Wrestling: Scouting sectionals, Lake County
Class 2A
Grayslake Central individual sectionalWhen: Friday begins at 4:30 p.m., quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m.; Saturday begins at 9 a.m., semifinals at 10:30 a.m., semifinal wrestlebacks at 2 p.m., first- and third-place matches at 3:15 p.m. (all times approximate).
Advancement: top four individuals in each weight class advance to 81st state meet at State Farm Center in Champaign Feb. 15-17.
Area qualifiers: 106 - Lakes sophomore David Becker (23-8), Antioch freshman Drew Lehn (26-19), Wauconda freshman Jack Sullivan (18-16); 113 - Antioch sophomore Alex Barbarise (35-6), Vernon Hills senior Jesse Goldufsky (33-5), Carmel junior Alex Perez (17-20); 120 - Carmel sophomore Christian Valadez (25-3), Wauconda junior Evan Husko (28-8), Vernon Hills senior Blake Teschky (37-11); 126 - Carmel senior Anthony Schaer (32-8), Antioch sophomore Danny McPherson (35-13); 132 - Wauconda junior Delon Kanari (21-5), Antioch sophomore Elijah Reyes (33-16), Grayslake Central senior Riley Gomez (19-9); 138 - Carmel junior Riley Palm (34-0), Grayslake Central junior Joey Murphy (33-10), Grayslake North sophomore Nick Kozanecki (17-26); 145 - Grayslake Central freshman Joey Jens (23-5), Grayslake North junior Adam Blonski (33-14), Antioch junior Jackie Sistrunk (28-10); 152 - Carmel junior Tommy Hoy (34-7), Lakes sophomore Kurtis Smith (13-8), Antioch sophomore Niall Schoenfelder (26-18); 160 - Grayslake Central junior Alex Cramer (39-1), Antioch junior Mikey Volkmar (32-12), Lakes senior Gavin Kafka (24-14); 170 - St. Viator junior Elijah Black (7-1), Grayslake Central freshman Adrien Cramer (33-6), Antioch junior Nico Garcia (31-14); 182 - St. Viator senior Jake Wolf (24-4), Wauconda senior Zac Finn (23-8), Grayslake North senior Zach McCauley (28-15); 195 - Grayslake North senior Angel Flores (35-6), Vernon Hills junior Faheem Mannan (27-17), Carmel sophomore Jonathan Lopez (17-8); 220 - Carmel senior John Ivan (19-3), Lakes junior Jack Brunati (30-9), Grayslake Central junior Ethan Torres (23-6); 285 - Grayslake North junior Wake Caldero (25-14), Antioch senior Alex Scheider (27-21), Lakes senior Brett Heraty (18-18)
Outlook: With his sights set squarely on a third straight trip to the state meet, No. 1-ranked Grayslake Central junior Alex Cramer (39-1) continues his quest for a potential state title at 160 pounds. "He has a good shot at it, and he's going to put himself in a good spot," said Grayslake Central coach Matt Joseph, who wrestled for Rick Mann during his high school career at Hersey. "He's wrestled up at 170 pounds this year, and at 182 so he's had a lot of tough matches. ... Carmel Catholic junior Riley Palm remains undefeated (34-0) at 138 pounds. Palm placed sixth in the state as a sophomore, and the Corsairs made a serious run at the regional crown before falling short to team champion Antioch last weekend. ... Antioch will be facing host Fenton in the dual-team sectional Feb. 20 in Bensenville as it hopes to make yet another trip to the Elite Eight tournament under coach Wilbur Borrero. ... Other regionals champions with state-meet experience to fall back on this weekend are Antioch's Alex Barbarise at 113, Carmel's Christian Valadez at 120, Wauconda's Delon Kanari at 132 and Grayslake North's Angel Flores at 195. ... Sectional qualifiers who also reached state last year are Zac Finn and Evan Husko of Wauconda, Jesse Goldufsky of Vernon Hills, and Anthony Schaer of Carmel.
Class 3A
Barrington individual sectionalWhen: Friday begins at 6 p.m., quarterfinals at 8 p.m., Saturday begins at 10 a.m., semifinals at 11:30 a.m., first and third-place matches at 4 p.m. (all times approximate).
Advancement: top four individuals in each weight class advance to 81st Annual IHSA state meet at State Farm Center in Champaign Feb. 15-17.
Area qualifiers: 106 - Mundelein senior Dane Durlacher (38-0), Warren junior Sawyer Nash (32-5), Grant freshman Chris Lozos (28-16); 113 - Warren junior Austin Nash (15-5), Lake Zurich junior Justin Wollard (15-8), Grant sophomore Zach Hitzler (23-16), Stevenson junior Yoni Leibovitz (20-21), Libertyville sophomore Ian Riley (17-17); 120 - Warren freshman Joel Vandervere (36-2), Stevenson junior Tommy Frezza (33-4), Libertyville junior Brandon Murphy (30-9), Lake Zurich junior Ian McGee (16-8); 126 - Libertyville senior Matt Templeton (30-7), Mundelein junior Reese Durlacher (35-3), Grant senior Tucker Rogan (31-15), Stevenson junior Matthew Zimring (16-17); 132 - Libertyville sophomore Danny Pucino (37-2), Round Lake junior Zach McCain (38-11); 138 - Libertyville junior Michael Gunther (21-3), Grant senior Sam Maldonado (38-5); 145 - Warren senior Kelvin Cupay (35-10); 152 - Stevenson senior Muzi Sitshela (30-11), Lake Zurich senior Nick DiMaggio (21-9), Warren freshman Isaiah Parker (29-11), Grant sophomore Ethan Geist (24-14); 160 - Stevenson senior Jake Simon (30-15); 170 - Lake Zurich senior Josh Goldberg (31-10), Libertyville junior Ryan Damenti (27-17), Round Lake junior Shamier Austin (13-4), Stevenson junior Ivor Gueorguiev (20-16), Mundelein junior Geo Albavera (24-22); 182 - Mundelein junior Logan Kvien (34-4, Grant sophomore Justin Brown (31-7), Stevenson senior Danny Ganzman (26-17), Libertyville senior Josh Groskopf (20-18); 195 - Mundelein junior D.J. Preston (33-11), Stevenson junior Max Gomez (34-8), Libertyville senior Will DeBruler (18-14); 220 - Warren junior Christian Goeden (25-17), Mundelein sophomore Jason Guadarrama (29-13), Round Lake senior Javier Ambriz (35-10); 285 - Libertyville senior Charlie Schmidt (32-4), Stevenson junior Anand Batbaatar (29-9), Lake Zurich senior Matt Wach (17-11), Warren junior Marcus Thompson (17-10)
Outlook: After placing fourth in the state as a junior, Mundelein senior Dane Durlacher is 38-0 and appears on his mission to capture a state championship. ... Warren 120-pound freshman Joel Vandervere has emerged recently. His only two losses this season came against Stagg's Dom Zaccone, who placed second in the state as a sophomore. ... Libertyville sophomore Danny Pucino and junior teammate Michael Gunther are hoping to be medal contenders in a week after going to state last year. But they will have to get past a gauntlet of powerful individuals this weekend to set the state for the task. The Wildcats' team and state-ranked 285-pounder Charlie Schmidt continue to prepare for their showdown against Barrington Feb. 20 at the Huntley dual team sectional with a much-coveted berth to the Elite Eight tourney at stake. ... Other qualifiers with experience downstate are Libertyville's Matt Templeton, who is a transfer student from Deerfield, top-seeded Mundelein teammates Reese Durlacher and Logan Kvien, and Stevenson's Tommy Frezza.
- John Bumbales