Wrestling: Scouting the MSL and ESCC meets
MSL wrestling meet
at Hoffman EstatesWhen: 5 p.m. Friday; sessions at 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Defending champion: Conant
Storyline: Prospect, Barrington and Conant figure to be in a fight to the finish in pursuit of the overall league crown. That trio enters the tournament with a combined 52-10 overall record and has been dominant against its Mid-Suburban League foes.
"Barrington and Prospect have deep lineup, and both are exceptionally strong in the upper weights," said Conant coach Chad Hay. "We had a couple of setbacks in our duals with Barrington and Lyons, but I really feel it's helped us refocus. To win this tournament, you must win the close matches, get bonus points when you can and be prepared for the mental, physical and emotional battle there will be from start to finish."
All three of the top teams have seen plenty of the best this competition this season, which could be helpful in the key head-to-head bouts.
"It's pretty clear to me those three are the best in the league this year, and for an improving Fremd, Rolling Meadows and ourselves, the race to finish fourth overall should be a good one," said Wheeling's Neal Weiner, the dean of MSL coaches.
"This is the most intriguing field we've seen in the tournament for a long time," said Schaumburg coach Mike Levanti, who has two of the best competitors in the state with Hazen Rice and Logan Gruszka. "I doubt you'll see three teams over 215 points like we did last year, but those top three are still the teams to beat, while the chances for Wheeling and a rejuvenated Rolling Meadows might just make for an interesting finish on Saturday."
Conant edged Schaumburg by just a half-point (227.5-227.0) last season, with Barrington a close third (215) followed by East champ Prospect at 158 points. One week later, the Knights dominated on their way to winning a regional title.
"When we get out to a good start, we've always been there at the end. We didn't last year here, but at regionals we did, and the result there speaks for itself," says Prospect coach Tom Whalen, who would like nothing more for his club to lift the overall MSL trophy for the first time since 2007. "Talk to me after the semis on Saturday, then I'll let you know what our chances are to win this thing."
The Broncos overcame the loss of state qualifier Mitch Stathakis and Colin Thomson to season ending injuries, plus a handful of others for short periods, to put themselves in position to be mentioned in the same conversation along with Prospect and Conant, who were the preseason favorites by most.
"First and foremost, I really like that the talent level is up in the conference, because I believe it elevates the wrestling of everyone else," said Barrington coach Dave Udchik. "But with that said, to win this weekend we'll have to wrestle above our seeds, because there's a chance we won't have any No. 1 seeds. And the rest of the the seeds will be spread out all over the individual brackets. We won the Berman because everyone contributed, but we can't have anyone go 0-2, or we're in trouble."
The favoritesKyle Peisker (Conant, 126, 28-2), Bobby Alexander (Conant, three-time MSL champ, 138, 30-0) and James Ford (220, 28-2) have each demonstrated that it will take a monumental task on behalf of their opponents to unseat these defending champs, so let's turn our attention to a few divisions that bear watching.
Worth the weight106: Hazen Rice (Schaumburg, 30-3), Markus Hartman (Barrington, 25-3), Jackson Kohlberg (Rolling Meadows, 28-6), Tyler Futris (Conant, 25-6), Mason Skloot (Wheeling, 25-11), Jake Greenberg (Buffalo Grove, 24-8). With all due respect to an obviously wonderful weight class, most expect to watch Rice-Hartman in the final late Saturday afternoon. Hartman, a freshman, would be looking to avenge a 2-0 loss to Rice, a junior whose only losses on the season are to highly ranked foes.
145: Tulga Zuunbayan (Wheeling, 31-1), Logan Gruszka (Schaumburg, 29-5), Connor Boundy (Barrington, 26-3), Nick Catalano (Conant, 23-6), Cliff Eiring (Hoffman Estates, 26-8), Trevor Kristo (Fremd, 19-12). This class got bigger and even better with the addition of Zuunbayan who dropped down to join an already impressive cast. With the two-time MSL champ and 2014 state qualifier now on board, it means this class now has three true elites. Gruszka and Boundy have met, with the Saxons junior recording a 6-4 decision. The resumes of Catalano, Eiring and Kristo have been building throughout the season, ensuring this trio will not be overlooked by their counterparts this weekend.
