Stevenson rebounds to gain measure of redemption
Eager to erase a dreadful night of wrestling at Mundelein on Friday, Stevenson did so on its home mats Saturday afternoon by beating a trio of opponents - including Central Suburban League power Deerfield.
The Patriots (11-6) sandwiched a pair of routs over both St. Viator and Elk Grove around an impressive 39-34 triumph over the Warriors (16-2).
"Friday just wasn't a very good night for us," said Stevenson senior Nathan Millman (23-3) who went 3-0 on the day. "The matchups did not go our way against (Mundelein) and they just wrestled real well. So coming out today to win all 3 of our matches was really good for all of us."
"You've got to be pleased with the effort of the team especially after going 0-2 against conference opponents (on Thursday the Patriots lost to Warren)," said Stevenson coach Shane Cook. "We received some solid performances, with Dan Catlin, a kid who isn't always in our starting lineup, really helping us out with 3 wins today, and another on Friday against Mundelein."
Catlin wasn't needed against Deerfield. By the time his number was called at the end of the Patriots' second dual, his teammates had built a 36-16 lead following a Millman pin at 145. That culminated a four-match sweep that included a pair of falls (the other by Nick Pagano at 145) and victories from Marc Futterman (130) and Jordan Sherman - who recorded a 18-7 major decision win at 135.
"We needed to bounce back to help regain our confidence with the NSC tournament just 2 weeks away," Cook said.
The Pats crushed St. Viator (9-13) in its opener 57-17 and completed its sweep in grand fashion with a 66-4 romp over Elk Grove.
Against the Grens (2-15), Pagano defeated Mike Alcazar (17-13) with a late third-period explosion 11-5, before his teammate Brandon Weber (160) used an escape with 18.5 seconds left in the fourth OT period to upend Brett Lesniak 4-3.
"We've got some terrific young wrestlers in our program right now, and two great senior leaders (Alcazar and Rich Szaflarski) who unfortunately won't be around when things begin to turn around for us in another year," said Grens first-year coach Craig Johnson.
Szaflarski (16-11) finished with a flurry when his 11-2 major decision at 215 pounds in the final bout against Stevenson gave the Grens their lone points against the hosts.
St. Viator sophomore Danny Sabatello (26-3) proved to be the brightest light for the Lions with a trio of victories, including an impressive technical fall at four minutes over Deerfield's Lenny Bloom.
"I put a lot of time during the off-season and made a total commitment to wrestling when I stopped playing football this season," said Sabatello, who coming into the weekend is ranked No. 10 in the state at 112 pounds.
Sabatello had little to do with the Lions' 39-30 victory over Elk Grove as he and six others took forfeit victories, mostly at the lower weights. Eric Abrahamian (160) and William (171) and Richard Rittmeyer (189), who all pinned their opponents, gave the Lions some breathing room.