Huntley, Dundee-Crown have 2 champs each
Huntley was strong at the lower weights, while Dundee-Crown did most of its damage in the middle and upper weights, but both will be well-represented in sectionals.
The Red Raiders advanced 6 wrestlers and the Chargers 5 at the Class 3A DeKalb individual sectional Saturday. Jacobs was right behind with 4 individual qualifiers.
As expected Hononegah ran away with the team title, racking up 234 ½ points to 158 ½ for the host Barbs. D-C was third with 152 and Huntley fourth with 146.
Ricky Vigil (126) and Brandon Meyer (138) won their weight classes for the Raiders. Christian Brunner (182) and Jeremy Marshall (285) were individual champs for the Chargers.
Huntley started out strong, with Josh Stenger (106) and Nick Meyer (113) both advancing despite dropping their final matches.
Vigil finally got to the top of the podium, eking out a 4-2 decision against DeKalb’s Parker Stratton. Aggressiveness early was the key.
“I knew I had to get my offense going,” Vigil said. “I knew if I got on top early, that would be easier. I know how hard it is to come from behind and win.”
Two classes later, Brandon Meyer followed up with an even closer decision, 3-2 against the Barbs’ Brad Green. Meyer scored the only takedown early on and held on.
“The ankle pick at the beginning really helped me win the match,” said Meyer. “We were both taking shots but no one could get a takedown.”
Matthew Kitsis (145) and Michael Walker (195) also advanced for Huntley. The 6 wrestlers going to sectional doubled last year’s total.
“Last year we only got 3 guys through,” said Huntley coach B.J. Bertelsman. “This year we got 6 guys through and 2 alternates. We wrestled pretty tough. Our lightweights carry the load of the weight here.”
Jacobs also excelled at the lower weights, with Cody Ferencz (120), Chris Dranka (126), and Jacob Sabella (132) advancing. Mark Mamola at 220 also moved on.
Despite dropping his finals match to Hononegah’s Keegan Powers, Ferencz ran his season record to 32-4. Mamola, after falling to Harlem’s Sage Hecox in the finals, had a similarly gaudy 33-3 record.
The Chargers were quiet early, but began to gain momentum in the middle classes. Besides Brunner and Marshall, Armando Gutierrez (145), Tim Schanmier (152), and Jarrod Raap (170) also advanced.
Brunner scored a 5-0 decision against Hononegah’s Jake Flower, with a fairly straightforward strategy.
“The key was just wrestling my match,” Brunner said. I was just doing my thing.”
Marshall moved on when his opponent, Rockford East’s Jacob Heavlin, retired with an injury in the second period. With Marshall already ahead, Heavlin hurt his left leg when he went down. After a brief timeout he returned to action but after going down again grimaced in pain and could not continue.