Strong showing for runner-up Stevenson
A lot of big-time individuals competed Saturday at Wheeling's wrestling tournament.
Sandburg continued its dominance in the nine-team tourney with a first-place total of 238 points while Stevenson had one of its best performances at Wheeling with a runner-up score of 130.5 points.
Wheaton Warrenville South checked in with a third-place score of 120.5 to edge Lane Tech (119 points) in fourth, and the host Wildcats (117.5) in fifth.
Grayslake Central (90), Lake Zurich (86), and Maine West (66.5) rounded out the top eight teams.
Senior Danny Sabatello continued to be one of the highlights for Stevenson as he won the 125-pound championship with two more victories Saturday to remain undefeated on the season with a 13-0 record.
Senior 215-pounder Brandon Weber went into the day undefeated, but he dropped a tough 1-0 decision in the finals to drop his record to 13-1.
Stevenson's Max Nolan also finished second at 130 while teammates Mark Futterman (152), Ken Waks (171), and Mike Kuhn (285) all earned third-place medals. Brendan Wood (103), Scott Dahlin (112), and Justin Weber (145) placed fourth for the Patriots.
“It was definitely a strong performance, but not our strongest,” said Stevenson coach Shane Cook. “We're encouraged taking second against this strong competition, but we're not satisfied. And this was just another step in Sabatello's goal of being a state champion.”
Wheeling's team effort was led by senior Luke Smith's first-place finish at 140 as the two-time state placewinner remained undefeated at 14-0. Smith won his finals match by default over injured Wheaton Warrenville South standout Mark Savenok.
Wheeling 189-pounder Chris Johnson (13-1) was also a champion as he posted an 11-7 decision over Grayslake Central's Kevin Hein in a battle between two 2010 state placewinners in Class 3A and Class 2A.
“Everything is going well so far and these are steps on the ladder towards my goal of being state champ,” said Smith, who has a second and a third at state. “Sandburg's whole lineup is solid and hopefully we can build on this next week (at Glenbrook South) and get more guys in the finals.”
The Wildcats also got second-place finishes from Mike Smith at 145, Eddie Scanlon at 160, and Igor Romanowski at 285. Wheeling 215-pounder Brandon Jagielski placed third while 130-pound teammate Scott Steffens placed fourth.
“We had five guys in the finals so I was happy with that and it was too bad Luke didn't wrestle that tough kid (Savenok) in the finals because he got hurt,” said Wheeling coach Neal Weiner. “I thought Chris (Johnson) wrestled well, he's a hard worker, and he beat a state placewinner (Hein) in the finals.”
After placing fourth in the state at 189 last year, Hein is rounding back into shape after having off-season knee surgery.
The Rams also got a second-place finish from Bobby Raines (11-2) at 103 and Dylan Hay (12-2) at 135. Grayslake Central got fourth's from Sean Keever (140), John Curtis (171), and Jimmy Molitor (215).
“Each year we've placed more and more kids in this tournament and the kids we lost to were quality kids,” said Grayslake Central coach Dan Catanzaro. “Hay wrestled a guy from Sandburg (Colin Holler) who is top-ranked in the state for a reason, and we hope this will pay dividends at the end of the year 189 was a brutal bracket so (Hein) wrestled well and he's starting to look like his old self.”
Lake Zurich sophomore Vinny Loverde placed second at 119. The Bears also had three third-place finishers, including Emilio Nava at 112, Brandon Arteaga at 125, and Zach Ullman at 145. Lake Zurich's Zeke Honegger placed fourth at 152.
Maine West was led by third-place showings from Colin Gratz (130), and Rico Zayas (135). The Warriors got fourths from Jason Selby (125), and Angelo Giannos (119).
“I thought we looked good and I always like coming to this tournament because it really shows you where you are at and what you have to work on,” said Maine West coach Lance Weber, who was a state champ for the Warriors in 1997. “It was great to see Gratz come back and still end up taking third and Rico (Zayas) actually lost to that same kid in the first round this morning. He came back and really turned it around in the third-place match.”