St. Charles East takes 4th at UEC meet
None now.
That was the answer Neuqua Valley wrestling coach Mick Ruettiger gave when asked how many consecutive years his program had owned the top spot in the Upstate Eight Conference.
That's because Lake Park snapped the Wildcats' six-year reign by winning four weight classes at Saturday's league meet at Waubonsie Valley and also adding a pair of seconds and three third-place efforts to surprise Neuqua 222-211.5.
The Lancers took advantage of the Wildcats' subpar first round at the meet and clinched their first league crown in more than 20 years when heavyweight Devon Smith (26-4) pinned St. Charles East's Rafael Flores in 2:17 to earn his first UEC crown and the school's first team title since the 1980s.
"This is sweet," Smith said after getting a congratulatory hug from his grandmother. "We had to do this. It's been about 25 years and we all had to do what we needed to do."
The final round started well for Lake Park as sophomore Jonny Verlotta defeated South Elgin's 6-1 in the title bout at 103, and Austin Schoen followed with a major decision over South Elgin's Kevin Gianaris at 112. Joe Kubica claimed a hard-earned crown at 152 for Lake Park after edging Neuqua's Luke Pigott 3-2 in the semis and then outlasting St. Charles East's Nick Scimeca 7-5 in overtime in the championship bout.
Neuqua fared well in the final round where Matthew Cavallaris (119), Alex Cizek (145), Nick Proctor (160) and Andy Spangler - now 35-2 after pinning South Elgin's Tom Randich - each claimed titles. But the Wildcats dug themselves too deep a hole to the Lancers after Saturday morning's first round.
"My hats off to Lake Park. They did a nice job today," Ruettiger said.
South Elgin (183.5), St. Charles East (169) and Waubonsie Valley (120.5) each had a pair of conference champs and placed 3-4-5, respectively, in the team standings.
At 140, Tyler Toczek of South Elgin defeatred Larkin's Joey Rodriguez 7-2 in the finals to improve 29-8.
"I felt great," Toczek said. "We didn't have anything yesterday so I was well rested. I wrestled all three of the kids earlier this year and beat them so I felt pretty confident."
Last year Toczek was fourth at 145 pounds.
"I got that quick takedown and rode him out the rest of the match. I had to stay smart against him. This was my first goal. Now I want to win regionals."
At 130, Nick Ruffino of St. Charles East, who opened with a pin of East Aurora's Jonathan Miranda, then had an 8-3 win over St. Charles North's Tim Noverini 8-3 in the semis and then beat Lake Park's Robert Babej 11-6 in the finals.
"I got seeded second and it kind of made me mad," he said. "So I came in knowing I had to work my butt off."
At last year's UEC meet, Ruffino also beat Babej in the finals, that time at 125 pounds.
"He got that first takedown which was kind of a bad call, but you've got to bounce back from things like that and just keep wrestling,"
"As soon as I reversed him that first time I think I broke him. Seedings don't mean anything. It's who steps up to wrestle that day. I came out and wrestled my style."
What's next for Ruffino?
"Going into regionals last year I was psyched. Winning conferece gives you that boost of energy," he said. "I have tough kids in the regionals and sectionals. Making it out again would be nice but I can't make any promises."
South Elgin's Jake Randich, who won the 215 crown with three pins and is now 35-1, was named the meet's Most Outstanding Wrestler.