advertisement

Stevenson's Geick tests his mettle at Barrington

The Moore-Prettyman wrestling tournament has been a kind of breeding ground for state medalists every year this prestigious wrestling invitational has taken place at host Barrington.

Last season alone, nearly 20 Moore-Prettyman participants came home with a state medal - two of them with the biggest prize of all on the floor of the State Farm Arena in Champaign.

So it stands to reason that a good showing here might be the springboard to success later on. At the very least, for Stevenson junior Dylan Geick, it was a giant leap forward in Friday's showing.

Geick stunned the top seed, two-time state medalist Fernie Silva of Rockton Hononegah, in the biggest upset of the first day of the 25th annual Moore-Prettyman in the 152-pound quarterfinals. Geick will face Marmion's Mikey Callahan in Saturday semifinals, which begin at 11 a.m.

Geick and his teammates are chasing Marmion in the team race. The Cadets enter Saturday with an 18-point advantage over second-place Lyons Township, and Prospect, which totaled 105 points after the final whistle.

"I feel very fortunate to be at Stevenson, which has a great head coach (Shane Cook) who runs a great program, and to have amazing teammates and workout partners to help me get better and better each day out," said Geick, who home-schooled for his freshman year, then sat out his sophomore season.

"It was an eligibility thing that kept me from wrestling last year," said Geick, "but that's behind me now, and like I said, I am just happy to be a part of coach Cook's program."

Geick took an early lead on Silva, a senior, at 3-2, before drawing it was evened up at 3-3. But that would be it for Silva, who had no answer for the constant pace and quickness in the attack from Geick, who soon built his lead to 6-3 after two periods en route to a 9-4 triumph.

"I knew he was all in when he took that injury timeout just before the end of the second period, and I believe it was all of our work to get and stay fit that helped make the difference," said Geick.

The Patriots (91 points) sit in fifth place behind Hononegah (96), with Wheaton North (86.5), Barrington (82), Grant (78), Yorkville (77) and Libertyville (75) rounding out the top 10.

Points will become ever so important when the consolation matches begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the semifinals. Championship matches are slated to begin at approximately 3:30.

The Cadets opened up their 18-point cushion with a strong quarterfinal round, fueled by a nearly perfect effort that saw the Riley DeMoss and his teammates advance eight competitors into the semifinals.

DeMoss appeared to be in midseason form with his tournament-opening pin, followed by a major decision victory to secure a spot opposite Adrian Cervantes of Plainfield South at 170 pounds in the semis.

"The main goal this season is for me to get myself ready for the next level, beginning this weekend," said DeMoss, the reigning 170-pound Class 3A state champion who will wrestle next fall at Princeton. DeMoss is ranked No. 11 nationally by Intermat Magazine.

Senior Nathan Traxler, also a state champ last season, breezed through his first two bouts and will meet Prospect junior Alex Koczwara in a 195-pound semifinal.

Matt Wroblewski (182), a key figure in the first-ever dual-team state tournament appearance for Prospect last season, advanced into the semifinals with impressive performances on Friday afternoon to set up his match with Mchael Kordek of Stevenson.

"You can't take too much from what happens from the first weekend of the season, but it is important to get a good, positive start, and that's what I am looking to do here at this tournament," said Wroblewski, a junior who earned a sixth-place state medal after winning 42 matches last season, along with conference and regional titles.

Barrington sophomore Markus Hartman, the 106-pound champion here in 2014, who was on his way to a 35-plus win season and likely a trip downstate before a shoulder injury ended his rookie campaign. He now looks fit and ready to get back at it following consecutive pins at 126 pounds to secure his place against No. 1 Travis Piotrowski (Prairie Ridge), a three-time state medalist.

"It's great to be back, and I am really looking forward to meeting Travis in the semis," said Hartman, who missed six weeks after being diagnosed with an injury to the top of the humerus bone near the growth plate.

A quick glance around the brackets has Libertyville junior Alex Mitchell still alive in the championship bracket at 106, along with the Grant trio of Christian Kanzler (132), Cole Berg (145) and Kobe Lear, who upended No. 2 seed Tanner Strobel of Prospect (10-8) in their 152-pound quarterfinal.

Wheaton North sent three into the semis - Frankie Indelli (138) Devin Donovan (160) and Bo Neidballa (195).

Waubonsie Valley junior Nick Sontag (170) dispatched No. 2 Riley Buchanan (Johnsburg) with a 3-1 decision.

Indelli, who was fourth at the DVC tournament last year, appears to be ready to make his mark this postseason after recording a major decision in his first bout of the day, followed by a 15-5 romp in the quarterfinals.

"I began that second match a little slow, but once I got going, I was able to pile up the points and be the aggressor," said Indelli. "I wrestled AJ (Jaffe, Marmion Academy, his semifinal opponent today) when I was younger, but don't really have any history with him in awhile. He'll be a great opponent, so I am looking forward to meeting him tomorrow."

Jaffe, a state medalist last season, is the top seed, and on the way to Harvard next fall.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.