Crystal Lake South still undefeated
Crystal Lake South (11-0, 3-0) got off to a flying start in advance of a big weekend of wrestling after rolling to a 48-24 victory Thursday night over host Jacobs in a Fox Valley Conference dual in Algonquin.
The visiting Gators used an onslaught of pins to launch an all-out attack on a young, ever-improving Golden Eagles (0-3) club, which was unable to answer the likes of the state's No. 1 wrestler at 112 pounds, Nick Fontanneta (22-0), No. 7 Kean Loupee (21-3, 160) and Tom Gerszewski (23-3) who between them recorded 16 points on the night. The junior Gerszewski capped a 27-6 run after his fall at 3:02 at 140 pounds pushed the Gators' lead to 37-12.
“This was a good night for us, but we have a very important weekend ahead, and a good test for all of us,” said the 140-pounder, who last season won 26 for coach Ross Ryan, and a spot in the Barrington sectional at 135 pounds.
“We learned a valuable lesson at the Sycamore tournament last weekend, I know it was a real dose of reality for me, and I hope it was the kind of thing that we all needed heading into our District 155 Quad on Friday, and our trip to Round Lake on Saturday when we wrestle Richmond-Burton, Fremd and others.”
“We expected to do better than our sixth-place finish at Sycamore,” admitted Ryan, “and I know for Tom, his result there kind of had a humbling effect on him.
“But his focus is so amazing, and he's on a mission, and I see him, and the rest of the team ready for what is ahead of all of them.”
The Gators, who will meet both Cary-Grove and Class 2A giant Crystal Lake Central on its home mats tonight, started fast Thursday evening with the help of their big men, Mike Romanelli (215) and heavyweight Vinny Emory, who opened with a 9-0 decision and fall at 3:30 to quickly put South on top at 10-0.
Fontanetta, who was the Gators' lone individual champ at Sycamore, and Nick Gill at 119, went back-to-back with pins to help offset a forfeit at 103 by Jacobs freshmen Austin Ryan to put their club in charge at 22-6.
Neil Crawford and Ryan Prester put on the best show of the night at 125 pounds, with a crowd-pleasing back-and-forth bout that saw Prester of Jacobs open up a big lead (8-1) after one period, 10-4 after two, only to see Crawford storm back to pull within 11-9 at 4 ½ minutes when his head lock led to a near-fall.
Crawford continued to hold his counterpart off despite a penalty point for stalling with 30 seconds left in regulation, but another penalty with 2.2 seconds to go brought the match even at 13.
Once in OT, Crawford pushed the pace knowing he already forced a pair of stalls from his opponent, and when the referee rose his hand to signal another, the Gators' bench erupted to cheer their victorious hero.
“Neil, and the outcome of the match, just brings a smile to your face,” Ryan would say afterward.
The Eagles' plight worsened when Cullen Smith, Gerszewski and Jake Peters went 3-0 at 135, 140 and 145 to continue to pad the Gators' lead to 40-12, but Jacobs produced 12 points in the final 4 matches, including a well-wrestled match from Brad Jenisch, who would pin Jimmy Mandas at 1:01 at 171 pounds.
“Brad continues to improve each and every week, and all of the extra work in the room and during the offseason is beginning to pay off for him,” said second-year Jacobs coach Chris Taylor of Jenisch, who finished 6th last weekend at the Geneva tournament.
Ryan, who was 3rd at Geneva, was joined by Gabe Difecchio on the medal stand after his second-place finish at 189 pounds. Teammate Joe Lorusso, who failed to win a medal last weekend, was superb on this night with a pin at 4 minutes at 130 pounds over Nathan Furlek.
“We will never make excuses for our results, but it has been a tough year with injuries, which has forced us to throw so many freshmen and sophomores into the lineup, but even with just two seniors starting for us, we're beginning to see a lot of positive things from these guys, and with the continued support of the staff, administration, and our junior program, we will turn the corner and get back to being a source of pride here,” offered Taylor.
Jacobs will host FVC rival Huntley this evening for its annual Heritage Night, where it will honor distinguished alumni, and its graduating seniors, before traveling to Batavia on Saturday for its 16-team tournament.