Scouting postseason wrestling / Northwest
Scouting wrestling regionals
Class 3A
at Glenbard WestWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday (3:30 p.m. finals)
Advancement: Top three individuals advance to the Conant sectional. Team champion advances into the Larkin dual-team sectional.
Guest list: Leyden, Addison Trail, Glenbard West, Oak Park-River Forest, Proviso East, Proviso West, Schurz, Wheaton North.
On the mat: Everyone know Oak Park-River Forest is a dominant force. The Huskies are not only the reigning state champs, they're also nationally ranked this year, eighth in the nation according to Intermat Magazine.
But this time around, Leyden coach Mike Fumagalli isn't planning on conceding a thing to OPRF, or any other team among this terrific group as he enters with his best club in five years. "I like our chances of getting some of our horses through and into the Conant sectional, and downstate later on," he said. "I believe the strength of our club (the middle weights) can go with anyone."
The Eagles went 15-5-0 during the regular season, and Fumagalli says a change in focus, away from winning conference duals and toward better preparation for the end of the season, is making a difference for his group. The always approachable head coach lists seven of his athletes who are capable of standing out this weekend. That seven comes to Glenbard West with a combined 201 wins, many of them against quality opponents.
Among this magnificent seven are the Alabed twins, Wesam (126, 30-4) and Husam (160, 29-6).
"Wesam can go. In the past, he hasn't had enough in his tank to sustain his pace, but that's changed and it's shown with wins against No. 8 Anthony Rubino (St. Charles East) and Drew Fugiel of Glenbard East," said Fumagalli. "As for Husam, he's incredibly strong and athletic for a '60-pounder, and he was a Fargo qualifier during the off-season, and sectional qualifier last season. He should be right there in the mix of things."
at Glenview SouthWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday (1 p.m. finals)
Advancement: Top three individuals advance to the Barrington sectional. Team champion advances into a yet to be determined dual-team sectional site.
Guest list: Buffalo Grove, Fremd, Hersey, Palatine, Wheeling, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Loyola, New Trier.
On the mat: With reigning regional champion Prospect dispatached to the Lake Park regional this season, things opened up for the rest of the pack, including Wheeling and Fremd, who now find themselves in the role of favorites along with Central Suburban runner-up New Trier.
"I was very happy that we sent five into the finals last weekend at the MSL tournament, and had five other place-winners," said Wheeling coach Neal Weiner, a New Trier alum. "We'll have JP Smith back for regionals to put us at full strength, so it should be a lot of fun, with plenty of competition on Saturday."
The dean of the MSL coaches was thrilled with his 106-pounder, Manny Ramirez (30-9), who captured the Wildcats' lone league title last weekend. Brian Madrigal (120, 23-13) and Jaylen Shaw (152, 29-8) also got great results over the two days in Palatine.
The Wildcats went 22-5 in duals this season, with all five losses coming against ranked clubs, including No. 3 Sandburg, and No. 6 Stevenson and No. 7 as well as 2A power Mt. Carmel, currently ranked No. 2 behind Washington.
Hersey senior Mitch MacTavish (120, 33-3) who was out of action at the MSL tournament after a bout of vertigo, will be back and in pursuit of his second regional crown of his career, as will Alex Jacobs (30-1) of Fremd, who demolished the 220-pound field in the MSL to jump-start his postseason.
"The attention for myself, and the rest of the team, is on results," said Jacobs after watching teammates Aaron Cortez (195) and Zach Nemec (285) both earn MSL titles. "Aaron, Zach and myself were able to do it this weekend, and others can do the same at regionals, and if we can put it all together, we'll have a chance to win it all as well."
Jacobs enters the state series at No. 3 in the state polls.
New Trier's best, Jack Lowell (182, 27-4) was a conference champ at 182, while teammates Patrick Ryan (132, 31-7) and Nick Elias (120, 27-10) will offer plenty of resistance in their weight classes.
at Lake Park ((Roselle campus)When: 9 a.m. Saturday (3 p.m. finals)
Advancement: The top three individuals advance to the Conant sectional. Team champion advances into the dual-team sectional at Larkin.
