Big group from Glenbard North advances
If Friday was any indication, there will be a stampede of wrestlers from DuPage County heading to Champaign when the Class 3A tournament begins Thursday on the campus of the University of Illinois.
DuPage Valley Conference champion Glenbard North, led by reigning state champion Austin Gomez, will have a large contingent in Saturday's noon semifinals in Hoffman Estates at host Conant High School.
Both Wheaton North and Glenbard West have a handful of players on the cusp of making it downstate. So does Lake Park, with captain Jackson Schoen closing in on his second state appearance and junior Luke Badger in a good spot as well at 106 pounds.
Day 2 opens with first-round wrestlebacks begining at 10 a.m. and continuing until the last two qualifiers at each weight are settled. Championship matches are set to start at about 4:45 p.m.
Gomez cruised into the semifinals, but just before the Panthers junior recorded a technical fall, teammate Abe Assad narrowly defeated Proviso West's Jaleel Holllingsworth 3-2 with a takedown with nine seconds remaining in regulation.
Senior Mike Milan gave Glenbard North three in the semifinals after his 9-3 victory over Jacob Bess of Maine South, but the bottom half of Milan's weight class received a jolt of major proportion when unseeded Miguel Romero of Prospect caught and surprised No. 4-ranked Gabriel Townsell and pinned the Oak Park junior at 3:36.
Glenbard West junior Charles Faber, the No. 6-rated 113-pounder in the state, made sure his spot in the championship bracket was safer than Townsell's after a commanding performance in the quarters to send the returning 2015 state qualifier forward and against Schaumburg sophomore Jack Lingle.
"I used my first match of the day to get myself warmed up and ready for my quarterfinal, and I felt really good in that match, scoring a lot of different way and not really letting my opponent to do much of anything," Faber said.
Glenbard West's Jack Vesevick, ranked 11th in the most recent state polls, faces No. 5 Tony Vezzetti in his semifinal while big man Darien Kaufman (33-5) finds himself opposite Jeremiah Olojo after outlasting Addison Trail's Karim Fuentes 4-3.
Schoen looked sharp during his only bout of the day, keeping Duncan Nelson of Wheaton North at bay in a 3-1 decision.
"It was classic Jackson," said Lake Park coach Tony Cirricione. "He doesn't let an opponent get a thing, and with the lead, he just smothers you until your done. It's no fun wrestling against him."
Rolling Meadows junior Michael Wolmeldorf will have his chance against Schoen at noon Saturday.
Wheaton North junior Devin Donovan had his way with Evanston sophomore Izzy Fox in a 10-4 victory at 160 pounds to set up one of the marque semifinal bouts of the day.
The No. 5-ranked Donovan next meets No. 4 Tom Czernek of Glenbard North.
"I feel like I am at my near best right now - scoring as many points as I can, always looking to add to my lead, and pushing the pace, while not giving up until the very end," said Donovan, a junior who won 41 matches a year ago on his way to his first state tournament appearance.
Glenbard North heavyweight Jon Czernek remains alive in the front draw after a well-deserved 5-1 decision over Tyler Hickerson of Conant, making his semifinal with fifth-ranked Tom Helton of York his most important bout of the season thus far.
"Helton beat me during my sophomore year at state Greco with a 'push-out' so I am looking forward to this rematch tomorrow," said Czernek, a senior.