No rebuilding needed for Glenbard East
After graduating three-time state place-winner Pat Walker and a core of solid seniors, you'd figure that a young Glenbard East squad might struggle through a rough wrestling season this year.
You'd be wrong.
The Rams went into Wheaton North's gym and won 43-18 in a DuPage Valley Conference dual on Thursday, improving their record to 12-4, 3-2 in the conference.
"We've been working really hard in the practice room, and we knew we'd have a solid team coming into this season," the Rams' Sam Pennisi said.
The Rams earned a 10-4 edge in matches won, put three pins' worth of bonus points on the board, and had a major decision to boot. The Falcons (9-5, 2-3) posted two pins and two decisions on the day.
"I didn't really know what (Wheaton North) had, but I knew what we brought," said Rams coach Kevin Carlson. "We were very aggressive, and we're getting better every week."
Larry Caruso kicked off the night with a decision win at 140 for the Rams, and Wheaton North's Mike Fredericks answered for the Falcons with a pin at 145 pounds.
Down 11-1 after two periods to Stephan Ivanoff at 152, Wheaton North's Trevor Schmidt won by pin and teammate Dominic Schmidt put the Falcons up 15-3 with a 3-1 decision at 160 over Adam Zeh.
Pennisi then posted a 22-11 major decision over a tough wrestler in the Falcons' Harry Myers to kick off five consecutive Rams' wins.
"Sammy is one of those kids that just absorbs everything you teach him," Carlson said. "And he transitions from one thing to the next probably better than anyone we have."
Glenbard East got pins from Yousef Al-Ghoul (189 pounds) and Spencer George (285), a 5-2 decision from Parker Settecase (215) over J.J. Gibbs and a forfeit win at 103 pounds.
Wheaton North's Adrian Laskero used a second-period reversal to win 2-1 over Joe Alexander at 112 to cut the Rams' lead to 28-18, but a pin from Matt Cobb (119) effectively gave the Rams the victory.
"They came out and they were real physical tonight," Falcons assistant coach Will Kadera said of Glenbard East. "We've got to be able to match that."
"In some of those matches, they were the aggressors, they were hitting first shots, and that's huge in a dual between teams that are this close."
Glenbard East won the final three matches of the night, all by decision, thanks to Dalton Servatius (125), Ryan Pokrywka (130) and Steve Hilliard (135).