Gutierrez brothers enjoy York win at Glenbard West
For years now York's Antonio and Alex Gutierrez often share their brotherly love through wrestling.
"I started in sixth grade, Alex since fourth. We've had more than enough time practicing together to goof around and wrestle each other," said Antonio, a senior.
"We have a good time. My brother and I are best friends. We motivate each other to become better wrestlers and better people."
On Thursday the brothers enjoyed not only individual victories but also the Dukes' 33-29 dual victory over Glenbard West in West Suburban Silver action in Glen Ellyn.
Antonio prevailed 8-3 at 145 pounds for the Dukes (4-3, 1-1) to improve to 8-0 this season. Sophomore Alex is now 6-2 after his first-period pin at 120.
"York wrestling is really back on its way to the top. We're really trying to make a name for ourselves this season," Antonio Gutierrez said.
York juniors Josh Mathiasen (7-1) at 285 and Liam Enright at 220 also had first-period pins and junior Max Santiago recorded a third-period pin at 160. Juniors Matt Cozzi at 132 and Chris Eckard at 170 also won by decision.
For Glenbard West (6-3, 0-1), undefeated freshman Philip Dozier (9-0) celebrated his birthday with a pin at 182 in the final match.
Sophomore Hunter Bogwill (4-1) had a 23-second pin at 106 and senior Joey Wring won by pin at 152 in his varsity season debut. Winning by decision were senior Will Om-Feld (8-1) at 138, juniors Jakub Maciorowski (8-1) at 195 and Ben O'Neill (7-2) at 113 and freshman Max Konopka at 126. In the night's closest match, Konopka won 7-6 just 19 seconds into overtime on a penalty point awarded for a technical violation.
The Dukes continued the momentum from Saturday's 3-1 performance at the Plainfield North Mega Duals. York coach Nick Metcalf especially was pleased how varsity newcomers Santiago and Eckard closed out Thursday's dual.
The match was tied 24-24 before Santiago's pin and Eckard's 3-1 victory behind a second-period escape and near fall. After Eckard's match, Glenbard West had one team point deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct.
"These are good hard-working kids. They want to do well. You can kind of see the bond they naturally have with each other," Metcalf said.
"(The Gutierrez brothers are) good leaders, good role models for the other guys that are younger, varsity wise. They set a good precedent. Those are the good go-to guys other than coaches."
Even in his first varsity season, Alex Gutierrez was 22-18 and finished fourth at regionals at 113, one place from advancing to sectionals. Antonio Gutierrez especially is motivated to get beyond sectionals this season.
"We're in the practice room together all of the time," Alex Gutierrez said. "We'll go after practice and we'll hit the gym as an extra workout, keep working harder."
Speaking of freshmen, the Hilltoppers' 14-wrestler lineup consisted of four freshmen as well as two sophomores and five juniors. Three key returnees are injured.
"The youngest team I've ever put on the mat. I've got to keep reminding myself to have more patience. That's the hardest part when you're in the middle of an exciting competition," Glenbard West coach Nick Posegay said.
"I thought there were a lot of spots where even though we were inexperienced, we had some chances to put it together. And it just didn't go our way in a couple. We just didn't do enough in the middle to get it done."
A team captain, Om-Feld is hoping to finish strong after just missing sectionals last season with a fourth-place regional finish at 126.
"My goal is to qualify for state and I've been working hard all off-season. I really want to try to make it down to the big show," Om-Feld said.
"We're kind of a new lineup and still coming together but we have good things in our future. The main thing is just to keep kids confident and make sure everyone's showing up for morning runs and practices. Once we do, I feel like we're going to have more of a bond."