (138, 24-6) and Michael Womeldorf (152, 17-3) each are on a mission to get downstate after falling just short a year ago, making them perhaps even more dangerous than usual.

Luke Badger (Lake Park, 106, 20-5) is a two-time DVC champ, while the heavyweight division led by MSL runner-up Anthony Greco (Elk Grove, 22-4) along with Jordan Ryan (Streamwood, 14-5, third at the UEC tournament) and Ryan Edwards (Hoffman Estates, 18-10) will make their statement of intent, while gobbling up valuable points.

Hay will look for a bounce-back from senior Eric Hominac (27-6), who was sent out of the front draw in the MSL semifinals, and was forced to settle for third overall at 170.

"That loss in the semis will help Eric realize he cannot have a match like that in the next couple of weeks - he'll bounce back, I'm sure," said Hay.

MSL champ Nolan Warner (Schaumburg, 195, 28-8) will look to keep in going for another week as he begins his quest to get downstate in two weeks.

The arrow continues to point upward for Chris Brassel over at Maine West.

Just the other day, the Warriors program celebrated the naming of four competitors to the Central Suburban League's ll-conference team. And Brassel, in his second year coaching the Maine West program, expects all to advance to the Conant sectional.

"There's no doubt the 40-plus matches that both Arsalan Afshar (126, 22-9) and Jayton Hall (138, 24-8) helped take them to another level, while for Sage (Shanahan, 182, 16-11) it's just all about him being a tough, hard working kid," said Brassel.

Shanahan plans on entering the Marines next fall, and is in the process of getting the necessary paperwork put together.

at WheelingWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday (2 p.m. finals)

Advancement: Top three individuals advance to Barrington sectional; team champion advances to Rockford East dual-team sectional.

Guest list: Buffalo Grove, Fremd, Hersey, Palatine, Wheeling, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Loyola, New Trier.

Lowdown: With a lineup jam-packed with 30-match winners, Wheeling is poised to win its second consecutive regional crown and a berth in the dual-team sectionals later this month.

The Wildcats outscored MSL West champ Barrington with a strong overall record to win their third MSL title in program history last weekend. In doing so, Wheeling sent a message that it means business.

"Winning the MSL was a big one for all of us, and the plan coming into the tournament was to win as many of our matches, and with bonus points, and it won't be any different at regionals," said Wheelign senior Zach Yfantis (220, 35-6).

Early in the season, Yfantis won several matches at 285 for coach Neal Weiner before moving to 220, where he's excelled.

Wheeling has six returning regional champs in its lineup this weekend, including Mason Skloot (126, 31-10) and Jaylen Shaw (160, 28-4), who both will be after their third straight regional titles.

Fremd enters the tournament with two MSL champs from last weekend - junior Cole Riemer (33-3) and senior Zach Nemec (33-1), who were far and away the best at 138 and 285, respectively. Other leading Vikes are Quinn Bergles (160, 25-7) and Adam Kemp (152, 22-11). Fremd hopes to stay ahead of New Trier, which recently finished second at the CSL tourney.

The Trevians feature conference champs Jake Tanger (126) and Patrick Ryan (138), who is a 2016 state qualifier, as well as senior Jake Lowell, No. 12 in the state at 195 pounds.

Seniors Jonathan Alanis (Palatine, 23-9) and Sam Haro (22-8) of Buffalo Grove offer the best hope to advance for their young and inexperienced teams.

Class 2A at Grayslake CentralWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday (1:30 p.m. finals)

Advancement: Top three individuals advance to Wauconda sectional; team champion advances to Crystal Lake Central dual-team sectional.

Guest list: St. Viator, Antioch, Carmel, Grayslake Central, Grayslake North, Lakes, North Chicago, Vernon Hills, Wauconda.

Lowdown: St. Viator and the rest here will get a close-up view of favorite Antioch and its two potential state champions, Patrick Schoenfelder and George Bessette. Those two are each rated No. 1 in the state at their respective weight classes and are clear choices to hoist a state championship trophy later this month in Champaign.

St. Viator's James (Tony) Valentino hopes to do the same in the heavyweight division, and after his wonderful performance last week to capture his first East Suburban Catholic Conference title, it appears the senior is primed for a long, and successful state series run.

"It's one match and tournament at a time, followed by the same plan for sectionals, then state," said Valentino (30-0). "And if it all comes together, I feel it's a reasonable expectation to win it all downstate."

St. Viator junior Jake Wolf (25-7) celebrated his first conference championship as well after an eye-opening season with head coach Jason Churak.

"It wasn't easy at times during my first year as a sophomore on the varsity, but it turned out to be the best thing for me, and now I'm a conference champ - it feels great," said the 170-pounder.

"Jake is really something," said Churak. "He's a terrific teammate, a great person in and out of the room."

Churak is banking on the return of Jake Debartolo to bolster the chance of a top-three finish in the team race, while a bounce-back effort from Mike Dziedzic (17-12) at 152 pounds is expected from the Lions head coach.

No. 3-ranked Alex Moran (Grayslake North, 35-4) will look to avenge an 11-5 defeat to Schoenfelder early on. And Grayslake North's Joe Arroyo (34-1), ranked No. 2 at 113, begins his run toward a second consecutive state medal.

Sophomore Alex Cramer of Grayslake Central (27-1) has excelled throughout the season, and is currently rated as the No. 6 145-pounder.

- Mike Garofola