Cats top Warren, close in on division title
The Libertyville wrestling team kept right on rolling into the new year Friday night at Warren.
The Wildcats got off to a fast start against the Blue Devils' depleted squad right out of the blocks and they never looked back in their impressive 54-12 North Suburban Conference victory.
Libertyville (9-1) improved to 4-0 in the Lake Division and the Wildcats can clinch the division title again next week when they meet Lake Zurich and Zion-Benton.
Starting at 112 pounds, Libertyville senior Shane Michelsen's pin made the score 6-0 before Warren (8-1, 3-1) cut the gap to 6-3 when Connor Drew posted a 10-3 decision over Matt Bystol at 119.
The Wildcats would go on a roll after that point as a technical fall by Louis Mazzetta (125), a pin by Kyle Manolovic at 130, and decisions by Sam Shay (135), Josh Bricker (140), and Pat Callan (145) made the score 27-3.
That set the stage for a showdown between Libertyville junior Nick McDowell and Warren senior Justin Santiago at 152.
When all was said and done, McDowell pulled out a 4-3 decision in two overtimes in the best match of the night.
"He (Santiago) was very conditioned and I was very tired at the end," said McDowell, who is 1-2 overall against Santiago. "I just figured out what he's been doing the past couple of years and if I could finish my shots I thought I could beat him."
Pins by Josh Ronne (160) and Pat Kenny (171) kept the Wildcats' momentum going before a forfeit win by Ryan Mertz (189) boosted their lead to 48-3.
"Warren's a little banged up right now but we've been doing good in our last two tournaments and we kept the pressure on them all the way through," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert. "That 152-pound match was just a lot of guts by McDowell, he had to explode on several occasions, and he did it."
Warren's Tyreese Woodard moved up from 189 to 215 and recorded a pin before 285-pound teammate Cody Hoag outlasted Sean Tavakoli 2-1 in a tie-breaker. A forfeit win by Libertyville 103-pounder Pat Fitzgerald closed out the dual meet.
Besides earlier season losses to its roster, Warren was without elite 103-pounder Robby Schultheis (knee), 171-pounder Chandler Sperry (elbow), and 285-pound sophomore Josh Dust (knee) Friday. Dust is out for the rest of the season.
"We lost some of the close ones we could have won, but they outwrestled us," said Warren coach Mark Tiffany. "They're tough and I think Dale (Eggert) is the best coach in the county, but we just didn't have enough tonight."