Benning lifts Huntley to victory
Huntley's Pat Benning picked a perfect time for his first win.
Tied at 33 with Burlington Central, it all came down to the final match between Benning and the Rockets' Tim Botsford at 152 pounds. Benning, a sophomore, got a pep talk from his brother Tony, who wrestles at 189, to keep his attention diverted from the scoreboard.
"I didn't notice," Benning said. "I was getting mentally prepared. (Tony) was trying to keep my mind straight, telling me that this was my match."
It was Pat Benning's match.
The sophomore notched a 5-2 victory over Botsford in his first match of the season and Huntley improved to 3-1 on the season with a 36-33 victory over the host Rockets on Tuesday night.
Both teams also defeated a short-handed Larkin, with Huntley netting a 54-15 victory and the Rockets (5-1) beating the Royals (1-4) 60-24.
The Red Radiers' victories came with a shuffled lineup including Benning, sophomore Jake Smrt (130) and freshman Lucas Rogers (112). Coty Claudio (119), Chris Lathrop (125) and Joel Mayhew (140) were all wrestling up from their normal weight classes as well.
Claudio pulled off a 10-6 decision over Central's Garett Fiorito and Mayhew pinned Ryan Mertz in 2:45, but the victory didn't just fall on one person's shoulders.
"It was a team win," Huntley coach Kurt Rohlwing said. "We had some help today, some guys moved and every point mattered. It was a nice close one that the whole team won."
After defeating Kaneland and wrestling Sandwich tough on Saturday, Central found out how much work it still needs to do against Huntley.
"We had a big step in our program beating Kaneland on Saturday," Central coach Tony Rigitano said. "There is no reason we should have lost (Tuesday)."
Central was wrestling without stars Taylor Schuck (160) and Kevin Marshall (103), but got a strong performance from Zac Kein.
Kein (130) pinned Smrt in 1 minute, 13 seconds and it took him only 19 seconds to pin Larkin's Patrick Lipscomb.
"We still know we have some work to do," Kein said. "I guess you could say it was a wakeup call."
When Larkin was able to put wrestlers on the mat, the Royals fared well.
Heavyweight Ed Nevarez pinned Huntley's Dan Wilson in 3:38 and took a forfeit victory against Central.
"Ed has come a long way in the season," Royals' coach Mike Mulhearn said. "He's starting to use his size and his strength."
Jacob Truax (189), Joey Rodriguez (135) and Cameron Tanner (140) all picked up pins against Central, while Lipscomb earned a hard-fought 5-2 victory over Smrt at 130.