Stumpf hopes to bring stability to Jacobs' program
Jacobs athletic director Tom Ross is hoping the revolving door of wrestling coaches at the school has been locked for the foreseeable future.
Former Crystal Lake South wrestling and soccer standout Mike Stumpf, the son of longtime former South wrestling and soccer coach Don Stumpf, was promoted from assistant to head wrestling coach at Jacobs over the holiday break.
Stumpf, 22, takes over for Todd Rader who was recently dismissed. Stumpf is the fifth wrestling coach at the school in the last four years. Since Brent Thomas stepped down (he still assists with the program), Kurt Bentsen, Chuck Torbett, Chris Mastalerz, Rader and now Stumpf have held the head coach title at the school. Stumpf was also an assistant coach at Jacobs last season.
"We're very fortunate a guy like Mike has been able to step in," said Ross. "He has an outstanding wrestling resume and has the knowledge of the high school programs and the high school student-athletes. We like the way he relates to student-athletes at Jacobs."
Ross said the decision to change coaches was due to wanting the program to go in a different direction.
"Todd was dismissed due to the reason we thought the program needed to go on a little different course than it was under his guidance," said Ross. "Todd is a good guy, but he wasn't progressing the program to where we thought it should be at this time."
Rader questioned the timing of the dismissal.
"It didn't really make me feel all that good," said Rader. "You get in there and do what you can and then you are told they are going another way. It's their choice. I don't want to trash anybody. It's not how I would have done it, but it's their choice. I would have preferred they look at the big picture at the end of the season instead of at the beginning of the season. I wish them all the luck. Hopefully the guys will do well the rest of the season."
Stumpf, who has enjoyed success as a mixed martial arts fighter (including winning a bout on a card over the summer at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates), is looking forward to running the program.
"Things have been going great. Practices have been running smoothly and the kids are working hard," said Stumpf, whose MMA career is on hold while he recovers from a back injury, though he indicated he would like to resume his fighting career. "We're looking forward to a good second half of the season."
Stumpf's hiring took an interesting turn when a published report recently revealed Stumpf was arrested in November (while he was still an assistant coach at Jacobs) at a Crystal Lake establishment and charged, according to the published report, with misdemeanor battery. According to the published report, a Crystal Lake police commander is quoted as saying Stumpf punched a bouncer in the head while being escorted from the facility.
"That's a no comment. It's still in the court," said Stumpf. "It's not a problem, but I can't talk about it."
Ross said he is aware of the incident.
"We're monitoring it closely. We do consider him innocent at this time," said Ross. "We had a talk with Mike and we're satisfied with the information he gave us."
On the mat, Jacobs sported a 3-8 overall mark in duals through midweek (1-4 Fox Valley Conference).
Junior Aaron Ryan was 15-2 at 112 pounds, while senior Joe Diehl was 9-8 at 130 pounds. Sophomore Joe Laddick (130) returned to the mat recently after recovering from an ACL injury.
"Aaron Ryan is really coming along. He looks sharp," said Stumpf. "Joe Diehl is showing improvement and working hard. He's another kid we hope can make it to state this year. We're very excited to have Joe Laddick back."
Stumpf said the response of the wrestlers to him taking over the program has been positive.
"I'm just laying down the rules and what I expect every day on and off the mat," said Stumpf. "I'm very excited to be able to run this program. It's a good chance to see what I can do. I would like to turn the Jacobs program around and make it into a top competitor. I love the kids. They are working hard and responding to me. I love coaching them."
Bartlett update: Bartlett coach Gary Cotie has been besieged by roster losses this season - namely 5 senior contributors. The reasons behind the losses range from not coming out for the team, early graduation, elbow and back injuries to one wrestler who suffered a mild heart attack after a match (due to a medical condition; the wrestler was cleared by his doctor recently, according to Cotie). Cotie preferred to not have the wrestlers names mentioned.
"We've never had a deep lineup and when these guys go down, you don't have many other options," said Cotie. "It's been a tough year."
Cotie has been pleased with the development of 160-pounder Eric Moreno, who has only 2 losses this season.
"Eric was in football. He's still a month behind, but he's having a real good year," said Cotie.
Bartlett-Elgin Remembrance Match: The seventh annual Bartlett-Elgin Remembrance-Alumni Match will be held Friday, Jan. 16 at Bartlett. Past wrestlers from the two schools will be recognized prior to the varsity match. The match is held annually in remembrance of late Elgin wrestlers Jeff Mirabella (1991 graduate and coach at Bartlett in 1998) and Devon Cotie (1996 graduate) and the late Gary Everett, who was a teacher and coach at Elgin. St. Edward will also participate in the match this year. St. Edward coach Shane Kottkamp coached Mirabella prior to Mirabella entering high school.
