Warren just keeps on winning
The past three days of arctic weather have been eventful to say the least for the Warren wrestling team.
After defeating Stevenson at home in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division dual meet Thursday, the Blue Devils' NSC crossover meet at Antioch was canceled Friday because of the weather.
But Warren (15-1) shook off the cold and the distractions Saturday to stay on the winning track with a 35-32 nonconference victory over visiting Rolling Meadows in a double-dual meet. The Blue Devils also defeated Westosha Central of Wisconsin 42-27.
Rolling Meadows (19-5) rolled to a 50-15 non-conference victory over Westosha Central in the opening round. The Mustangs then faced Warren in the second round.
With the meet starting at 160 pounds, Rolling Meadows' Steve Orchell recorded a pin over Justin Santiago with 21 seconds remaining in the third period, before 171-pound teammate Tim Herff posted a 13-4 major decision for a 10-0 advantage.
With Warren standout Tyreese Woodard out of the lineup Saturday, Thomas Davidson (26-4) picked up a forfeit victory at 189 to stake the Mustangs to a 16-0 lead.
Rolling Meadows was without 189-pound standout Alex Bueno because of a shoulder injury he sustained Friday night.
The Blue Devils began their comeback when 215-pounder Chandler Sperry recorded a pin with 13 seconds left in the third period.
Warren 285-pounder Cody Hoag held off Jordan Farnum for a 1-0 decision, and 103-pound teammate Robby Schultheis (22-1) recorded an 11-1 major decision to cut Meadows' lead to 16-13.
At 112, Mike Metzger's pin in 3:40 gave the Mustangs some breathing room with a 22-13 lead, but Warren 119-pounder Connor Drew (21-2) posted a 13-4 major decision to keep the Blue Devils within striking range.
"I lost a few matches early on, but this year I'm not worrying about my record too much, but I'm just doing what I can to get to state," said Drew, who was one of five Warren wrestlers to win two matches Saturday. "I'm more confident than I've ever been, and I've been putting a lot of hard work in."
At 125, Damen Curry kept the Blue Devils' momentum going with a 9-4 decision over Cory Jauch, and 130-pound teammate Leon Megerdichian pinned his opponent in 2:54 to give Waren its first lead at 26-23.
The Mustangs hung tough as 135-pounder Andrew Smaida outlasted Brandon Tyler 5-3 in overtime to deadlock the score at 26-26 with three matches to go.
Warren 140-pounder T.J. Parker edged Dennis Caravello 5-3 for a 29-26 lead, setting the stage for the key 145-pound bout.
Senior Jon Hamilton pinned Mark Herff with only four seconds left in the second period to give the Blue Devils a 35-26 advantage.
At 152, Meadows' Joey Caprio recorded a pin in the final match, but the Blue Devils walked away with the 35-32 win.
The Mustangs' Metzger, Smaida, Orchell, Tim Herff, and Davidson all picked up 2 wins.
"The heavyweight match could have gone either way, but they won 8 matches and we won 6," said Mustangs coach Dave Froehlich. "We had two seniors that we lost for the season to injury, but we've subbed in with a bunch of young guys and they've done very well for us."
Starting with a pin by Mike Patterson at 171 pounds, the Blue Devils jumped out to a commanding 42-9 lead after 10 matches and they never looked back against Westosha Central.
Warren will try to keep its momentum going when it heads into an NSC Lake Division showdown at Mundelein on Friday night.