Guest list: Conant, Elk Grove, Hoffman Estates, Maine West, Prospect, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Lake Park, Streamwood.
On the mat: Nobody here has the talent and depth to challenge the two favorites chasing the team trophy, so that is why this will likely amount to a good, old-fashioned MSL dual between Conant and Prospect for the right to advance to the dual-team sectionals later this month to face Notre Dame, who will cruise past the competition at the Maine East regional.
The move of Prospect from its usual spot at the Glenbrook South regional west to this venue has now made this site a toughie for those who are hoping to be among the top three in order to stay alive to wrestle another weekend. The MSL East champs now basically go head-to-head with champs from the West (Conant), who placed third behind Barrington and the Knights at the conference tournament.
"Tom Whalen has assembled a terrific coaching staff, one of the best in my opinion, and they had an outstanding second half of the season, and could have easily been the conference champs if a couple of things went there way in that final session," said Schaumburg coach Mike Levanti. "As for Conant, Chad is a great coach as well, and he's a highly competitive guy, so you can bet he'll get his team fired up for this weekend."
In the tournament enviroment, Hay will be pacing, pencil in hand, doing the math and figuring potential bracket matchups, always knowing what it will take to carry come out on top. He knew exactly what his club needed to chase down Stevenson in mid-January and overcome a 50-plus deficit at the Leyden Invite. The MSL meet was not what Conant had hoped for, but perhaps that will simply focus the Cougars.
"We were not at our best, so the weekend turned out disappointing, but we'll learn from it and go forward," said Hay. "The second half of the round on Friday was too much to come back from, so we have to be better right from the start, because this regional will be a grinder."
There will be plenty of head-to-head bouts between Prospect and Conant, with both sides looking to reverse outcomes from the MSL tourney. But the team outcome could well be decided by a handful of standouts from others teams who will most certainly siphon off valuable points.
The state-ranked duo from Schaumburg, No. 4 Hazen Rice (32-2) and No. 3 Logan Gruszka (33-1), were untouchable at the MSL tournaments. So was Tulga Zuunbayan (Rolling Meadows, 23-2), who currently sits at the No. 7 spot in the state poll from IllinoisMatmen.com.
One key rematch bout is at 182, where Matt Wroblewski (Prospect, 34-0) and Tony Vezzetti (Schaumburg, 26-4) figure to meet again. Last weekend the Knights junior edged Vezzetti 5-3 in overtime in a marvelous matchup that lasted nearly eight minutes to decided.
At 145 pounds, fans will likely see a second matchup of Nick Catalano (Conant, 31-2) and Jackson Schoen (Lake Park). The Lancers senior was the victor the first time around at the Krupke Invite back in December. Sophomore Michael Womeldorf (Rolling Meadows, 30-8) will likely have plenty to say in the matter after giving Catalano all he could handle during a 10-7 defeat in the MSL final.
The big four from the MSL - Prospect, Conant, Schaumburg and Rolling Meadows - collected seven championships and another 13 second-place medals at the MSL tourney. They'll look to dominate the trophy stand and send big numbers through to the sectional round.
at McHenryWhen: 9 a.m. Saturday (2 p.m. finals)
Advancement: The top three individuals advance into Barrington sectional. Team champion advances to yet to be determined dual-team sectional site.
Guest list: Barrington, Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South, Dundee-Crown, Grant, Grayslake North, Lake Zurich, McHenry, Round Lake.
On the mat: Barrington put its motto of "wrestling for the circle" into action by surrounding its opponents, then closing them out en route to a thrilling 1½-point win over Prospect last weekend to capture the MSL tournament championship. "It was a total team win, and as it turned out we needed every single win to edge Prospect for the title," said Broncos coach Dave Udchik. "The kids picked each other up, competed hard for each other, were very successful in wrestlebacks and brought the circle together to get the win. But that was last weekend, and only for the bragging rights in the conference. Now the real season begins, and we're going to need to amp things up a notch in order to get this regional title."
