Libertyville nips Warren

There were some unbelievable momentum swings in the team scoring as Libertyville met host Warren in a North Suburban Conference wrestling showdown Friday night in Gurnee.

Starting at 152 pounds, the visiting Wildcats jumped out to an early 15-4 lead only to see the Blue Devils score 28 unanswered points to take a 32-15 lead with four matches to go.

But Libertyville (7-0, 3-0) responded when the chips were down as the Wildcats scored the final 18 points of the dual meet to pull out an exciting 33-32 NSC victory in one of the wildest contests in many seasons.

Trailing 32-30 with most of the crowd on their feet, 145-pound Libertyville senior Alec Goodman sealed the team win with a hard-fought 8-4 decision over Gino Ortiz to close out the meet as Ortiz cut a 6-2 deficit to 6-4 early in the third period.

"Before the match my heart was pounding, I was trying to control my breathing," said Goodman following the crazy meet. "The cradle (by Ortiz) got me a little worried, but once I got him down I thought I could control the match. All of the guys who won tonight were a part of this win, and that's why we support each other as a team."

Warren sophomore Isaiah Parker opened the meet with a 13-4 major decision at 152. But the Wildcats got a pin by sophomore Chase Baczek at 160, a 4-0 decision by Bennett Whitney at 170, and a pin by Ryan Damenti in 2:38 to take the 15-4 lead.

Warren (6-3, 1-2) stormed back with 195-pounder Armondo Barandey (9-2) posting a 9-7 decision over Adam Pressley to begin its 28-point scoring surge.

Seniors Christian Goeden (220), and Marcus Thompson (285) added pins before 2018 state qualifiers Sawyer Nash (11-0 at 106) and Austin Nash (113) got a decision and a pin to boost the lead to 28-15.

Then junior Cam Domke (11-0 at 120) got a 12-2 major decision over Peter Kafkis as Kafkis evaded two near pins in that bout to prevent two more team points for the Blue Devils.

"I knew there was going to be four swing matches so we knew it was going to be close," said Warren coach Brad Janecek. "We've made some changes in the room and gone back to the basics, and we've gotten tougher in the room with some hard-nosed wrestling. My guys know that everybody could get one more point to win it, but we're building toward January and February."

Senior Brandon Murphy started Libertyville's winning comeback with a 12-3 major decision at 126 before junior teammate Danny Pucino's pin at 132 cut the lead to 32-25 with two matches left.

Standout Michael Gunther's technical fall in 3:13 made the score 32-30 to set the stage for Goodman's last-match heroics.

"It was a great meet, and it couldn't be more exciting," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert. "I'm thrilled that Alec Goodman could have a great match for the last match of the meet."

Elite Warren sophomore Joel Vandervere (third in Class 3A last year) has not wrestled yet this season due to injury, but he should return to the lineup in January.