152: Bobby Jarosz (Prospect, 30-5), Griff Rose (Conant, 26-4), Nicholas Delporte (Rolling Meadows, 14-1), Matt Kurtishi (Fremd, 20-9). A breakout season by Jarosz nearly took another giant step forward last Friday when the Knights junior took Wheeling's Zuunbayan into OT before dropping a 11-9 heartbreaker. The rise this season by Jarosz places him right there with the duo of Rose (the defending champ) and Delporte, both state qualifiers last season.
160: Dan Andress (Conant, 28-3), Tanner Strobel (Prospect, 28-5), Travis Cysewski (Barrington, 16-5), Kasey Jauch (Rolling Meadows, 24-5), Tony Vezzetti (Schaumburg, 23-8). There were no predictions from coaches polled as to who will stand alone from this tantalizing group. Hay, Levanti and Udchik all called this weight class one of the toughest and most competitive of them all, and the head-to-head results and body of work from each is most impressive. Each is in search of his first MSL title, adding even more inspiration to the hunt.
285: Tylor Alanis (Schaumburg, 19-9), Tyler Cooke (Hersey), Juan Hernandez (Wheeling, 26-6), Zach Nemec (Fremd) Alex Zentner (Barrington, 24-6), Maciej Pogorzelski (Rolling Meadows, 22-10). Consider this first volley in the postseason, as Cooke, Hernandez, Nemec and Zentner are all likely to see each other once again at the Barrington sectional three weekends from now. This is a deep, talented group of big men, headed by 2014 state qualifiers Cooke and Alanis. Nemec, a sophomore, has come out of nowhere under new Fremd coach Dan Ruettiger, winning at both the Mudge and Harvard, while Zentner has taken on most of the best in the state, including Bryan Ditchman of Lincoln-Way Central, who prevailed over the Broncos senior 5-3.
East Suburban Catholic
at Notre DameWhen: 3 p.m. Friday
Defending champion: Marist
Storyline: Reigning champ Marist lost plenty from a year ago after taking a heavy graduation hit. Nonetheless, the Redhawks still remain the favorite, thanks in part to the usual depth this terrific program has but also due to quality at the top: Nick Lukanich (120), Nick Gasbarro (145, 27-5) Alex Benoit (182, 28-2), Jake Ford (HWT, 34-1), who all recently won individual titles at the high-profile Illini Classic at Lincoln-Way Central two weekends ago. Each in that quarter is a defending conference champ and returning state qualifier.
Notre Dame junior Jake Barzowski (138) looks to grab a second consecutive ESCC crown and the Dons hope that could lead to a runner-trophy.
Meanwhile, coach Jason Churak's team at St. Viator has suddenly become relevant in the league.
The Lions shattered their program record by winning 17 duals this winter, six more than the 11 they recorded one year ago.
"The guys took last year's success and have just built upon it, and they have continued to work even harder. This year we're seeing that kind of commitment has led to a bigger and better season," said Churak, who in his first year in charge was named ESCC coach of the year by his peers.
"If it were not for us losing a few dates to the weather, we had an outside chance of winning 20 duals, and that would have really been something when you consider where we were when I came on two years ago," Churak said.
The always upbeat St. Viator coach knows for sure that chances for many of his wrestlers to come home with a top-three finish individually, and in the team race, is better than ever. Among the keys for the Lions are Brandon Suchyta (132), Tim Cullinan (138), Shamon Johnson (170), Joe McIntyre (182), Michael Baxendale (195) and James Valentino (285). They've accumulated a total of nearly 120 victories heading into the weekend.
"They all have continued to make strides from week No. 1," said Churak, "but none of them are taking anything for granted from here on out. And the entire team has not slowed down for a minute in the room, and it's something all of us on the coaching staff appreciates and are proud of at the same time."
- Mike Garofola