South Elgin has productive day
Class 2A state power Sycamore flexed its muscle on Saturday at South Elgin, defeating undermanned clubs Burlington Central and Lake Zurich, before being pushed to the brink until a late surge sent the Spartans past the host Storm to end their day with a perfect 3-0 record.
Cody Pych floated high above the competition for the host Storm with a flawless performance at 160 pounds, including a 9-4 decision state ranked Kyle Culton in the marquee bout of the day. That ignited a big crowd, which would later watch its heroes rally from a 15-point deficit to draw even at 27, before back-to-back falls would give the Spartans the lead for good in a 39-33 triumph.
“It was a very good day for us,” said an elated Storm head coach Mark Cameron, who has seen his club come full circle after a season-opening loss to Lake Park.
“I remember thinking (uh-oh) after Lake Park beat us so bad, but we've bounced back and we're starting to see a lot of guys beginning to come around after getting some much needed matches under their belt,” Cameron said.
Pych, who lost his lone match of the season to the talented Chris Kowalski of Lake Park, has been on top of his game right from the beginning after an impressive offseason regimen, which included a 6th-place medal at the Greco Nationals.
“I knew it was important to work on my riding, and on wrestling on top, so I put a lot of time in on those two things, and I feel like I am much better prepared for this upcoming season,” said Pych, who won 26 matches last season, but saw his postseason end abruptly after suffering a torn muscle in his shoulder when the Storm competed against Deerfield near the end of the regular season.
“Cody wasn't anywhere near 100 percent for the regionals, but you're seeing what a healthy Cody Pych is capable of, and how important all his extra work during the offseason would be to him,” added Cameron.
Pych fell behind 2-0 in his match with Culton, who won 37 matches last year, but showed his riding skills when off the second period whistle, he rode Culton hard until turning the 2010 state qualifier and earning a near fall to take the lead. He gave up the lead, though, when he stayed too high and allowed his opponent to record a reversal.
Pych would answer with a reversal of his own to end the second period with a 5-4 lead, then unleashed a brilliant move to bust open the match for good.
The Storm junior would later watch his younger brother Cory win his third match of the day with a well-deserved 5-3 decision over Brandon McGehee to pull the home side within 15-12, and begin a comeback that would finally bring them back even when Nick Citta recorded a fall at 43 seconds, his third of the day, at 135 pounds.
“Nick has basically gone back to the basics, and his results of late have shown it,” said Cameron, who praised senior Ricky Garcia for his effort also with 2 wins at 171 pounds.
In its opener with Lake Zurich, the Storm (13-5) would use a quartet of pins, and a 15-14 win from Garcia to fuel a 27-6 run against the Bears, which ended their day on a high note after defeating Burlington Central 51-24.
The Rockets had little firepower to challenge their foes on this day. With the meat of their lineup senior Brent Sunderlage, juniors Buddy Toth and Joe Gannon, and sophomore Jake Turk all on the sidelines, not to mention one of the best in the area, Tim Maroder, who is recovering from an ACL injury, the Rockets were thin.
“That's not an excuse for our three results today,” offered BC head coach Tony Rigitano, “because everyone has injuries during the year and you hope others step in and up to do the job.”
The Rockets gave up far too many bonus points to the opposition to stay close enough, including 7 falls to Lake Zurich, which at one time led by just three (15-12) before it went on a pinning frenzy with 5 in the next 7 bouts to blow open the last dual of the day.
“Johnny (Major) did well today with 2 wins, and would give Sycamore's state-ranked kid (Culton) a good match, despite wrestling up a weight,” said Rigitano, of his junior, who won 31 last season, after advancing to the state tournament as a freshmen.
“There weren't a whole lot of bright spots today, but when we get everyone back, we will be in very good shape.”
Lake Zurich head coach Dan Strickler felt much better about his club despite going 1-2 on the road.
“Up and down our lineup, the effort was terrific against Burlington, and it was a great way to end a long day,” Strickler said. “We feel we're kind of undermanned ourselves because we have so many first-year guys in our starting lineup, but the great thing about this team is they're not afraid of hard work, and I know they're all anxious to get back into the room on Monday to get back to work.”
Strickler liked what he saw from just about everyone in the Bears' rout of Burlington Central, and especially the work from heavyweight Apollo Millon, who mashed the competition by going 3-0, with 2 wins via the fall.
Bears captain Zach Ullman, who finished fifth overall at the Moore-Prettyman last weekend, went 2-1 in his 3 bouts, with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Steven Lulowski of Sycamore 2-1 when a last-ditch effort to get a takedown failed to beat the buzzer.
“I just didn't execute in that match as well as I should have,” said the senior.
Teammate Patrick Nieto (135) nearly pulled off a stunning comeback against Sycamore's Zach Munro, who built a huge 15-5 lead, only to count his lucky stars the final bell came sooner than later when Nieto brought the match to an eventual 19-14 ending.
The No. 6 rated Spartans (7-0) roared past Burlington 64-12 in their tournament opener, before rolling over the Bears 58-15.
“Not a bad day for us, but we've got to clean some things up after we relaxed and got a little lax in a few matches against South Elgin and lost,” said Sycamore head coach Alex Nelson, who last season was an assistant for the Spartans when they made their first appearance at the dual-team state finals.