Wrestling/Scouting Fox Valley regionals
CLASS 3A
At Jacobs
Top 3 from each weight class advance into Barrington sectional.
Team champion advances to TBA dual-team sectional on February 22.
Cast: Boylan, Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South, Dundee-Crown, Huntley, Jacobs, Prairie Ridge, Rockford Auburn, Rockford Guilford, Rockford Jefferson.
Teams to beat: Crystal Lake South, Cary-Grove, Dundee-Crown.
MVP candidates: Cody Churkey (Dundee-Crown, 215, 31-4), Nick Fontanetta (Crystal Lake South, 34-0 112), Kean Loupee (Crystal Lake South, 160, 31-4), Lucas Rogers (Huntley, 30-2), No. 2 Blaise Butler (Boylan, 34-0): Gators’ Fontanetta has been atop the state ladder since the first day of the 2010-2011 season, and the junior doesn’t appear to be ready to fall off anytime soon as he comes here with a spotless record, and the look of a potential state champion. D-C’s Churkey was unable to get out of a gruesome regional weight class last season, but his resume this season says the senior is the man to beat.
Weights to watch: 215- Churkey, Matt Zeis (Huntley, 25-11), Jarod Kimble (Auburn, 26-7, 2nd at NIC): Zeis beat the highly regarded Jimmy Prince (Grayslake North) in the early rounds of the FVC tourney, but was able to parlay the victory into a top 3 finish there. Churkey has championship rings from both Hinsdale South and Harvard, to go along with a 5th-place medal at the prestigious Dvorak.
135- Rogers, Garrett Glueck (Cary-Grove, 28-13), Cullen Smith (CLS, 26-8): This is where Rogers began his memorable ride into the state tournament last season, and the Huntley senior knows the importance of a big finish here once again. “Winning a regional title is a big deal, because it gives you an important first-round bye next weekend, and one less match to win in order to get downstate,” said Rogers, who would finish second to Jason Montemayer of Grant at the Barrington sectional last season.
Outlook: Not a lot of surprises here, everyone knows everyone else, but the FVC contingent did catch a break from the IHSA when it sent the bottom 3 finishers from the NIC 10 conference tournament, instead of any of its top-flight clubs, Hononegah or Harlem.
“I really feel that Crystal Lake South is the team to beat, but I know, if we can wrestle a little better than we did last week at certain weights, and we can get 8-10 guys through and into the Barrington sectional, then that will bode well for our chances to challenge for the team championship,” said Cary-Grove head coach Dan Cysewski.
The Trojans’ longtime head coach may witness a handful of potential rematch bouts from the FVC tourney, including two of his best in senior Collin Hansen (31-6) and Trent Atkins (22-4) at 125.
Hansen could very well see Huntley’s Josh Symbal (29-8) in the 171-pound final once again, while Atkins has his sights set on Prairie Ridge star Zach Synon (31-1), who was narrowly defeated the Trojans’ sophomore 3-1 in their final.
“Collin is a real special young man, and a guy who has come such a long way when you consider he got into this sport so late compared to so many others, but through hard work and dedication earned himself a conference title last weekend, and hopefully bigger things at our regional tournament,” offered Cysewski.
D-C senior Travell Rounds (25-8) who would finish 4th overall at 119, would like nothing more than to have his chance at eventual FVC champ, Brian Cullen (33-20 after the Prairie Ridge senior sent Rounds into the consolation bracket following his 12-10 decision in the semifinals.
At Schaumburg
Top 3 from each weight class advance into Downers Grove North sectional.
Team champion advances to Hinsdale South dual-team sectional.
Cast: Bartlett, Conant, DeKalb, Elgin, Hoffman Estates, Lake Park, Larkin, Schaumburg, South Elgin, Streamwood.
Teams to beat: South Elgin, Lake Park, Schaumburg, Conant.
MVP candidates: Josh Marchok (Schaumburg, 215, 28-0, MSL champ), Joe LaManna (Schaumburg, 189, 33-1, MSL champ), Cody Pych (South Elgin, 160, 33-3, UEC champ), Sal Annoreno (Bartlett, 119, 32-1, UEC champ): Any discussion on who will be named outstanding wrestler of this tournament begins with the No. 1 rated Marchok, who arrives in town with 25 pins in his 28 matches, 22 coming in the first period. Both Pych and Annoreno are each capable of herculion efforts on their own, but both talented juniors lack the throwing power of the Schaumburg junior, as well as his teammate LaManna.
