Wheeling edges Stevenson for second place
The 29th Annual Wheeling Memorial Wrestling Invitational was a great opportunity for area individuals and teams to face some great competition Saturday in this powerful one-day meet.
There wasn’t much drama in the team competition as perennial power Sandburg rolled to the championship of the nine-team meet with 222 points. But the battle for second place had plenty of intrigue, as the host Wildcats that held off a late-meet push by Stevenson to capture runner-up honors 143-127 over the Patriots.
Maine West also put together a solid showing to place fourth with 111 points followed by Lake Zurich (75 points) in sixth, and Grayslake Central (63.5 points) in seventh.
Wheeling’s charge for second place was led by 120-pound champion Johny Carvajal (14-7) along with second-place finishes from teammates Ricky Muro (126), David Gonzalez (132), Tulga Zuunbayan (145) and James Grady (182).
“I thought we wrestled pretty well this whole weekend and to get second to a team like Carl Sandburg is not bad,” said Wheeling coach Neal Weiner, whose team defeated Rolling Meadows in a dual meet Friday night. “He (Carvajal) was the fourth seed, so it’s good that he got first and he wrestled very well.”
Stevenson’s squad was led by junior newcomer Tyler Harrington (12-3), who toppled Maine West’s Joey Vogeney 2-0 in a real defensive struggle for the championship at 170. Before becoming a Patriot last spring, Harrington placed sixth in Class 3A at 152 pounds as a sophomore in Nebraska.
The Pats also got third-place medals from Eric Carter at 106, Robert Pavlovics at 152, Juwon Anderson at 160, and Zach Horwitz at 182.
“For Tyler (Harrington) this is a huge step, and it’s important that you are able to win tournaments after he placed second at the Barrington tournament,” said Stevenson coach Shane Cook, whose team pulled out a 31-30 squeaker over Warren Friday night. “We’re definitely encouraged about the third places, and those guys who did that were able to finish the tournament strong.”
Maine West senior Adeel Afshar (19-0) kept his undefeated record intact Saturday with a 9-5 decision over Gonzalez for the title at 132.
The Warriors got second-place finishes from Vogeney at 170, Brian Cutro at 220, and Jamie Marquez at 285.
“Adeel (Afshar) started strong and last year he was a match from getting downstate so I’m really proud of him,” said Maine West coach Lance Weber. “We got a lot more guys in the finals today than we have in years past and I always like coming here because there is good competition here.”
Lake Zurich was led by senior 145-pounder Brandon Arteaga (8-3), who posted a hard-fought 3-1 decision over Zuunbayan for the title. Arteaga’s father, Jose, was coached by Weiner during his high school wrestling days at Wheeling.
The Bears also got third-places finishes from juniors Josh Spiwak (120) and Ethan Honegger (132) Saturday.
“It’s a pretty tough tournament, and I thought I would have (Sandburg’s John) Pellegrino, but he bumped up (to 152),” said Arteaga, who was a North Suburban Conference champion last season. “(Zuunbayan) gave me a pretty tough match in the finals, and I wrestled him here last year in the semifinals.”
Grayslake Central 2013 Class 2A state qualifier Jon Makey placed second to Pellegrino at 152 to help lead the Rams.
Central received third-place finishes from senior Kurt Radke at 113 and sophomore Joey Tarnowski at 126.
Wheeling also got third-place medals from Zach Yfantis (195) and Juan Hernandez (285). The Wildcats got fourth’s from Sam Blair at 170 and Yoni Medina at 220.
“It’s early December and I’m really not concerned about second or third,” added Weiner. “We still have a long way to go this season so I’m happy with how the guys are wrestling.”
The Patriots got fourth-place medals from Evan Rodriguez (120), Ben Ponto (132), Connor Brady (145), and Nick Grujanac (285).
Maine West got fourth’s from Jeremey Bowman (126), Jake Riportella (152), and Amru Qutub (195).
The Bears got fourth-places from Travis Nix at 106, Drew Witt at 113, and Max Brummel at 138. Grayslake Central’s Dustin Varney (160) also placed fourth.