Wheaton North warms up for postseason with victory
If the regular season in DuPage County high school wrestling were a movie or TV show, it would be in the rolling-the-credits stage.
The Wheaton North squad traveled to Naperville North on Thursday night for its second-to-last regular-season meet and the host Huskies competing in their regular-season finale.
The Falcons prevailed 57-12 with one more meet Friday at DuKane Conference foe Batavia.
Then it's on to the first DuKane Conference meet Jan. 26 at Wheaton Warrenville South.
"We're getting ready for the DuKane meet and we'll come out tomorrow night and be ready to wrestle Batavia," Falcons coach Travis Cherry said.
Cherry said the Falcons are confident going into the league competition.
"We're hoping that we're standing on top of the podium that Saturday. That's what we're striving for," he said.
The outcome of Thursday's meet was settled early as Wheaton North jumped out to a 31-0 advantage. The evening started at 120 pounds with Brice Balosky winning by forfeit. Zach Lemp followed with a fall at 126, with Nick Lemp prevailing by decision at 132 and Christian Volle racking up a fall at 138.
Then came Ben Lemp's fall at 145 and Jett Dowell's decision at 152.
Drake McIntyre got Naperville North on the scoreboard with a fall at 160. The Falcons then proceeded to win the next three matches with Quinlan Nelson winning by technical fall at 170 and Corey Goetz racking up a decision and Antowon Tolbert pinning his foe.
The Huskies' Dane Tsao was down 9-3 in the third period when he earned a fall at 5:30.
The 285-pound match was the wrestling version of a marathon. The Falcons' Greg Antonik won by decision in the final 30-second tiebreaker after overtime failed to produce a winner.
"It's a great win for Greg. It's his first season on the varsity and he has put a lot of work and time in it," Cherry said.
The evening ended for the Falcons with Vlladimir Castro (106) winning by decision and Logan Balosky grabbing his win by fall at 113.
Next for the Huskies is Jan. 26's DuPage Valley Conference meet at Metea Valley. Thursday night's lineup, as it has been all season, is full of lowerclassmen trying to gain experience.
Naperville North coach Tom Champion said a meet like Thursday's will make the Huskies better in the long run.
"We have a lot young kids. This is a good lesson. The kids will only get better," he said. "Wheaton North is a tough combination. They have good wrestlers, tough kids and are well-coached. I'm glad they are on our schedule and we'll see them next year."