Weights to watch: 119- Annoreno vs. No. 8 Jake Jones (DeKalb, 33-5, 2nd, NI-Big 12), Alex Curtis (Streamwood, 18-9, 4th, UEC), Charlie Wiltgen (Elgin): Here’s the opportunity Annoreno has been looking forward to as the sophomore continues his rise up the charts, with a win over state-ranked Jones helping push him closer to a top 10 spot in the polls. 135- Nick Citta (South Elgin, 28-12, 3rd at UEC), Vince Gottardo (Conant, 28-8, 3rd, MSL, Blake Santi (Lake Park, 33-8, 2nd at UEC): This trio are clearly the best, but what’s a stake is a first-round bye next weekend at the DGN sectional, and just 2 victories away from a trip downstate. 160- Pych, David Perez (Elgin, 13-8), Farai Sewers (Lake Park, 23-6), Dalton Watse (DeKalb, 30-6, 2nd, NI-Big 12): Pych has had some impressive results this season, including a 9-4 victory over one of the best in 2A, Kyle Culton of Sycamore. 171- Tom Gbean (Elgin, 23-9, 2nd at UEC), Ricky Garcia (South Elgin, 22-16), Richie Santana (Elgin, 13-8), Pat Felde (Schaumburg, 29-6, 2nd, MSL), Gino Prestia (Conant, 26-12, 4th, MSL): It will be the UEC vs. the MSL for the top 3 spots, with Gbean and Felde plenty anxious to erase heartbreaking defeats in their conference championship bouts. 189- LaManna, Adam Lehnus (South Elgin, 28-10), Andy Koehnke (Larkin, 24-14), Jorge Zavala (Elgin, 15-9), Paul Abani (Hoffman Estates, 25-12, 3rd, MSL): It would be shocking news if the No. 2 rated 189-pounder in the state (LaManna) is upset, so the attention then turns to the final 2 spots available for advancement into the DGN sectional. Lehnus’ 5-0 decision over Koehnke in the UEC semifinals is the only head-to-head of meaning, but the veteran has been working hard all season long and will be a strong contender in the end.
Outlook: There isn’t a clear-cut favorite in the team race, but a strong finish from South Elgin should give the Storm the confidence needed to challenge UEC rival Lake Park, as well as MSL runner-up Schaumburg. “We’ve seen every team here this season with the exception of DeKalb, so we have a pretty good idea of what to expect this time around,” said Storm head coach Mark Cameron. “We had a good final week of the season against quality opponents in Neuqua Valley, Deerfield and Glenbard West, so we’ll be ready to wrestle on Saturday, with the hope that we will be there in the end for the team title, as well as getting as many of our guys through and into the sectionals next weekend.”
CLASS 2A
At Sycamore
Top 3 from each weight class advance into Rochelle sectional.
Team champion advances to LaSalle-Peru dual-team sectional.
Cast: Burlington Central, Hampshire, Dixon, Freeport, Kaneland, Rochelle, Sycamore, Wheaton Academy.
Team to beat: No. 5 Sycamore (16-1).
MVP candidates: Johnny Major (Burlington Central, 135, 28-7), No. 4 Chris Kerwin (Sycamore, 119, 32-1), No. 4 Kyle Culton (Sycamore, 160, 31-2).
Weights to watch: 03: Alex Feltz (Hampshire, 33-3), Stephen Gust (Kaneland, 20-11), Brendon Mcgehee (Sycamore, 20-15). 135- Major, Ray Stagen (Hampshire, 17-9), Zach Lehman (Dixon, 32-9),
215- Turk, Glen Buckwinkler (Hampshire, 20-11), Trey Pempillon (Freeport, 34-7, NIC-10 champ), Ben Kovalick (Kaneland, 30-8), Matt Copple (Sycamore, 25-8), Jon Shippert (Dixon, 22-8).
Outlook: Both BC coach Tony Rigitano and Hampshire’s Terry Wilkinson agree the field here will be left in the shadow of host Sycamore in the race for the team trophy, so the object will then be to get as many advanced into the Rochelle sectional where their lads will then one step closer to a trip downstate.
“We just wrestled Sycamore last weekend, and I can honestly say they really don’t seem to have a weak link in their lineup,” says Wilkinson of Hampshire, who nearly led his club to a .500 record in just its third year of existence. “This is a really tough regional, and it doesn’t get much easier the following week (at) sectionals, but we’re going to do our best to try to get as many guys through.”
Wilkinson says the 400 or so matches wrestled during the offseason are beginning to pay off, and one who has taken advantage of the extra work is freshman Alex Fritz (33-3), who defeated both 103-pounders from Sycamore and Kaneland last Saturday to help him solidify one of the top seeds here.
Junior Tyler Espino (24-8) will bump up from 112, hoping the numbers at his new weight (119) will be favorable, while the junior duo of Ray Stagen and Cody Kleiser (20-11) will each look to surprise a 135 and 140 respectively.
“Ray missed almost 3 weeks during the holiday break due to a muscle pull in his back, but he’s still closing in on 20 wins, and we consider him to be a dark horse, along with Cody this weekend,” offered Wilkinson.
After a memorable 2010 season, Burlington Central’s Rigitano has had to deal with countless injuries all throughout the year, including the loss of one of the best in Tim Maroder (ACL surgery), who never was given the OK to compete by his doctors.
“It’s been tough from time-to-time trying to patch together a lineup, but we be as close to full strength this weekend, so we’ll see how it goes,” said Rigitano, who guided the Rockets to a second-place regional finish a year ago.
“Our emphasis is always to peak at the end of the season, and we feel with Johnny (Major), Buddy Toth (152, 19-7), Brady Weinrich (119, 25-15) and Jake Turk (215, 5-0) who just got back after rehabbing a football injury, that our chances to do well, and get some guys through are very good.”
CLASS 1A
At Walther Lutheran
Top 3 from each weight class advance into Plano sectional. Team champion advances to Wilmington dual-team sectional.
Outlook: The host Broncos are in search of their 3rd straight regional title. The good news for St. Edward heavyweight Evan Finanne (17-11) is the Green Wave junior brings the experience of winning a regional title with him, and the desire to improve upon his 1-2 record at the Byron sectional where he met up with eventual 1A state runner-up Mitchell Keppy of Port Byron.
“Obviously, I want to stay away from Keppy if I can help it, but I know if I see him again, I’ll know have a better idea of what to do against him,” offered Finanne.