Barrington goes 3-0 at Grant to remain undefeated
The Barrington wrestling train kept rolling right along Saturday at the Grant triple-dual meet as the Broncos remained undefeated in the early stages of the 2018-19 season.
Starting the morning competition at 138 pounds with a hard-fought 32-24 victory over Stevenson, Barrington (8-0) followed up that win with an easy 67-12 win over Waukegan in the second round.
The Broncos closed out the day with a pretty impressive 42-22 win over host Grant (4-2) as the Bulldogs went 1-2 on the day with a lopsided 60-10 victory over Waukegan to start their morning.
After losing to archrival Libertyville Friday night, Stevenson (3-2) got a 34-28 comeback victory over Grant in round two to close out its day. The Patriots did not wrestle Waukegan because they will be facing the Bulldogs in a North Suburban Conference dual meet later this season.
Barrington was led by No. 2-ranked 170-pounder Luke Rasmussen (11-0), 145-pounder Kai Conway (12-2, 2018 state qualifier), Phillip Chapa (113) Sean Cleary (138), and Dayven Shinhoster (220) with three wins each.
"It's been five years since we went 3-0 here, this was a full team effort, and they did their job today," said Barrington coach Dave Udchik. "This is a young team since we graduated a lot of seniors, and they've really done a nice job so far."
After missing weight for the sectionals last year, Rasmussen has very high hopes for this season.
"I'm really happy. It all comes from the hard work we've put in lifting, and I know we work harder than any team in Illinois," Rasmussen said. "My goal is definitely to win state this year at 160 and for us to get a trophy at team state."
Trailing Grant 18-3, Stevenson came to life with a pin by 195-pounder Michael Phelps, and a major decision by 220-pounder Max Gomez starting its comeback.
The lower weights closed the deal with a technical fall by Cole Rhemrev (106), a major decision by Randy Lu (113), a pin by Noah Spiro (120), and a pin by Tommy Frezza (126) sealing the team victory with a 34-21 lead and only two matches left.
"Stevenson pinned their way into winning that dual, and if you're giving up pins against a team like that you are not going to win the dual," said Grant coach Lenny Grodoski. "We feel good about the progress we're making, but we have some things to work on going forward."
The Pats got two wins apiece from Rhemrev, Frezza, and 152-pounder Ivor Gueorguiev.
The Bulldogs got three wins from 2018 state qualifier Justin Brown (9-1 at 195), Zach Hitzler (132), and Ethan Geist (160).
"As a whole, we have this day circled on our calendar because Barrington and Grant are historically two of the top teams in our sectional so we know it's going to be a competitive day," said Stevenson coach Shane Cook. "Overall we learned a lot this weekend. They were highly competitive duals, and they were fun for the fans to watch.
"Frezza literally put the team on his back (against Grant), he got the big pin, and carried us to victory," added Cook.
Leading 28-24, Marko Hennin's 10-0 major decision at 132 closed out the meet to seal Barrington's 32-24 triumph over the Patriots.