New Trier too tough for field at Leyden
The middle of the New Trier lineup wreaked havoc on its opponents Saturday in Franklin Park, with the Trevians sweeping all three duals inside the famed Farina Fieldhouse on the campus of Leyden's East campus.
Patrick Ryan, a returning state qualifier and the No. 3-rated 145-pounder in the state, led the charge for the Trevians in victories over Crystal Lake, Leyden and Buffalo Grove.
The host Eagles were next-best on their home mats, going 2-1 after dropping the contest with New Trier 38-25.
"It's been a grueling week for us with five duals in three days, but that's the way this sport goes," said Leyden coach John Kading. "For a young team, the experience of a week like this is a good thing for all of them to go through."
Leyden was coming off a loss on Friday to Downers Grove South, one night after defeating Willowbrook. The Eagles have a 3-2 dual record to go with a 10th-place finish at the Hruska Invite over Thanksgiving break.
"This team has come a long way in one year, and I know we'll be much better in the second half of the year after most of us have gone through another full year of wrestling with the varsity," said Leyden sophomore, Daniel Uribe, who a year ago advanced into sectionals after winning 25 times in his freshman season.
"Both Daniel and Ryan Jaffray (220) have made terrific progress from last year to (this) year," said Kading.
That Leyden pair was 3-0 on this day, doing their part to keep the Eagles close against New Trier. But the Trevians went ahead 18-12 and never looked back.
Against Buffalo Grove, the Eagles got 6 six pins - from Kamil Podlawski, Jimmy Lonigro, Shouwayne Johnson, Anthony Feliciano, Uribe and Jaffray - to defeat the Bison 42-22. On Friday night, the Bison opened up action in the MSL East by defeating Rolling Meadows 42-29.
"I don't know the last time a team from BG beat Rolling Meadows," said Bison coach Kurt Kutska. "I heard it was maybe 9-10 years, but it was a great win nonetheless. I just think we were still a little light-headed as a team when we began today.
"There were several bright spots along the way today, but we're a little beat up and run down after we just finished five matches in 48 hours. So we'll get some rest, then get back to working on some of the little things we struggled with, and more time on our technical stuff as well."
Kutska liked what he saw from Andy Polk (160) and Tim Gerling (170), who both went 2-1. Another plus was the overall effort against Crystal Lake South. In that matchup, it went back and forth for awhile before the Bison got going at 132 as senior Matt Hart delivered an 8-0 shutout.
That turned out to be a part of a 27-0 run, with teammates Dylan Horvath, Dylan Konefes, Brandon Velazquez, Polk and Gerling all contributing.
Horvath (138), Poil and Gerling all recorded falls, and Konefes won a wild one against the Gators' KT Sivertsen (15-10) at 145.
"We had a mixed bag of results today," said Crystal Lake South coach Ross Ryan. "But despite going 0-3, we had some real solid performances from a few of our guys - especially Sivertsen, who didn't win a match but still made a very good impression because of his grit, desire and 150% effort, which is all great stuff from a freshman."
Crystal Lake South got its wins against Buffalo Grove in a 4-2 victory by Alex Picchi (126), Brady Weidner (182) with a pin, and an 11-2 major decision from heavyweight Alec Natrop, plus three forfeits at the lower weights.
Last weekend at the Antioch Mega-Duals, freshman Christian Olsen won first-place honors at 106, while sophomore Peyton Timmons, a sectional qualifier last season with 27 wins, garnered fourth-place honors.
"Picchi won all three of his matches today, while Brady went 2-1, so we had a few guys who had very good days," Ross said. "But as you saw, our youth and inexperience catches up with us when we're in a position to add points, or even win a match. So for this first half of the season, it's going to be a work in progress for us."
The Gators host Fox Valley Conference rival Prarie Ridge on Thursday, while Leyden visits reigning Upstate Eight Conference champion St. Charles East that same evening.
The Bison will host defending Mid-Suburban League champion Wheeling in a dual Friday before hosting 11 team at their annual Rex Lewis Invite on Saturday.