Sandburg dominates mat at Libertyville
No. 12-ranked Sandburg may have been a class of its own Saturday at the Libertyville wrestling triple-dual meet, but the host Wildcats still had a good day against tough competition.
The No. 16-ranked Wildcats (12-2) were dominated by the Eagles (15-1) by a final score of 47-15 in the opening round. But they bounced back strongly with a 41-25 victory over Maine South (13-4), before closing out the day with a 41-33 triumph over Schaumburg (9-7).
The Saxons suffered a 38-37 loss to the Hawks in the first round, as Maine South 132-pounder Josh Bess rolled to a 25-10 technical fall in the final match of the dual meet to secure the team victory.
Schaumburg also took a 61-15 drubbing from Sandburg in round two, while the Eagles stormed past Maine South 58-14 in the final round.
Libertyville's troops were led by 132-pound junior standout Danny Pucino (26-1), 126-pounder Brandon Murphy and 170-pounder Bennett Whitney with 3 wins apiece. Elite 138-pound senior Michael Gunther went 2-1 on the day as he dropped a major decision to Sandburg standout Pat Nolan (23-1).
Starting at 145 pounds against Maine South, Libertyville trailed 25-24 with three bouts left before a technical fall by Murphy, a pin by Pucino over Bess in 5:23 and a pin by Gunther in 1:18 secured the 16-point team victory.
Against Schaumburg, the Wildcats built a 24-12 lead on a pin by 220-pounder Jordan Smith before holding off the Saxons at the lower weights for the team win.
"We're just in awe of how strong Sandburg is," said Libertyville coach Dale Eggert, "Pucino had a tough guy (Bess) against Maine South and he got the pin. He took third place in the state last year so he's very skilled."
Schaumburg was led by two-time state qualifier Jack Lingle (19-4) with 3 victories at 145, while 285-pound teammate Hadi Mashhadbolghasem (19-4) also picked up 3 wins on the day.
"It was a tough loss (against Maine South), but we've got a lot of young guys in our lineup," said Lingle, who reached the state meet as a freshman and junior. "Hopefully I get to keep wrestling good guys so I can get better for later this season."
Despite the tough loss to the Hawks, Schaumburg coach Mike LeVanti was still happy with his team's performance.
"This is the best Maine South team I've seen in a long time, and their kid (Bess) had to work really hard to get that technical fall so it was an impressive win," LeVanti said. "(Lingle) has been 100 percent (healthy) lately. He's had a really good year, and a place on the podium (at state) is definitely not out of the question."
Maine South was led by 220-pounder Sean Kelly (21-1) with 3 wins, including a victory over Sandburg standout Alex Hirschfield (22-3). The Hawks also got 3 wins from 182-pounder John Halvorsen (22-1).
"We're right about where we want to be, we're progressing very well, and we seem to be getting better with every dual meet," said Sandburg coach Clinton Polz, whose program has won five state titles since 2005. "We're going to have a very tough dual-team sectional again, and we'll have to have a lot of things go well for us."