Dundee-Crown update: The Chargers were 15-1 in duals and had won tournaments at Hinsdale South and Harvard as of last weekend.
And D-C has put together this impressive resume, despite forfeiting 2-3 weight classes per match.
"We're doing this with 10 or 11 kids in the lineup," said D-C coach Al Zinke. "We're doing real well considering what we have. Our kids work hard at it. That's all we can ask for."
D-C wrestled at the prestigious Dvorak tournament over the holidays. Miko Villanueva finished fifth at 103 pounds, while Jermaine Lee was eighth.
D-C already has four wrestlers with 20 or more wins, including Jack Lewis (24-2 at 152), Jeremy Lee (22-4 at 119), Jermaine Lee (21-7 at 125) and Frank Abitua (22-3 at 112).
Villanueva is 19-3, while Josh Lee (130) also has 19 wins. Cody Muscat (152) and Cody Churkey (160) both have 18 wins. Alex Laverd (135) has 16 victories and Ron Dumas has 12 wins at 215.
D-C faces defending FVC champion Crystal Lake Central tonight at 6:30 p.m. in Crystal Lake.
"They are favored to win the conference and we are favored to take second," said Zinke. "The duals don't count in the conference standings. We're waiting for the conference tournament. We're just trying to get better for the end of the year. We'll probably forfeit four weights to them and we'll go from there. We're looking at the big picture here."
Burlington Central update: The Rockets took fifth out of 16 teams at the Harvard tournament over the holiday break.
Freshman Johnny Major reached the finals at 103 pounds.
"Johnny did a tremendous job. He wrestled great," said Central coach Tony Rigitano.
Kevin Marshall (119) and Tim Botsford (140) each took third. Shane Burke (125) was fourth, while Tim Maroder (171) was fifth, as was Omar Awad (112). Tim Vincent (215) and Joe Gannon (152) each finished sixth.
Central currently has 4 freshmen in the lineup with Major (16-2), Awad (8-2 varsity), Gannon and 130-pounder Buddy Toth.
"The freshmen are doing a great job," said Rigitano.
Central wrestles at Prairie Central this weekend. The Rockets won the tournament last year.
Streamwood update: The Sabres were 5-12 overall earlier this week.
"That's more wins than we've had combined the last 2 years," said Streamwood coach Bill Peach. "We don't have any lightweights (103, 112 and 130), so we're giving up those matches and we're still winning matches."
Junior Frank Adame (119) was off to a 14-3 start. Senior Chad McMahon also has 14 wins at 215. Seniors Luke McArthur (189) and JD Palomo each have 11 wins, while sophomore Joey Kubica is 10-1 at 145.
Hampshire update: The Whip-Purs, in their first season of existence, notched the program's first-ever dual win, a 54-30 triumph over St. Edward.
"We had a lot of double practices over break and the guys that were there really improved," said Hampshire coach Terry Wilkinson. "We've got some kids doing an outstanding job in practice and that is showing on the mat in matches."
Freshmen Tyler Espino (112) and Cody Kleiser (119) have shown promise for Hampshire, as has sophomore 215-pounder Glen Buckwinkler. Buckwinkler took second at the Richmond tournament.
"We're very young," said Wilkinson. "We've only got one senior on the team."
Larkin update: The Royals have 9 dual wins after a pair of early-week victories. Senior 130-pounder Tony Feliciano leads the way for the Royals with a 23-2 mark at 130. Senior Cameron Tanner (140) is 19-6 through 25 matches, while senior Edir Nevarez (285) has 17 wins. Junior Tim Einhorn has 16 wins at 135, while junior Patrick Lipscomb has 14 wins at 125. Junior Jordan Perez has 12 victories at 171, while senior Gavin Dillehay has 12 wins at 160.
Larkin coach Matt Mulhearn cited Feliciano, Tanner, Einhorn and Nevarez for recent strong performances.
"They have been doing a good job training hard, using the fundamentals and the things they have been taught in each match," said Mulhearn.
Huntley update: The Red Raiders had some individual successes at the recent Harvard tournament. Colt Claudio (119) and Lucas Rogers (125) both took third, while Matt Ziess (189) finished fourth. Freshman Josh Symble (160) also wrestled well prior to injuring his knee.
"The kids are looking much better," said Huntley coach Kevin Summerville. "They are making less mistakes and working hard to place high at conference, regionals and sectionals. I'm very pleased with how much they have improved from the beginning of the season. They don't quit and they refuse to give up."