Glenbard East runs out of firsts at Leyden sectional
There were no tears along the Glenbard East side of the wrestling mat after Tuesday night's 34-27 loss to Plainfield Central in the Class 3A Leyden dual team sectional.
The Rams had accomplished too much already this season to wallow in one loss.
"Our goal was to be regional champions and we accomplished that goal," Glenbard East senior Sam Pannisi said. "Sectional champs would have been nice, but we wrestled a great dual, we wrestled great matches, and I don't think there's anyone who could have done more than what they did."
The Rams won their first regional championship this season, their third-place DuPage Valley Conference finish was better than they'd ever done, and they set 17 school records in the school's 50th year.
"We'll need a little extra time at awards night," Glenbard East coach Kevin Carlson joked.
The Rams came close to extending their season until the Wildcats' Jeremy Brown ended the suspense with a pin at 119 pounds in the night's second-to-last match.
"We came to battle, and I think we did," Carlson said. "I think we shocked them a little bit. We matched up pretty well at some weights and at some weights we had stud to stud.
"I'm proud of my guys. We've come a long way."
Actually, Plainfield Central (17-4) took nothing for granted against the Rams (15-7) and was glad it didn't.
"Glenbard is a tough team," Wildcats coach Jim Kappas said. "We came ready for a war. We knew we were going to have a battle. So our kids expected it, and that was a good thing because when it was close the guys expected it, they were prepared for it and they stepped up at the end."
The Wildcats jumped out to a 16-6 lead after six matches before Pannisi (39-4) reeled them back in a little with a pin at 171 pounds. Still, the Rams never could retake the lead.
The match of the night was at 285 pounds when Lavelle Howard squared off against the Rams' Spencer George in a rematch of their memorable encounter last summer. Each wrestler wound up taking out some chairs on the Glenbard East side, and they nearly took out the scoring table in a match that Howard eventually won 6-5 in double overtime.
"He took it to him," Carlson said of George (39-5). "I don't know who was the bigger pusher into the chairs. I know I would have fallen off the chair if one of them had landed on me."
"Those guys had the same exact battle at U of I team camp," Kappas added. "They were going into chairs, tables. The whole camp stopped to watch Lavelle and Spencer George. Spencer George to a lot of people is the second-best wrestler in the sectional behind Lavelle. He should be a state qualifier. He has that potential."
The Rams cut the margin to 25-24 when sophomore Alec Noa won by pin at 103 pounds, but the rest of the lower weights were all Plainfield Central, leading up to Brown's clinching pin. That earned the first trip downstate in Plainfield Central history.
With nine seniors graduating, the Rams know getting back to the sectional won't be easy. Still, they're trying to build a tradition of success.
"We brought some some young guys here to see what this is all about, and now they have some goals," Carlson said. "We've got two years to get back here again."