Udchik's orders have been heard loud and clear.
"We have to get wins and bonus points each and every time you can," said Barrington sophomore Markus Hartman (33-4), who maxed out his points by pinning his way to the 126-pound MSL crown, then finishing with a pin in his final. "The team struggled early on with injuries and a few holes in our lineup, which led to us giving up 6 points in forfeits, but along the way, others got some valuable experience, and were ready for the conference tournament. And it all came together for us at the right time."
On paper, it looks like a battle between Barrington and Grant to decide the team winner. Last season, the two teams waged an intense fight in the Bulldogs' fieldhouse before Grant pulled away late to carry away the regional trophy by 16 points.
Grant led after the first day of the NSC tourney last weekend before Stevenson ran away from the field on day two, outscoring coach Lenny Godoski's bunch 192.5-169.5. However, the Bulldogs possess plenty of firepower and quality in their lineup and managed to get three individual conference champions (the same number as Barrington) while collecting a total of 9 overall medals (the Broncos earned a dozen).
Grant is strong through the middle of its lineup, where Christian Kantzler (132, 32-2), Cole Berg (145, 31-4) and Kobe Lear (152, 28-8) reside. The Broncos counter with Nick Zawisza (145, 33-10), Jake Meyer (152, 27-11) and the state's No. 6-ranked 160-pounder, Max Guhde (34-4).
"It was all about thinking and doing what is best for your team in a tournament like this, with the individual stuff second to everything else, and that's what everyone did at the MSL tournament, and will have to do at regionals as well," said Guhde after outlasting No. 7 Bobby Jarosz (Prospect) in OT to win an MSL title.
Class 2A
at AntiochWhen: 10 a.m. Saturday (3:30 p.m. finals)
Advancement: The top three individuals advance into Antioch sectional. Team champion advances into Fenton dual-team sectional.
Guest list: St. Viator, Antioch, Carmel, Grayslake Central, Lakes, North Chicago, Vernon Hills, Wauconda.
On the mat: After registering his third consecutive second-place finish at the ESCC tournament last week, Joe McIntyre is eager to see if he can turn those silver medals into gold this Saturday as the St. Viator senior and his mates head north to compete at the Antioch regional. McIntyre (182, 20-6) nearly struck late to break his second-place streak when he put eventual league champion Addison Klausner (Marian Central Catholic) to his back with six seconds remaining in regulation, but was unable to close him out in a 10-4 defeat.
"Too little, too late, but I am confident that if we meet again, the outcome will be different," said the three-year veteran earlier in the week as he prepared for his last go-around for the Lions. "It's now or never for me, but I have to go in expecting to advance to sectionals, then state, where I am looking to get on that medal stand in Champaign." McIntyre, the Lions' captain, was a near miss to join his teammate James Valentino downstate last year. This year, others with a chance to venture to state include Valentino (285, 16-3) include Shawn Falbo (220), Elijah Black (152, 19-2) and Mike Dziedzic (145, 20-10).
"Last year I lost my state qualifying match (5-3) to the guy who ended up third at state (Cody Sawyer, Grayslake North)," said McIntyre, "so I knew I was right there last year. And since then, I haven't let up with my training and conditioning, so I feel my experience and desire will take me as far as I want to go."
The Lions, who earned seven top-four medals at the East Suburban Catholic Conference tourney held at Notre Dame, will get its first look at Antioch's Patrick Schoenfelder (38-2), whose recent 3-2 decision over 3A's No. 2 Dylan Geick (Stevenson) in the 152-pound final of the NSC tournament validated his No. 2 rank in 2A polls, and also makes him a strong favorite to win it all in three weeks.
- Mike Garofola