Chargers finish strong second at Fox Valley Conference meet

No, Al Zinke didn't end his legendary career as the Chargers' wrestling coach with his 16th Fox Valley Conference championship.

But Zinke, who will retire at the end of the year, got a great effort from his Charger matmen.

Led by first-place finishes by 103-pounder Miko Villanueva and 119-pounder Jeremy Lee, the Chargers finished second with 180 points at Saturday's FVC

Wrestling Championships held at D-C.

Boasting 8 champions, Crystal Lake Central cruised to a second straight FVC title with a score of 290.

"We fell a little short," said Zinke, who was honored before Saturday finals. "Crystal Lake Central is easily the best team in the league. My hat's off to them They did a phenomenal job. Miko Villanueva did a phenomenal job for us. He wrestled 100 matches over the summer and he has had success because of all of his hard work."

Villanueva defeated Nick Fontanetta of Crystal Lake South in the title match 14-6.

"I wanted to control the match throughout and I was able to do that," said Villanueva. "I was able to get some takedowns and felt like I wrestled well."

The Chargers got second place finishes from Jermaine Lee (125) and Jack Lewis (152).

"The kids wrestled hard and we lost some matches we should have won," said Zinke, who led the Chargers to 7 straight FVC titles from 2001 through 2007. "I have a lot of good memories here and have coached a lot of great kids."

Central, which overpowered the FVC field, got championships from Trevor Jauch (112), Christian Malouf (125), Taylor Servant (135), Joey Kielbasa (145), Austin Marsden (160), Trevor Parlberg (171), Anthony Degani (189) and Gage Harrah (215).

"We increased the intensity in the wrestling room after Christmas and the kids have responded well," said first-year Central coach Justen Lehr. "They have had a target on their back all during the conference season because they won the conference last season. This is a special championship because all the kids wrestled great."

Crystal Lake South placed fourth with a score of 139.

The Gators were led by second place finishes from Nick Fontanetta at 103 and Joe Fontanetta (160). Placing third for the Gators was Jake Baraglia (189).

"We had a strong start (Friday) but faltered a little bit today," said South coach Ross Ryan. "I thought we might have had a chance to finish second or third, but overall we wrestled very well. We wanted to finish in the Top 5 and improve from last year and we did that."

Jaocbs, with second place finishes from Aaron Ryan (112), Joe Ladick (130) and Nate Mohlman (171) placed seventh with 02 points.

Cary-Grove placed eighth with a score of 94 points.

The Trojans got second place finishes from Terrence Fox (135) and Josh Nelson (140).

Grayslake Central placed 10th with 40 points. The Rams' top point producers were Tad Vela (152) and Joel Valdivia (171), who were third.

Grayslake North, which was 11th with a score of 28 points, got a fourth place finish from DJ Mendoza (152).

Huntley was 12th with a score of 26. The Red Raiders received fourth place finishes from Colt Claudio (119) and Lucas Rogers (125).